Students' use of disability accommodations in emergency remote teaching

Abstract

Disability is an often-overlooked aspect of diversity. Recent research has indicated that there are barriers to access and participation for disabled students inherent in the design of physics courses. To help counteract these barriers, universities are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled students. However, not all students use the accommodations they have access to because of social factors (e.g., disability stigma), and others do not have access to the professional diagnosis often required to access accommodations. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of students who identify with a disability/impairment who were taking an emergency remote teaching (ERT) physics course in Fall 2020 to inform policies about providing access to students in future remote and face-to-face courses. In this paper, we present the prevalence and types of impairments disabled students in physics courses reported, their reported accommodation usage, and ethical considerations of this work. Overall, we find that disabled students represent a sizeable group in physics courses, and there are positive and negative reasons students did not use or request accommodations.

Synthesizing disabled physics students' pathways to access: a call for more access talk

“…These articles emphasize the legally mandated accommodations pathway through a disability resource center (DRC). Scanlon et al (2021) describe challenges expressed by undergraduate physics students with accessing legally mandated accommodations during the Fall 2020 semester, when many students were taking classes via emergency remote teaching [6]. While modifying the Inclusive Teaching Strategies Inventory for use with postsecondary STEM faculty, Scanlon and Chini (2019) describe faculty's attention to student needs that extend beyond legally mandated accommodations; many faculty described using inclusive practices for "students who need it," and only vaguely defined what qualifies as "needing it" [7].…”

“…For example, in a national survey of students taking physics courses in Fall 2020, one participant responded that their accommodations didn't meet their needs because, "My accommodations were provisional, as I just got the test results this week. Most of the semester I struggled to do my work, and the accommodations were too little too late" [6]. Thus, the step of submitting and having documentation approved is not simple or instantaneous for all students.…”

“…Thus, students are likely to find that their access to inclusive practices and accommodations varies across instructors. For example, in the national survey of students taking physics courses in Fall 2020, one student shared: "I didn't activate that accommodation for this class for this quarter because I can get the same results just by asking and not having our [DRC] strong-arm the instructor" [6]. This quote suggests the student may first try to have their access needs met by the instructor and only involve the DRC if needed.…”

How Extensively do Teachers Train Students' Metacognition Abilities in Physics Learning in High School?

“…Physics education also integrates social and ethical aspects (Meyer et al, 2022;Yapijakis & Chrousos, 2022;Scanlon et al, 2021;Agazzi, 2021). Students are taught to consider the social and environmental impact of physics technology, as well as the ethical consequences of its use.…”

Identifying Academic Ableism: Case Study of a UDL-Learning Community Participant

“…Almost 20% of postsecondary physical science students in the U.S. identify with a disability, with the most common being cognitive, emotional/mental health, and health impairments. So, we cannot ignore the need to support students with disabilities and rid ourselves of ableist beliefs/attitudes as instructors [5]. We seek to inform future professional development by illuminating ableist ideas instructors may bring into PD by presenting examples from a voluntary participant in a UDL learning community.…”