Sight unseen: This teacher brings science to life for blind students
| Watertown, Mass.
During a classroom visit at the Perkins School for the Blind here in Watertown, Carla Curran shares 3D models of microscopic phytoplankton, 5,000 times their original size, with a lively group of teenagers.
鈥淒id you know that the tiniest organism can influence an entire food web?鈥� she says.
The students consider this as they run their hands over the grooves and crevices of the small white models, learning the parts of a dinoflagellate Alexandrium cyst, which creates harmful algae blooms. Dr. Curran asks the teens to describe what they feel.
Why We Wrote This
Those who learn differently may bring important perspectives and insights to the table. Carla Curran is working to ensure that visually impaired students have an opportunity to make contributions in the scientific realm.
鈥淟ike a mouth that never opens,鈥� says one student, smiling.
The observations lead to conversations about how the ocean affects people, from the availability of seafood to the government鈥檚 role in preserving healthy ecosystems.
For more than 22 years, Dr. Curran has taught hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, most recently as a professor in marine science at Savannah State University in Georgia. But over the past six years, her role as a regular guest educator at Perkins has led to her most influential work.
She has engaged more than 100 Perkins students in multisensory exercises designed to make difficult scientific concepts more interactive and accessible. It鈥檚 an approach aimed at boosting inclusivity and retention among students when it comes to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects.
鈥淐arla鈥檚 work definitely has had a positive influence on our students,鈥� says Kate Fraser, a longtime science teacher in the secondary program at Perkins. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen an increased interest in science by all [Perkins] students ... hoping to find jobs after high school in science-related fields ... and [I] know of former students who went on to college and now work in technology-related fields.鈥�
Ms. Fraser considers this a 鈥渨in ... as there is still hesitancy by employers to hire persons with disabilities.鈥�
About 70% of working-age adults in the United States who are completely or partially blind do not have full-time employment, reports the National Federation of the Blind. There鈥檚 a significant lack of representation in STEM-related fields.
For Izzy Primeau, a recent Perkins graduate, the gradual loss of her peripheral vision hasn鈥檛 stopped her from pursuing a career in science, thanks in part to Dr. Curran鈥檚 teaching methods. Ms. Primeau recently won the Young Conservationist Award from Zoo New England and is now studying animal care at Becker College in Leicester, Massachusetts. She credits Dr. Curran鈥檚 activities with building her confidence and knowledge.
鈥淟earning science through other senses means you don鈥檛 have to rely solely on vision,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t helps you remember and understand concepts better if you can feel models and build graphs.鈥�
In a review of educational practices conducted by Stanford University, one highlight was a study from New York, which found that the 鈥渉ands on aspect [of environmental education] is an equalizer [for K-12] students with a variety of learning styles and learning abilities.鈥� In that study, students who engaged in hands-on activities demonstrated higher achievement levels.
An invitation, then inspiration
Dr. Curran became involved with Perkins after an invitation from a colleague to participate in a project focused on science accessibility for visually impaired people. Working with Perkins students furthered her interest in taking a more inclusive and creative approach to teaching.
鈥淭heir desire to learn and engage me when I presented the science, despite numerous obstacles and often a lack of technology, is deeply inspiring,鈥� says Dr. Curran, who visits Perkins several times during the academic year. 鈥淚 continue to learn so much from them.鈥�
Her passion for fostering diversity and inclusivity stems from her own experiences facing discrimination as a woman in science.
鈥淒uring my entire university experience, I only had two female science professors,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople would occasionally make dumb blonde jokes or comments like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 a pretty good idea for a girl.鈥� These are things I don鈥檛 want my students to experience.鈥�
Her work is motivated by a fierce desire to inspire and encourage young people 鈥渢o stay in science. ... I saw how hard students struggled with reading graphs and tables because a lot of the technology that translates this information doesn鈥檛 do so effectively,鈥� she says.
Dr. Curran鈥檚 innovative approach extends beyond the classroom. Working in tandem with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Amy Bower, a physical oceanographer who is visually impaired, she facilitates whale watching and trawling trips out of Gloucester as part of a Perkins outreach program. Students help dredge up ocean creatures, such as sea urchins and crabs, which they observe through touch in a seawater-filled tank and then carefully release back into the sea.
The students also participate in activities involving 鈥渟onification,鈥� which translates data points into sound instead of visual graphs. Listening to the audio recordings of numerical charts, they detect patterns in fluctuating fish populations, ocean currents, and seasonal effects.
Perkins students are well positioned for such studies. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 see very far underwater,鈥� Dr. Curran notes. Instead, she says, 鈥淪cience uses sound to study the ocean. Through sonification, Perkins students can hear the data speak. Some didn鈥檛 know this was an option.鈥�
She also points out that students 鈥渉eard things that I didn鈥檛 hear.鈥�
Such educational opportunities are also deeply valuable to Dr. Bower. 鈥淎s a visually impaired scientist myself, I know how quickly blind students can be left out altogether in school science labs,鈥� she says. The kinds of sensory experiences offered by these ocean expeditions 鈥渂ring science alive for all students, sighted or not.鈥�
A life-changing lesson on whales
Isabella Scott, another recent Perkins graduate, says her Woods Hole experience was life-changing, since she 鈥渄idn鈥檛 really think about pursuing a career in science as a possibility before meeting Dr. Curran.鈥�
Now a biology major at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, Ms. Scott recalls a fateful boat trip involving a lesson on whales. After placing an underwater microphone into the ocean, Ms. Scott and her peers could hear only ship engines. Dr. Curran explained that the whales鈥� ability to hear each other 鈥� which is how they communicate and hunt together 鈥� was negatively affected by the noise of human activity.
鈥淏eing on a boat and doing this activity reminded me of just how important it is to become a scientist and help animals,鈥� Ms. Scott says. 鈥淓veryone should experience science the way Dr. Curran taught us.鈥�
In the past year, Dr. Curran has traveled to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind multiple times, presenting her multisensory activities in science classes. She also led a marsh expedition for 30 visually impaired eighth and ninth graders.
鈥淛ust because people have different ways of learning doesn鈥檛 mean they aren鈥檛 hungry to learn,鈥� says Dr. Curran, who notes, 鈥淢y teaching at the university level now incorporates these sensory-based activities. Students from all backgrounds enjoy using 3D models and learning through touch and sound.鈥�
Embracing inclusive approaches that connect more students to science is also crucial in addressing global challenges like climate change.
鈥淒iversity in science benefits everyone,鈥� Dr. Curran says. 鈥淚ncluding people who think differently will actually accelerate the process of coming up with solutions to serious concerns like climate change. We must bring them to the table first.鈥�
