McREL News Room

Colorado School of the Deaf and Blind and McREL create new science materials for visually-impaired students

May 19, 2004

Aurora, Colo. — The Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind (CSDB) and Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have launched a new series of exemplary science materials for visually impaired students.

Funded through a NASA Initiative to Develop Education through Astronomy and Space Science (IDEAS) grant, these Adapted Curriculum Enhancement (ACE) materials are designed to translate leading-edge science from NASA’s Genesis mission into teacher guides, student activities, texts and tactile learning materials for visually impaired students.

The first module in the series, the Evolving Universe, focuses on the origins of the universe. Students study tactile models of specific features of the present universe to gain a better understanding of the difficulties of conducting science on large time and distance scales by indirect observation and inference. Like true cosmogonists (scientists who study the origins of the universe), they work backward from contemporary models of the universe to envision a reasonable initial state of the cosmos. These materials are available online at http://www.ace-education.org.

CSDB and McREL worked closely with scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory to ensure accuracy of the science content for Evolving Universe.

“McREL is committed to the making a difference in the lives of all students,” said McREL’s President and CEO Tim Waters. “So we are extremely pleased to be able to work with the dedicated staff at CSDB to translate the work of top NASA scientists into learning opportunities for visually impaired students.”

Science teachers interested in field testing these materials in the fall should contact Dr. Donna Bogner at dbogner@mcrel.org for more information.

Learn more about NASA’s Genesis mission at http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/.

Other tactile science projects and resources may be found at http://www.tactilelearning.org/.

The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind is a state-funded school within the Colorado Department of Education. The school was established for the purpose of providing comprehensive educational services for children who are blind and/or deaf and under the age of twenty-one. Services are provided directly to students enrolled at the school and indirectly through outreach services, which are provided to the public schools throughout Colorado.

McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality, field-tested, research-based products and services available in PreK–16 education.