Notetakers, Scribes, and Readers
for STEM classes
Dr. Judith S. Gurka
gurka@msudenver.edu
Metropolitan State
University of Denver
Accessing Higher Ground
October 2012
Overview
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STEM: science, technology (includes
computer science), engineering, and math
STEM material is complex
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Concepts, vocabulary, pronunciation, symbols
Issues for readers, scribes, and notetakers
Guidance and training to work with STEM
students
My Background
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Computer Science faculty, in Math and
Computer Science department
My students: physical disabilities
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Blind and low vision, limited use of hands, nonverbal
My interest
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Interesting and challenging problems supporting
students with disabilities
Limits of technology
Technical CS Curriculum
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Software
Hardware
Systems
Theory
Math
Computer Science and Disabilities
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Good for students with disabilities who would
prefer working remotely
Creates a strong, special developer
population for disability systems, both
hardware and software
We want to get them and keep them in CS
Problem: support difficulties contribute to loss
of students
General CS Course Problems
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Material difficulty
Student misconceptions
Course novelty
Math
Resulting in …
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High attrition
Low grades
Weak students
Computer Science Characteristics
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Code / programs details
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Specialized vocabulary
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Uppercase / lowercase
White space: indentation, blank lines, spaces
Symbols
Some unusual, some “normal” English
Diagrams
Computer Science Example
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Compare two lines of code: for loop
(Computer Science 1)
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Correct version:
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
Computer Science Example
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Compare two lines of code
–
Incorrect version, 6 syntax errors!
For [int k == 0, k < 10, K + +]
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Each individual error will …
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Cause a program to fail
Earn points off on a test
Computer Science Example
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Compare two lines of code
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Correct version:
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
Incorrect version, 6 syntax errors!
For [int k == 0, k < 10, K + +]
Computer Science Example
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
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On reading, how should this be pronounced
by the reader?
On scribing, how should this be pronounced
by the student, then written by the scribe?
Computer Science Example
for (int k = 0; k < 10; k++)
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How do we read it in class?
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It depends on the class level and focus
Compare Computer Science 1 and 2
Computer Science Example
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Linked list code (Computer Science 2)
Node head = null;
…
if (head.getNext() == null)
…
boolean success =
temp.setNext(temp2.getPrev());
Computer Science Example
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Linked list diagram (Computer Science 2)
Computer Science Example
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Linked list
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How should these diagrams be described?
How much detail need a student give to a scribe?
… if the scribe knows CS? … if they don’t?
Computer Code – Java Language
/*
This is a simple Java program.
Call this file "Example.java".
*/
public class Example {
// Your program begins with a call to main().
public static void main(String args[ ]) {
System.out.println(”Hello, World!");
}
}
Computer Code – Lisp Language
(defparameter *small* 1)
(defparameter *big* 100)
(defun guess-my-number ()
(ash (+ *small* *big*) -1))
(defun smaller ()
(setf *big* (1- (guess-my-number)))
(guess-my-number))
(defun bigger ()
(setf *small* (1+ (guess-my-number)))
(guess-my-number))
Computer Code – Assembly
CSEG
SEGMENT 'CODE'
ASSUME
CS:CSEG
PUBLIC CLR
CLR
PROC
FAR
PUSHBP
;BP unknown (don't care)
MOV BP,SP
;set base for parm list
PUSHDS
;DS -> basic work area
PUSHES
;ES -> basic work area
MOV AX,DATASEG
;establish data addressability
MOV DS,AX
;now DS -> my data
ASSUME
DS:DATASEG
Computer Science Example
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Is a computer allowed during a test?
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Compilers and IDEs: software that, in part,
analyses programming code for correctness
 Compare to spelling checker
A proctor must distinguish between proper
and improper use of the computer
Harder than ensuring a student doesn’t
google something
Computer Science Example
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Dragon shortcuts – who would know?
