Project Overview
In 2024, Dr. Shaheen was awarded a $1.5M NSF CAREER Award to carry out the A11y in Sci project. A11y in Sci will improve the long-term accessibility of technology-mediated high school science education by improving teacher knowledge and preparation.
The specific aims of the project are to:
- Investigate the state of inservice teachers’ knowledge about constructing born accessible (i.e., proactively accessible) technology-mediated science classes.
- Iteratively develop opportunities for pre- and inservice teachers to learn how to construct born accessible technology-mediated science classes.
The research activities will follow an exploratory sequential mixed methods design to answer the question: what is the nature of high school teachers’ knowledge of the technological, pedagogical, ideological, and legal aspects of creating born accessible technology-mediated science classes and what factors influence what they know? The four-phase study will first qualitatively explore teachers’ knowledge, subsequently use that information to develop and pilot an instrument, administer the instrument to a large sample of teachers to quantitatively measure their knowledge, and then integrate the qualitative and quantitative findings to answer the overarching research question.
In synergy with the research, the project will develop opportunities for teachers to learn how to create born accessible technology-mediated science classes. The education activities will use Case-Based Learning and an iterative instructional design process to develop and implement a case library, two hybrid units for preservice teachers at Illinois State University, and asynchronous open educational resources for pre- and inservice teachers nationwide.
Get Involved
We are currently recruiting high school science teachers and teachers of blind and low-vision students (i.e., TVIs) for a study. Learn more about the study.
A11y in Sci Team Members
Principal Investigator: Dr. Natalie L Shaheen
Postdoctoral Scholar: Dr. Mutiara Syifa
Creative Writing Consultant: Niki White
A11y in Sci in the Media
Dr. Shaheen talks about A11y in Sci on CEC TV
ISU professor awarded $1.5M grant to study reducing barriers for blind and low-vision learners on WGLT
Born accessible: Redbird scholar addresses inequalities in STEM education in STATE Magazine
ISU professor wins $1.5M National Science Foundation grant in The Pantagraph
Dr. Natalie Shaheen wins $1.5 million NSF CAREER grant in Redbird Scholar
Dr. Natalie Shaheen Wins $1.5 Million NSF CAREER Grant in the Braille Monitor
Funding
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2334693. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Natalie L Shaheen 