The value of safety and practicality: Recommendations for training disabled students in the sciences with a focus on blind and visually impaired students in chemistry laboratories

Abstract

We strive to make chemistry more available and exciting for disabled scientists by developing accessible and safe methodologies to be employed by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. We share philosophies and methods that were found to be effective in ensuring a safe laboratory environment. Namely, an accessible and safe chemistry laboratory requires assistance and extensive contributions from everyone involved. A discussion of technologies that make our computational chemistry laboratory accessible to blind and visually impaired (BVI) researchers follows. These recommendations are derived from our personal experiences with learning and teaching chemistry, with serving on a chemistry accessibility committee and with organizing and running chemistry camps for BVI students. In addition, we have begun work with sighted high school students who perform visual activities under blindfold. These experiences challenge the student under blindfold to learn how to function without all five senses while simultaneously training a sighted peer to safely and accurately assist with nonvisual cues.

Visualizing 3D imagery by mouth using candy-like models

“…Students with blindness or low vision (BLV) face challenges in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) (3)(4)(5). Besides barriers imposed by limited assistive technology (6), students with blindness face bias by educators and peers (7,8). This bias can erode a student's sense of belonging (9,10), make science appear too challenging to pursue (11), and inhibit social groups that promote interest (12).…”

Data for all: Tactile graphics that light up with picture-perfect resolution

“…People with blindness have been historically discouraged from learning chemistry and have been kept out of the laboratory ( 30 , 31 ). The irony of this ableism is nanoscale.…”

Visualization without Vision – How Blind and Visually Impaired Students and Researchers Engage with Molecular Structures

“…(3) Finally, wider access to laboratory and classroom environments for BVI students (Nepomuceno et al, 2016). This issue involves both practical, political, social and attitudinal barriers (Maguvhe, 2015;Riendl & Haworth, 1995;Simui, Kasonde-Ngandu, Cheyeka, Simwinga, & Ndhlovu, 2018), some of which could be eliminated through increased basic neurological research on how vision works (Mandavilli, 2006;Merabet & Pascual-Leone, 2010;Ricciardi et al, 2009;Ricciardi & Pietrini, 2011;Schinazi, Thrash, & Chebat, 2016).…”