[nabs-l] question about college Labs (Anthro, biology, Physics, chemistry, etc.)

[Arielle Silverman]

Hi all,
Since I majored in biology, I took two bio labs for majors and two
chem labs. You can see if you are able to get a lab assistant.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most labs are done in
pairs or groups. Also, at least in my classes, visual observation was
really a pretty minor part of the lab. Most of the work was developing
and testing specific hypotheses, which is something you can totally do
as a blind person simply by applying your book knowledge. You can
engage your partner or group in a discussion about what you are seeing
in order to develop your hypothesis, which helps the whole group. For
example, in one bio lab we were asked to observe a bunch of crickets
in a terrarium for a while and then come up with a testable hypothesis
about their behavior. I asked my partners to describe verbally what
the crickets were doing. Through this discussion, we noticed that the
female crickets would make physical contact with other crickets more
than the males did. We eventually designed an experiment to see if
altering the gender composition of the terrarium would influence the
number of times one cricket jumped on another, and I think we found
that indeed, such events were more common when there was a higher
percentage of females. While I relied on my partners to tell me what
was happening with the crickets, I was still an active participant in
the hypothesis generating, designing the experiment, recording the
data and writing the lab report. While I don't know details about
anthropology, I think most lab activities can be handled in
collaboration with your lab partners. You can offer to pick up more of
the recording, calculating or writing duties if you are in fact
relying on your partners a lot for description. If, however, you would
prefer to use your own reader or if the labs are individual rather
than group assignments, that option is fine too. Your disability
office may provide someone, or you can select a reader and bring that
person with you into the lab.
Best, Arielle

On 12/11/14, Mikayla Gephart via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I am only in high school, but I have my aide help me and describe
> observations to me. However, I try to get my partners to assist in
> descriptions, but they are not always the best.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On Dec 11, 2014, at 2:18 PM, Somaya Tarin via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hello, I am a biochemistry major and most my classes require labs. The
>> disability resource center at my college assigns a lab aid to assist me in
>> the lab invironment. The aid is there to describe for example any changes
>> that take place in the lab like color, help with dissections, measuring
>> chemicals, and other analysis. I would describe to her what to do and she
>> would help me do it.
>> Somaya Tarin
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On Dec 11, 2014, at 11:44 AM, Michael D Ausbun via nabs-l
>>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello Nabs:
>>>   In the spring semester, I will be taking my first required “lab”
>>> course. The specific course is Physical Anthropology, which I have been
>>> told is geared toward the examination of bone structures and teeth of
>>> primates and humans (it may be different at other universities, it is
>>> just this way due to the focus of the professor who is teaching it). My
>>> question is about Labs in general—biology, chemistry, physics,
>>> anthropology etc.—because I will be taking a natural science course next
>>> fall, but if anyone has specifics about Anthropology labs as well, that
>>> would be cool too.
>>>
>>> So, what have been your guy’s experiences in lab environments? Were there
>>> extra accommodations which had to be made to help you succeed? What were
>>> some of the challenges or things which were surprisingly easy for you?
>>> Thanks for all the advice!
>>> Respectfully,
>>> Michael Ausbun
>>>
>>>
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