Peg Lamb - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Peg Lamb

Academic Exchange Quarterly, Sep 22, 2003

Abstract The National Science Foundation funded the Bridges Project in 2000 to develop a model to... more Abstract The National Science Foundation funded the Bridges Project in 2000 to develop a model to increase accessibility to scientific careers for students with disabilities. One aspect included supporting students with disabilities who pursue science and math related careers during their first year of college. A second aspect was a three-year collaboration between high school and community college teachers in science and mathematics with the project director to identify several organizational structures that are barriers to pursuing scientific careers for students. The barriers identified included students' limited pre-college academic opportunities and rigor, major institutional differences including expectations of independent learning, self-advocacy, time and pace of instruction and disabilities laws governing each level. ********** The National Science Foundation funded the Bridges Project in 2000 to develop a model to increase accessibility to careers in science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for students with disabilities. One aspect of the project included supporting students with disabilities who were pursuing scientific careers during their first year of college and a second aspect was collaboration between high school and community college teachers in science and mathematics. During the three-year investigation the teachers and project director, who is a specialist in transitioning youth with disabilities, identified several organizational structures that are barriers to pursuing scientific careers for students with disabilities. One organizational barrier is the requirement for students to have a minimum of two math and two science courses at the high school level. Forty percent of the fifty states have this minimum requirement and eight states leave such graduation requirements to local control (Education Commission of the States, 1998). While minimum requirements may seem laudable by enabling more students to achieve a high school diploma; it is not a sufficient foundation to pursue scientific and mathematical careers. Students with disabilities are often encouraged to take only the minimum of science and/or math courses and earn these credits outside of the challenges of the regular classroom. Science/math credits earned in a special education class usually are a curricula taught by special education teachers with limited subject matter knowledge in math and science (Gurganus, Janas & Schmitt, 1995). Further, in special education classrooms students often experience a diluted curriculum and lower teacher expectations (Fuchs, Fuchs, & Hamlet, 1989; Pugach & Warger, 1996, Cunningham, 1998). An additional barrier is the prevailing myth held by teachers and parents that students with disabilities are not capable of learning higher level mathematics or science (Cunningham, 1998 & Burgstahler, 1994). Even when students with disabilities are included in science classrooms, teachers may be inappropriately concerned with laboratory safety issues, thus limiting classroom activities (Fetters, 2002). These decisions have the same outcome: students with disabilities do not have access to the same level of information and experiences in the areas of math and science. While in high school, the major emphasis of special educators and parents of students with disabilities is on earning sufficient credits to meet the graduation requirements with secondary attention to the educational foundation necessary for college and career training. Hence, any science or math course in which a student with a disability can pass for graduation credit is scheduled without regard for the foundation of knowledge needed to pursue college level work. Decisions made at the high school close career choices and access to higher-level courses. Most college level science and math courses require a foundation of knowledge, thus students with disabilities start at a disadvantage with only minimum requirements met at the high school level and are forced into remedial courses in college. …

ED408745 - The Impact of Inclusion of Students with Challenging Needs.

Several researchers have addressed the issue of accommodating students with disabilities in colle... more Several researchers have addressed the issue of accommodating students with disabilities in college science classrooms (Brazier, Parry, & Fischbach, 2000; Womble & Walker, 2001). However, little research has focused on the types of accommodations and supports needed for students with disabilities at the

A brief outlining results of the Bridges Research Project, a project gathering information to pro... more A brief outlining results of the Bridges Research Project, a project gathering information to promote a seamless transition for high school students with disabilities to math, science, engineering, and technology education at community colleges.

Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 2003

The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal, 2014

Students with disabilities are entering postsecondary education in greater numbers; however, they... more Students with disabilities are entering postsecondary education in greater numbers; however, they experience great difficulty in completing their programs. One factor contributing to their lack of success is the discrepancy in the laws that govern educational support in secondary and postsecondary education. An additional factor is limited development of self-determination/self-advocacy skills when students exit high school. Bridges, a National Science Foundation three-year transition project, piloted a College Success Class at Lansing [Michigan] Community College with the dual purpose of supporting student transition to college and developing self-determination and self-advocacy skills. Data suggests that through classroom activities and follow-up meetings, students developed a greater understanding of these concepts, more confidence, and the ability to advocate with college instructors for their accommodations.

Holt High School (Michigan) has implemented a school to work transition for its 1,200 students, i... more Holt High School (Michigan) has implemented a school to work transition for its 1,200 students, including 120 students with mild to severe disabilities. The Holt Transition System is based on a taxonomy of five domains: student development, student-focused planning, interagency collaboration, family involvement, and program structure and attributes. The system includes a School-To-Work Mentorship Program, taught as an elective by collaborating general education and special education teachers. It offers planned, comprehensive, community-based experiences. Adults and agencies from the community share information about careers and help in individual vocational assessment. School personnel and students develop a career plan and acquire basic vocational skills. Students with learning and behavioral challenges are provided with a job coach. To investigate program effects, the interviews and journals of 25 students (8 with disabilities, 7 at-risk, and 10 nondisabled) were analyzed as were reflective papers of core team members. Results indicated the program had important effects on students' employability, social skills, and self-determination skills. The importance of specific supports and services was confirmed, including shared vision by parents, teachers, employers, and agency personnel; provision of a variety of experiences(with accommodations) in different occupations; willingness to collaborate; administration support; a job coach for students with disabilities and at-risk students; and support from nondisabled peers. (Contains 21 references.) (DB)

A brief providing teachers with strategies for motivating students with diverse learning styles, ... more A brief providing teachers with strategies for motivating students with diverse learning styles, including students with disabilities, in science courses and programs. These strategies include use of case studies, analogies, lab-based education, storytelling, modeling, and role-playing. The brief also includes resources for further study.

This study, undertaken at a Michigan high school, examined the development of collaborative relat... more This study, undertaken at a Michigan high school, examined the development of collaborative relationships among school personnel, community members, and agency staff for the effective transition of students with disabilities from school to adult life. It attempted to identify the essential components and common barriers to such relationships and the effects of the Work-Based Mentorship program on students. To identify essential components and barriers, interviews were held with 14 school personnel and 7 community/agency people. Both school personnel and community/agency people reported teamwork and core members' commitment as the major facilitating factors in forming collaborative relationships for an effective transition process. Both of these groups identified "lack of understanding of and familiarity with the nature of services community/agency people can offer" as the most important barriers to forming such relationships. Analysis also examined employers' evalu...

Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 2007

... To investigate on an informal basis the value of the SOP for VR counselors in determining eli... more ... To investigate on an informal basis the value of the SOP for VR counselors in determining eligibility and writ-ing the IPE, the SOP framework developed by the Na-tional Transition DocumentationSummit (Shaw, Izzo, & Kochhar-Bryant, 2005) was presented to six youth VR ...

The High School Journal, 1999

Since the mid-1980's, calls to reform high schools have been numerous. The focus of the refor... more Since the mid-1980's, calls to reform high schools have been numerous. The focus of the reforms included revising curriculum, restructuring the organization of schools, and developing learning communities within schools. General and special education teachers at Hartford High School developed CLUB (Committed to Learning, Understanding, and Belonging), a project which restructured the sophomore schedule to create within-school communities emphasizing interdisciplinary curricula and students' sense of belonging in school. This study focused on students' perceptions of their experiences in project CLUB. Focus group interviews were conducted with students enrolled in CLUB, revealing their perceptions about high school in general, relationships with their peers, relationships with their CLUB teachers, engaging interdisciplinary curricula, and their sense of their own learning. While the data show that such efforts to restructure school and revise curricula are promising, the ...

Journal of Special Education Technology

National Center on Secondary Education and Transition University of Minnesota, Apr 1, 2004