Thank you!!!!!

Thank you so much Kirstin! Your words are so kind!

In terms of best practices for creating an inclusive space, I take advantage of having a service dog so I walk the space and see how I navigate it myself. This helps with the placement of the physical space in the classroom to make sure the room is easily navigated. In terms of encouraging collaboration, I let my students work together and observe when the school year starts. I try to create activities where the kids will work with different groups, maybe rotations or stations, so the kids work with everyone and cannot choose who they want to work with. 

It does help that I use my service dog to my advantage, where I tell the kids to look past differences and I ask them, what do you think of me when you first see me. I do this at the beginning of the school year so they can talk about their judgements and perceptions of me as an individual with a service dog. This lets me create a safe space at the start and start to cultivate the type of classroom culture I want - a safe space to talk about our thoughts and feelings without judgment. Doing this at the very start of the year, I find, has helped me in the long run to make sure my students work with everyone and see past differences.

Otherwise, I know that UDL (universal design for learning) has many techniques and moving forward, I hope to explore more and really incorporate those techniques as UDL is really good about making the classroom accessible for all, not just for individuals with disabilities. 

I hope that answered the question. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Best,

Yujia 

Thank you for your kind words!!

Thank you for your kind words!!

Thank you so much! 
 

The easiest start to make a science/STEM space accessible is to ensure there is space between the benches that students work at when conducting experiments. My experience working in a tier one university research laboratory for many years is that the benches are placed close together that make navigating the space very difficult. It is especially difficult for someone in a wheelchair or a walker, for example to move around safely.

Another easy fix is to make sure that the lab benches are of adjustable height to accommodate individuals in a wheelchair or someone who may have a height difference than the average statue (i.e. an individual with dwarfism). The adjustable height benches are a quick fix that can be used to make sure everyone can access the work bench. 

The other big fix is to make sure the safety shower and eye wash station is accessible to someone in a wheelchair or who may have a physical limitation. The safety shower in my research lab was easily accessible but was not easily used (in the sense that you could access it with a wheelchair but the handle was too high for someone sitting in a wheelchair to use). Eye wash stations are the worst in labs as they often are tucked in a corner at the back of a sink that even someone who is of average stature cannot reach! 
 

Finally, in a hallway or a corridor, you can have doors that are wider to accommodate a wheelchair. You can have automatic doors or push buttons to open the door. There can also be ramps instead of stairs. 
 

These are a few quick fixes that can make a lab space much more accessible! There are other small changes in the equipment used to support making STEM accessible and I’m happy to chat more. 
 

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

 

Best,

Yujia 

Thank you for your comment. I hope you find ways to keep pushing forward and not limit yourself despite the change in eyesight!