/v_ J/c',e.- { 7--- 206646 //v/_ ,.... U + / ;_'- t;, 2 > D;J FINAL REPORT FOR NASA's TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE FOR SELECT STUDENTS PROGRAM Table of Contents Purpose of the NTES8 Project 1 &dministrative Process 1 Curri=ulum and Materials Planning 6 Partioipant/Project Monitoring and Evaluation S Service Delivery 9 Summary of Participants, Comments 12 Strategies £or Improving the NTESS Program 15 Summary of the Findings of the Employer,s Evaluation instrument,17 PURPOSEOF THE NTESS PROJECT To provide college students with disabilities majoring in technical fields a challenging career-oriented work experience which would lead to further employment at the Goddard Space Flight Center. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS Student/Participant Recruitment and Selection Participants souqht The type of participants sought were students with severe and profound disabilities with 2.8 or higher grade point averages (GPA) from Gallaudet University and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who are majoring in mathematics, physics, computer science and electrical or mechanical engineering. We were seeking to enlist four students from Gallaudet and four from other Universities. The recruiting brochure is also in Braille, and the recruiting video-tape is voiced, captioned, and signed. Actual Participants Institutions represented Eight students with severe disabilities participated: two were from Oregon State University, one from University of Maryland at Eastern Shore, one from Rochester Institute of Technology, and four from Gallaudet University. Ethnicity Three students were Hispanic, one was Asian-American, one was Africian-American and three were caucasian. Gender Six of the eight participants were men and two were women. Disability status All students had severe disabilities. Two participants had complete paralysis due to spinal cord injuries. They were wheelchair users and had partial use of their hands and fingers. Five participants were deaf. One participant was both hearing and vision impaired. 1 Academic standing Seven of the eight participants had GPAs of 3.00 or higher. The one participant who had a GPA lower than 3.00 was chosen based on her references, the degree of the disability and/or underrepresented minorities. Five participants are seniors, one is a junior, one is a sophomore and one is a graduate student. Majors Two participants had double majors: one was majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics and one listed his major as Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. One participant was majoring in Computer Information Science. One participant was majoring in Computer Science. One was majoring in Physics. One was majoring in Mathematics. Two were majoring in Engineering: one in Mechanical Engineering, and one in Electrical Engineering. Mechanisms used * A Project Coordinator was hired who had previous experience as a faculty sponsor and as an academic coordinator with NTESS students. As a faculty member of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Gallaudet, she had some knowledge of the academic subjects as well as experience directing learning objectives, holding group and individual meetings, evaluating learning and awarding academic credits. * A Center for Career Proqrams (CCP) Coordinator was assigned who worked with the technical/scientific majors from Gallaudet. * At Gallaudet, the CCP Coordinator identified eligible students. Other students were identified by contacting HBCUs and other colleges and universities to establish contacts with programs for students with disabilities and/or with mathematics and science departments. Brochures and letters were forwarded to the colleges' and universities' mathematics and science departments as well as programs for students with disabilities. Rationale for makinq participation mandatory/voluntary? N/A, this is a voluntary program. There is no way to design it otherwise, as it involves students from a number of colleges and universities. 2 Outcomes and explanations/recommendations We were successful in identifying four deaf students from Gallaudet who had strong academic background in their majors. Four students with severe disabilities from other universities were identified and enlisted. Twenty-two students from Gallaudet and other colleges/universities applied and ten were selected for phone and/or personal interviews. Identification of students with disabilities at HBCUs remains difficult. Offices offering services to students with disabilities are not well established at the HBCUs with the exception of University of the District of Columbia, Howard University, and Coppin State College. Even with the considerable time needed to identify all the possible offices and programs where contact with students with disabilities in technical areas is likely, such as technical academic departments, co-op programs, and other special interest programs, identification of qualified, students with disabilities is unsatisfactory. Since the number of students meeting the program requirements is small, early recruitment efforts are essential. Recruitment efforts began earlier this year, using the contacts established this year and the last two years, as well as