NSF Award
9461500
This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to research ways to make mathematics curriculum more accessible to students with physical disabilities. Students with disabilities have been neglected in mathematics education, primarily because teachers have lacked the technology to make the curriculum accessible. Hundreds of thousands of these students could go on to use math skills in careers of their choice. But they need math education, just like all other students. This is a feasibility study on Multi-Math Adaptations. These are math curriculum adaptations that work with multiple math curricula, serve people with a multiplicity of disabilities, employ a multisensory approach, and use the power of multimedia computing. These adaptations combine computer power with hands-on manipulatives and worksheets. Multi-Math Adaptations take advantage of award-winning computer hardware and software designed specifically for people with disabilities. The Phase I effort will involve 1st and 2nd graders, focusing on a prototype unit in Attributes and Classification. The research team will study math curriculum used in grades 1-2 employed across the country and will design a set of prototype curriculum adaptations for these curricula. The prototypes will be tested in schools. Data will be gathered to determine whether Multi-Math Adaptations can be effective for both the students and the teachers. If Phase I verifies feasibility, a Phase II will expand to include other units of math study in grades K-5.
