Achieving Inclusive Field-based Education: Results and Recommendations from an Accessible Geoscience Field Trip

Abstract

Learners with disabilities are often denied field-based learning experiences in naturalistic disciplines. Geology can present substantial barriers due to rugged terrain in difficult-to-reach locations. In 2014, a field trip was executed with the dual purpose of 1) designing inclusion in field learning and 2) demonstrating to college faculty an accessible field experience. Direct observations of participants on the trip, as well as pre-and post-trip focus groups, illuminate the student and faculty field learning experience. Geoscience faculty have little guidance or support in understanding what disability is, how to reconcile accommodation with field-geology learning goals, and they cited instances where disability service providers acted as gatekeepers. The net effect of these ontologies is to reduce faculty empathy with, and thus their ability to be inclusive of, students with disabilities in field settings. Recommendations for instructors include taking campus disability-services administrators on field trips, opening and maintaining communications with disability service providers, and designing pedagogically sound field trips that align as much as possible to principles of universal design. An advocacy approach is described, which focuses on the students and the educational process, instead of on institutional compliance. Finally, geoscience faculty should conceptualize disability service providers as accessibility service providers.

Making geoscience fieldwork inclusive and accessible for students with disabilities

“…Similarly, the U.S. federal government defines a person as having a disability if they (1) have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities"; (2) have a record of such an impairment; or (3) are regarded as having such an impairment (https://www .dol.gov /odep /faqs /general.htm). Despite these seemingly clear definitions, however, the term "disability" is open to wide interpretation, and faculty can struggle to identify "what counts" in terms of designing inclusive and accessible geoscience curricula (Feig et al, 2019). A further complication identified by Feig et al (2019) is that communication between instructors and college and/or university disability services offices is often one-way and proscriptive.…”

“…Despite these seemingly clear definitions, however, the term "disability" is open to wide interpretation, and faculty can struggle to identify "what counts" in terms of designing inclusive and accessible geoscience curricula (Feig et al, 2019). A further complication identified by Feig et al (2019) is that communication between instructors and college and/or university disability services offices is often one-way and proscriptive. The disability services office documents a student's disability and proscribes accommodations.…”

“…Gibson (2012) found that students with disabilities felt that their peers lacked appreciation for the whole spectrum of diversity, while practitioners may see themselves only as educators of "normal" learners, in a system that favors "normal" brain (and body) function. One means of addressing these issues is for the provision of disability support to be presented as "normal" to all students, not just those with impairments (Feig et al, 2019). Students with disabilities are present across all academic programs, irrespective of whether or not their disability is disclosed.…”

“…This study was conducted in correlation with a separate but related study, during the same accessible field workshop, exploring the interactions between faculty and students during accessible and inclusive fieldwork. The results from, and experiences of, geoscience faculty participating in this field study are reported in Feig et al (2019).…”

“…This illumination can inform the understanding of processes taking place at other locations and can also seed and drive subsequent quantitative, empirical inquiry. Further details about this approach are presented in Feig (2011) and Feig et al (2019), the latter applying a similar approach to exploring the experiences of the faculty members participating in this field workshop.…”