Student says: “print line”
Dragon writes: System.out.println( );
and waits for student to fill in parentheses
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Computer science student programmed
Dragon for ease of homework
Dragon is giving part of the answer that is
being graded
Math Examples
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Symbols
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Greek letters
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Σ (sigma, uppercase), ε (epsilon, lowercase)
Abbreviations
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≥ (greater than or equal to), && logical ‘and’)
cos (cosine), lm (limit)
Except for the first, a math-knowledgeable
person is needed to read or write this
material
Math Example
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Very remedial math test (3rd grade)
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Problems on a quiz using integer multiplication
2 x 3 and 4(12) and 11 . 6
How should a reader read these?
What should a scribe write if the student says
“multiply”?
Math Example
2 x 3 and 4(12) and 11 . 6
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This should not be read “two times three”
The reader must pronounce character by character
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“four left-parenthesis twelve right-parenthesis”
Is “dot” unclear?
The quiz was (obviously?) testing knowing the
symbols as well as being able to multiply
Even a reader knowledgeable in math might not
catch this subtlety
Math Example
2 x 3 and 4(12) and 11 . 6
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Note that this is not even college-level math!
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Weak students need especially good support
Students with disabilities may have more math
problems
Remember that all students take basic math
Natural Science Example
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Read the following
H2O
NaCl
Natural Science Example
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H2O
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“water” or “H two oh”?
Need to say that the “oh” is a zero?
Need to say that the “2” is a subscript?
Need to say that the “2” is “two,” not “to” or “too”?
Need to specify uppercase/lowercase?
Natural Science Example
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NaCl
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“sodium chloride” or “salt” or pronounce the
letters?
Note that “salt” is a general term covering many
different, specific chemical compounds
Uppercase / lowercase?
Spacing?
Font curiosity: is “I” a lowercase letter “ell” or an
uppercase letter “eye” or a Roman numeral one?
Natural Science Example
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How should they be read?
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They’re all right and they’re all wrong … sometimes
It depends on context, course level, instructor
preference
How should they be spoken / explained to a
scribe?
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How smart is the pencil?
Natural Science Example
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Does it matter?
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What is being tested?
What should the student know?
What do professionals know?
What does text-to-speech software do?
Math and Science
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Taken by all students
Interesting problems for readers and scribes
even at very basic levels
Sometimes a reader needs to know the
intent of the material as well as the actual
text, in order to make decisions about
pronunciation, etc.
Diagrams
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Much more complex
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Topic knowledge and more …
Visual components
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What matters and what is “decorative”?
Color? Size? Shape and direction of lines?
Position of labels? Relative position of
components?
Diagrams – Considerations
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Order of reading?
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Left to right? Top down? Inside out?
Is a visual component semantically important
or just decorative?
Any terminology that is not shown, but should
be used?
Knowledge level of listener?
A reader needs significant preparation time
STEM is Hard – So What?
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Support for STEM students who are disabled
takes significantly more time, effort, and
expertise
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Notetaking
Scribes
Readers
Training
Quality assurance
General Notetaking Problems
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Who’s taking notes nowadays anyway?
How good are the notes?
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Includes readability!
How correct …?
How complete …?
Notes for yourself vs. notes for others
General Notetaking Problems
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How do you know note quality?
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Review needed … by whom?
How can a novice take complete and correct
notes?
Compare to “English-based” classes
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History, economics, …
General Notetaking Problems
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A recording or transcription of a class is
probably not sufficient
Capturing simultaneous text and diagrams is
difficult or impossible
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Parallel scribes?
Does notetaking interfere with the notetaker’s
experience in class? Yes …
CS Notetaking Problems
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Is the syntax correct?
The vocabulary …?
The diagrams …?
Will the notetaker persist or drop?
STEM Notetakers
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The notetaker must …
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Know concepts, notation, vocabulary, and math
Write and draw clearly
Be dependable and diligent
They can’t be learning it while they are taking
notes
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Peers need all their time for their own notes
Studying before class is insufficient
STEM Readers
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The reader must …
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Know concepts, notation, vocabulary, and math
Speak clearly and pronounce correctly
Be dependable and diligent
Diagrams must be traced and practiced in
advance, for completeness, correctness, and
clarity
STEM Scribes
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The hardest position? easiest?
Do they need to know anything, or will
everything be guided by the student?