members in several professional organizations, such as the National Capital Association of Cooperative Education (NCACE) and the local chapter of AHSSPPE (Association on Handicapped Student Service Programs in Post Secondary Education). Identification of qualified applicants improves each year. Scheduling Eight students were selected and their resumes, reference letters, applications and transcripts were sent to Goddard at least one month before the program started. Of the eight students, seven were placed with a mentor and/or supervisor at NASA at least a month before the program started. As recommended from last year's NASA NTESS final report, the deaf students from Gallaudet visited Goddard and met their mentors at least two weeks before the program started. An NTESS orientation was scheduled the day before the summer internship started. All eight interns attended this orientation meeting at the Seven Springs Village Complex in College Park, Md. In addition, two staff members from the Equal Opportunity Programs' office, one staff member from the Center for Career Office, and two sign language interpreters attended this meeting. An 1% hour visual gestural workshop was conducted on June 3, 1995, by a professional staff member from the Gallaudet's Department of Sign Communication and a faculty member from the Department of ASL at the Catonville Community College. More than 70 summer interns and a large number of coordinators and mentors attended this workshop. It was well received and educational. Supplies The necessary supplies and advertising brochures were quickly obtained. The time allotted for the various activities during the summer and sequencing of the events were satisfactory. Facilities, Accessibility, and Transportation Goddard Facilities The facilities were acceptable, although the interns generally shared minimal space with other interns and/or employees. All students had access to computers. All students had access to the electronic mail system at Goddard. Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf(TDDs) were provided for the hearing impaired students and their mentors by the Equal Opportunity Programs" office (EOP) at Goddard. Visual phone signalers were provided for the hearing impaired students. The computer lab and offices were accessible to the wheelchair users. Sign language interpreters were also provided for various intern-mentor meetings as well as division and/or section meetings. Housinq Facilities For the duration of the project, all students lived locally. Five students lived at the Seven Springs Village Complex along with the other summer NASA interns. One student lived in an accessible apartment at the University of Maryland's College Park campus. Two students lived in the local area and did not require the housing accommodations provided by Seven Springs. Transportation Seven Springs is located less than 12 minutes from Goddard Space Flight Center. A wheelchair accessible van provided by Goddard Space Flight Center was employed for this purpose. 4 Staff and Administrators The Project Director and proposal author is the Director of the Center of Career Programs (formerly the Experiential Programs Off Campus). It was her responsibility to hire the staff, oversee the project, develop recruiting materials, oversee budget, analyze the results, and review the final report. She hired individuals for the following positions: * A Project Coordinator to recruit, interview and select participants, handle the academic and logistic aspects of the program, make contact with HBCU administrators, hold weekly group and individual meetings with the student interns, make contacts with the mentors and the staff members of the EOP office at Goddard, hire interpreters for meetings and the closing ceremony program, direct students' learning objectives, handle evaluations and award academic credits, and perform daily trouble shooting and problem solving. * A CCP Coordinator to recruit, interview and select students from Gallaudet University, provide guidance and counseling support to the four Gallaudet participants as needed. * Secretarial assistance: to type forms including Personnel Action Forms, evaluations, letters, and various mailings. Order supplies, prepare bi-weekly payroll for student participants and staff and assist on the budget. * Interpreters were requested and scheduled as needed. The staff size was adequate to carry out the aims of the project. The Director met and/or made contact via the campus electronic mail system with the project coordinator an average of four to five hours weekly. Collaboration As a result of the project, NASA and Gallaudet collaborated in the following ways over the summer: * All summer programs collaborated for a culminating awards picnic. * All students and their mentors had access to electronic mail via the Gallaudet VAX and/or Goddard's VAX. 5 Site visits developed * One field trip and various lectures, seminars, and meetings were arranged by Goddard for the project participants. Your institution's involvement Gallaudet University was involved in the project as follows: Gallaudet Interpreting Services provided interpreters when needed. The student participants, staff members of the NTESS project, and employees of Goddard were able to utilize