Caroline Bustamante | Searcharxiv

arXiv2021

Supporting students with ADHD in introductory physics courses: Four steps for instructors

The number of students with disabilities and specifically students with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) entering postsecondary STEM education has been increasing in recent decades. However, many instructors and popular research-based curricula are not prepared to support such learner variation. The views and experiences of people with disabilities are not uniform, either across diagnoses or within a single diagnosis, such as ADHD. Thus, individuals' thoughts about how to support students with ADHD in physics courses will vary. We present views from one student with ADHD about strategies instructors can use to help her succeed in introductory physics courses.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2019

Hidden walls: STEM course barriers identified by students with disabilities

Historically, non-disabled individuals have viewed disability as a personal deficit requiring change to the disabled individual. However, models have emerged from disability activists and disabled intellectuals that emphasize the role of disabling social structures in preventing or hindering equal access across the ability continuum. We used the social relational proposition, which situates disability within the interaction of impairments and particular social structures, to identify disabling structures in introductory STEM courses. We conducted interviews with nine students who identified with a range of impairments about their experiences in introductory STEM courses. We assembled a diverse research team and analyzed the interviews through phenomenological analysis. Participants reported course barriers that prevented effective engagement with course content. These barriers resulted in challenges with time management as well as feelings of stress and anxiety. We discuss recommendations for supporting students to more effectively engage with introductory STEM courses.

physics.ed-ph↗