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“draw a box, now divide it in half vertically; draw
an arrow from the bottom of the left half …”
How much time does this take?
Does it interfere too much with getting a good
evaluation of the student?
STEM Scribes
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Can knowledgeable scribes not contribute?
Can non-knowledgeable scribes be
meticulous and careful enough when they
don’t know what’s important?
Can students describe everything precisely
and completely, even if they understand it?
Example: uppercase / lowercase and
spacing
File file = new File (“datafile.txt”);
Who?
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Who should take notes? scribe? read?
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Peers?
Someone who took that class? … that instructor?
Advanced students? A+ students? Grad student?
Part-time professor? High school teacher?
How do you decide?
How do you check quality?
Would you remove someone from a
position?
Training for STEM Support
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Manuals for notetakers, scribes, and readers
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Discipline-specific
Common problems and solutions
Standard guidelines
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What to do and not do
How to do it and not do it
Manuals for profs
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Common problems and solutions
Working with notetakers, scribes, and readers
Training for STEM Support
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The student’s part
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Meet with professor and notetaker/scribe/reader
and discuss how the work will be done
What must a student tell a scribe?
Do a practice quiz with professor and scribe to
check procedures
Training for STEM Support
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Faculty collaboration with scribes, etc.
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Provide sample tests and lecture notes for review
Discuss notation and vocabulary and diagrams
Involve student as appropriate
Touch base regularly
Ideas
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Funding
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Pay expert notetakers, scribes and readers
 Requires a strong argument from disabilities
office to justify a new budget item
Compare to interpreters
 Need for language (ASL) skill is easy to
demonstrate and understand
 Need for technical knowledge seems to be
ignored
Ideas
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Oral exams by professors?
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Avoids “middleman” (scribe)
Allows on-the-fly adjustments based on student
difficulties
Difficult to grade
Perhaps more difficult to defend the grade
Tense situation for the student
Ideas
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Review work of STEM support
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Check notes, recordings, tests, …
Collect student reviews of support
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But remember that a student may not be aware of
errors and omissions
Avoid checking only student satisfaction
Correctness is primary
Ideas
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Faculty help
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Oversight of procedures, recommendations for
student help, quality checkers, training materials
Faculty as readers and scribes
Note: faculty get credit for “community service”
The 95% Rule
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95% of anything can probably be done, and
done fairly well, by a computer
The other 5% is fascinating, challenging, and
hard to (try to) automate with software and
hardware
The missing or flawed 5% can be crucial in
STEM material
5%: The Limits of Technology
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Smart pens, speech to text, captioning, etc.
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Is a transcription + occasional annotation
enough?
Can technical vocabulary be handled well?
Will the student even realize the shortcomings
and errors?
5%: The Limits of Technology
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Scanning, OCR, print to electronic form
Cautions
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Technology is …
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Exciting
Impressive
State of the art
Funding follows technology
Using humans is harder …
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To do well
To justify
Cautions
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Don’t ignore human expertise
Don’t equate no complaints with no problems
Don’t confuse student failure from poor
support with student academic failure
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Easy to do since STEM has more failures
Cautions
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Working at a detailed level puts more of a
load on the student
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Describing programming code or a diagram is
time-intensive, and probably interferes with
thinking about a test problem, or even just
thinking about the material itself
Cautions
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Is equal access always possible?
Summary
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STEM classes are …
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Hard, complex, important, taken by all students
Problems occur on very simple material as
well as advanced topics and diagrams
Technology is limited in important ways
Notetakers, scribes, and readers need topicspecific knowledge and training
Are You Convinced?
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Support your STEM students well!
Get additional, specialized help as needed
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Advanced undergraduates, graduate students
Faculty
Consider: if you can’t do the technical work,
neither can an average student worker
Homework
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Evaluate your school’s support for STEM
classes and students (majors and others)
Talk to STEM chairs and faculty
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Review notes from notetakers
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Solicit their help
Can you understand them?
Show to faculty to evaluate completeness and
correctness
Investigate funding for paying notetakers,
scribes, and readers
Questions? Comments?