the electronic mail system. The University provided space, phones, desk, equipment, and initial supplies for the Project Director, CCP Coordinator, Program Coordinator, and Secretarial Assistants. Gallaudet's accounting department cut the checks and paid the students on a bi-weekly basis and handled other grant transactions. CURRICULUM AND MATERIALS PLANNING How were subject areas decided upon? Participants recruited by the CCP and Project Coordinator offered varied technical skills and, through contact with EOP Specialists at Goddard, were matched to positions accordingly. After participants were matched with positions, review of the placements, meetings with supervisors/mentors and initial group meetings with participants enabled the Project Coordinator to determine common needs for instruction. Individual training needs of participants were determined by the supervisors who planned the task assignments. To meet academic credit requirements, additional learning objectives and strategies were planned by the four Gallaudet participants and by the participants who enrolled as Special Visiting Students at Gallaudet: the two Oregon State University participants. The students were provided guidelines by CCP staff and required to develop "Learning Contracts" which met the approval of their supervisors and the Project Coordinator. They identified their learning objectives, strategies to achieve these objectives, how they would be evaluated, and any additional readings and assignments that would be required. The Project coordinator met with students individually and as a group to develop the Learning Contracts. Bi-weekly meetings of the Project Coordinator with the supervisors/mentors, and weekly meetings with the students provided additional feedback on training gaps. One student from Rochester Institute of Technology received academic credit from his school for his participation in NTESS. Goddard personnel developed a series of Seminars which addressed topics of interest for all summer program participants. Who developed and/or selected the materials? Was there any use and documentation of educational software which proved effective $or tarqeted populations? The Project Director selected the materials for the initial supervisor workshop given to Goddard staff, mentors and/or supervisors. Many of the materials used were developed by Gallaudet University's Center for Career Programs. Initial meetings of participants and mentors with the Project Coordinator identified FORTRAN and C++ training as the only common training needed. The students were able to learn on their own from written manuals and by working with their mentors on the job. The deaf students were unable to use the FORTRAN videotapes provided by the ITC, because they are not captioned. All student participants received on site orientation and initial training by their supervisors before tasks were assigned. Standard NASA/Goddard training materials were used. Goddard personnel also developed the materials used in the Summer Program Seminars. How were they developed/selected and why were they considered especially appropriate for this population? Materials used by supervisors for individualized training of participants were selected by Goddard personnel. These materials were primarily standard manuals and NASA specifications typically used by other Goddard employees. Because they were in printed form, the deaf participants could also make use of them. 7 Written instructions were supplemented by interpreted sessions between deaf participants and their supervisors. Unique features (e.g. low cost) or evidence of unusual effectiveness. Electronic Mall newsletters The Project coordinator developed a weekly VAX newsletter to keep all participants up to date on activities, lectures, and meetings. Non-Work Related Activities The NTESS participants socialized with each other, with other program participants and with Goddard employees. A baseball game at the Orioles' Camden Yard, field trips to Potomac Mills, White House, Washington Monument, Viet Nam Wall, Baltimore National Zoo, Children's Hospital, lunch and dinner outings were arranged by the program coordinator and participants. PARTICIPANT/PROJECT MONITORING AND EVALUATION Project Evaluation The Project Coordinator had on-going meetings (personal contact and/or electronic mail correspondence) with the students and their supervisors/mentors. Students completed a "self evaluation" form near the end of the program on which they provided feedback about their experiences. The coordinator also participated in the Goddard orientation, and assisted students in developing appropriate learning contracts. The coordinator also met with the Project Director, as needed, to provide an overview of program activities and any problems needing attention. Additional monitoring was accomplished through the assignment of Goddard mentors to participants. The monitoring identified problems and training needs, and provided helpful subjective information. Evaluation Plan Evaluation was primarily accomplished through consistent monitoring of the program by the project administrators, review of participant responses on their self-evaluation instrument and the responses on the mentor's evaluation of his/her student intern. 8