The Influence of a Blind Professor in a Bioengineering Course

Abstract

Although there is increasing literature on blind and visually impaired students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), there is a prevalent gap in the literature regarding STEM educators who are blind or visually impaired. This account aims to partially fill this gap by presenting the methodology and implementation of teaching by Dr. Mona Minkara, a blind bioengineering professor, as well as the tangible outcomes of this approach. We discuss the efforts taken by Dr. Minkara and a team of access assistants to develop accessible methods for teaching a largely visual course, including the use of assistive technologies, such as alternative text, braille, and text-to-speech software. Outside perspectives from teaching assistants, access assistants, and students are also discussed. Student feedback was collected in an end-of-term survey and analyzed to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. Evidenced by student feedback on their experience, we demonstrate that Dr. Minkara's visual impairment altered student perceptions about blindness in education and led to a more interactive and engaging learning environment for her students. This evidence also shows that students were overwhelmingly in support of more blind educators in STEM. We present this account and share our developing toolbox to demonstrate that a career in higher education can (and should) be accessible if given the right modifications. Efforts aimed at broadening the participation of blind and visually impaired individuals in STEM education can continue to alter student perceptions and lead to enhanced learning environments, as well as encourage instructors to increase the accessibility of their own teaching.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43683-021-00052-1.

Keywords: Higher education; Inclusivity; Instructional design; Student perception; Underrepresentation.

Figure 1

Example of breaking down possible outcomes for Question 1.

Figure 2

Survey responses comparing students' initial expectations (Question 1) to their experience (Question 2). Responses are grouped by students who knew (solid, bottom) and did not know (patterned, top) that Dr. Minkara was blind prior to the course and colored green, red, yellow, and grey for positive, negative, neutral, and none, respectively.