1. Embedding and sustaining inclusive STEM practices
Trevor Collins, Anne-Marie Gallen and Nicholas Braithwaite
The 6th eSTEeM Annual Conference
Wednesday, 26th April 2017
HEFCE Catalyst: Addressing barriers to student success
Inclusive by anticipation versus accessible by adjustment

2. Context HEFCE Catalyst Call B ‘Addressing barriers to student success’
Differential student outcomes
Rises in students declaring a disability
Particularly mental health issues and specific learning difficulties
Differential student outcomes (attainment gaps): students from low socio-economic groups, students from black and minority ethnic groups, and students with disabilities.
May 2016 – 34,305 OU STEM students, 5,524 (14%) declared a disability

3. Scope: students with disabilities
Scaling up inclusive educational practices within STEM module design and delivery to benefit all students, while lowering and removing barriers impeding students with disabilities
Gathering and sharing case studies to evidence the impact of inclusive design and produce cross-institutional guidelines and recommendations for dissemination to HE sector and professional associations
Enabling UK HEIs to
Embed inclusive resource, module and curriculum design practices
Sustain inclusive module and curriculum delivery practices
Develop inclusive career pathways for students and graduates
Specific focus on STEM pedagogies involving labwork, fieldwork and online learning
HEIs = Higher Education Institutions
Staff and student knowledge, skills and attitudes

4. Partners, developments and outputs
Partners and contacts
The Open University
Trevor Collins
The University of Leeds
Dan Morgan
Plymouth University
Alison Stokes
Outputs
Cross-institutional case studies, guidelines and recommendations
Example development projects
Lab+: Open-access lab to support experiential learning (Plymouth)
OpenSTEM Lab: Online practical experiments (OU)
Virtual Landscapes: Virtual training environments (Leeds)
Enabling Remote Activity: Remote access toolkit for fieldwork (OU)
Stadium Live: Interactive live web broadcasts (OU)
Dr Daniel Morgan - Associate Professor: Igneous Petrology & Volcanology
Director of Undergraduate Education
School of Earth and Environment, The University of Leeds
Dr Alison Stokes - Lecturer in Earth and Environmental Science Education
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science and Environment, Plymouth University
To work with institutional developments to review inclusive STEM practices in order to develop case studies, guidelines and recommendations applicable across the partners and other HEIs

5. OU people Trevor Collins (KMi) Vic Pearson (SPS) Chetz Colwell (SeGA)
Nick Braithwaite (STEM)
Keyur Dave (KMi)
Kate Lister (SeGA)
Anne-Marie Gallen (E&I)
Elaine McPherson (EEE)
Kate Bradshaw (SWIM)
Gill Macmillan (LTI TEL)
Gareth Davies (from Aug 2017)
SWIM = Science Web and Interactive Media (SWIM) Group

6. Approach Action research (cycles: plan, act, observe, reflect)
Work with institutional stakeholders during module design and development to capture case studies
Work in partnership with students to identify barriers, improve design and enhance delivery
Engage with ongoing institutional development projects
Cross-institutional sharing of case studies to abstract a set of recommendations and principles for HE
Evaluation by baseline and counterfactual comparison

7. Engagement Institutional stakeholders Educational networks Students
Staff (e.g. lecturers, staff tutors, associate lecturers, developers, designers, editors)
External stakeholders
Educational networks
Professional associations and accreditation bodies
Disability support networks

8. OU planned development projects
OpenSTEM Lab: Remote experiments
Interactive screen experiments and remote access to laboratory equipment
Stadium Live: Labcasting and fieldcasting
Live and interactive web broadcasting of lab and fieldwork activities (at scale)
Enabling Remote Activity: Inclusive fieldwork
Collaboration with the (NSF) GeoPath project facilitating an inclusive field course in Ireland

9. OU potential case studies
GeoPath: Inclusive fieldwork
OpenSTEM Lab developments
LTI Translation (centralised)
Science Web and Interactive Media Group (science)
Level 3 Environmental Science module (SDT306)
Dinner Plate Diversity: Interactive media relating to food security
Audio descriptions
Maths accessibility working group formation
Maths notation
Sonification
DSA changes (e.g. office closure)
Mainstreaming adjustments (e.g. tactile diagrams, sonification, audio descriptions)

10. Embedding and sustaining inclusive STEM practices
Trevor Collins, Anne-Marie Gallen and Nicholas Braithwaite
The 6th eSTEeM Annual Conference
Wednesday, 26th April 2017
HEFCE Catalyst: Addressing barriers to student success