The Center for Special Services (CSS) and the Physical Sciences Department at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) are collaborating on a program that modifies instructional methods to fully include typically under-represented individuals, specifically students and minority students with disabilities, in the chemistry laboratory. Traditional modifications for individuals with disabilities in a laboratory setting have relied on disability-specific accommodations.
The purpose of this project is to develop a methodology for all students with a focus on modifying classroom activities rather than requiring the student with a disability to adapt to the traditional curriculum. The experiments will be designed using materials mostly available in supermarkets in order to produce exercises that could be quickly and inexpensively employed at a wide variety of institutions. However, the chemical principles included in traditional first year chemistry laboratory sequences will still be covered. The resulting experiments will be relevant, safe and cost effective.
The first year of the project (October 1 1994-September 30, 1995) focuses on course development, expansion of the laboratory work already completed and hosting a conference to informa students, parents and professional personnel at high schools of postsecondary opportunities.
The second year (October 1, 1995-September 30, 1996) will emphasize the evaluation and testing of the revised curriculum in classes on the AUM campus where students with disabilities and other students will perform the experimental procedures. A laboratory manual of the new curriculum will be published and integrated into the AUM chemistry program.
The third year (October 1, 1996-September 30, 1997) will emphasize activities within Alabama's secondary and postsecondary network. On-site assistance will be provided for teachers in the field of chemistry to implement the laboratory curriculum. The project will culminate with a Summer Institute hosted at AUM for participants from the Southeast.