JJ Rusher
MarshAccess
Making Environmental Programs
&
Field Experiences Accessible
Program Design
Science
Content
Program Content
Meadowlands
Content
Science Tools Documentation
Fundamental
Program Accessibility
Standard
Enhanced
PlantProgram
Life – NJ Meadowlands
Design
STEM / Science Content Meadowlands Content
• Parts of a plant
• Classification
• Native plants
• Invasive plants
Science Tools &
Technology
• Measurement tools
• Magnification devices
• Field guide
Fieldwork
Documentation
• ejournal
• Sketching
• Bio-craft
Program Content
• Enhanced
• Standard
• Fun(damental)
Program Accessibility
•
•
•
•
•
Physical / mobility
Cognitive / learning
Deafness and hearing loss
Blind and low vision
Older adults with age related
limitations in mobility, cognition /
learning, hearing, and/or vision.
Program Accessibility
• Address wide range and
variety of disabilities
• Accommodations developed
for one disability group
benefit all participants
Functional Approach
• Move from Disability Labels
to Functional Abilities
• Based on:
- Task to be accomplished
- Barriers to accomplishing that task
Functional Approach
• “Print” Disability
Task: Read hand-out
Functional Limitation: person
unable to access standard printed
materials
Barriers: ?
Functional Approach
• Print Disability
Barriers:
-
Unable to see printed material - sensory
Unable to process print - perception
Unable to read
Difficulty attending or focusing
Difficulty manipulating pages
Universal Design
• Architectural studies of physical
access for people with disabilities
- Ramps, automatic doors, curb-cuts
• Eureka! Modifications helped or
made life easier for all people
Curb-cut advantage
Universal Instructional
Design
Design of instructional delivery methods,
materials and activities that allow
participation by learners with wide
differences in their abilities to see, hear,
speak, move, write, understand English,
attend, organize, engage, and remember.
-Council for Exceptional Children
Curb-cut Advantage
UID
• Inclusiveness
• Physical access
• Delivery methods
• Information access
• Interaction
• Feedback
• Demonstration of knowledge
Inclusiveness
• Climate of respect for
diversity
• Welcoming environment
Physical Access
• Design of learning space
• Minimize need for
sustained physical effort
• Assure safety
Delivery Methods
• Multiple modes
- Lecture
- Demonstration
- Discussion
- Hands-on / field work
- Group work
Information Access
• Visuals and text
• Large print / sans serif font
• Printed versions of oral
presentations
• Tactiles and models
• Information well organized
• Captioned audio and video
Interaction
• Open-ended questions
• Multiple choice questions
• Teams and partners
• Name tags / address by
name
• Communication aids
Feedback
• Prompting
• Verbal and physical cues
and clues
• Demonstrations
• Hand over hand assistance
Demonstration of
knowledge
• Writing assists
- word banks
- text and picture labels
• Alternatives to writing tasks
- drawings; models
- Biocrafts
UID and Accessibility
• Accommodations and
modifications, to extent
possible, built in from
beginning; everyone benefits
• Does not eliminate the need for
specific accommodations for
individuals with disabilities
Pyramid of Accessibility
Program Design
Science
Content
Program Content
Meadowlands
Content
Science Tools Documentation
Fundamental
Program Accessibility
Standard
Enhanced
Active Participation
• What programs in your setting might
be re-designed using UID?
• How might teaching strategies,
accommodations, assistive
technologies, adapted science tools
be applied to your programs to make
them more accesible?