Reducing language obstacles that Deaf students face when developing scientific competencies

People who identify as Deaf or Hard of Hearing (Deaf/HoH) are highly underrepresented in research. Among the reasons for this disparity is the fact that Deaf/HoH students face significant obstacles to advancing in STEM including issues in accommodations, self-advocacy, and establishment of a support system. Our Momentum Fund Teaming project will develop and test a novel technology that supports Deaf/HoH students while learning biomedical topics using material available on the internet including educational videos, scientific articles, and websites. We hypothesize that interactively linking highly visual material to specific terms and phrases in existing online learning materials will improve students’ topic comprehension. Our long-term goal is to develop a scalable technological intervention that is effective at reducing the language barriers Deaf/HoH students face when developing scientific competencies.