Assessing educator willingness to implement adaptive STEM education during a NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium Professional Development

The purpose of this study was to conduct research within the NASA Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium (OKSG) Professional Development (PD) titled “Creating Large Stem Engagement Events for your School or Organization with an Emphasis on Accessibility.” Specifically, the goal was to answer the question: How does immersion in hands-on activities with adaptations for those with special needs affect an educator’s understanding of inclusion and equity within aerospace education endeavors and their willingness to implement such adaptations into aerospace-based curriculum/ STEM engagement events to ensure they are accessible for all learners? This study used a mixed methods approach which combined both quantitative and qualitative data obtained through a written research questionnaire and on-line focus group. Twenty-one public and private educators from the state of Oklahoma who have taught grades Pre-K-12 for a variety of years (ranging from one to 24) in a variety of locations (urban, suburban, and rural) and in a variety of classroom settings (self-contained, single subject, Maker Space/STEM) participated in this study. Within the quantitative data, there was a significant increase in their agreements with statements after the PD versus before the PD concerning accessibility as it pertained to their understanding of how to apply modifications to hands-on STEM activities to make them accessible to all learners, their ability to identify a variety of adaptive tools to use with hands-on STEM activities which allow the activities to be accessible to a variety of students with special needs, having received training in implementing practical modifications within hands-on STEM activities, their comfortableness modifying hands-on STEM activities so that they reach a variety of students with special needs, and their belief that STEM careers are possible for all students. The qualitative data delved into a deeper understanding of the quantitative data by revealing the participants’ awareness of the change in their willingness to implement practical modifications within hands-on STEM/aerospace endeavors for all learners due to an increased understanding of the tools/modifications available which are simple and easy to replicate. This data also revealed that the participants believe these types of PDs should be experienced by all educators and implemented by schools/other organizations for the benefit of all students.