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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Folks,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Dr. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Alfred D'Agostino gave a talk to our 2022 Science and Engineering / National Association of Blind Students seminar on Sunday February
27, 2022. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">He is now asking for our experiences while we were taking chemistry courses.
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">He has studied methods of teaching chemistry to blind students for much of his professional life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">If possible, please answer his two questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Regards<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Louis Maher<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Phone: 713-444-7838<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Email: <a href="mailto:ljmaher03@outlook.com">
ljmaher03@outlook.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Alfred D'Agostino
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><a href="mailto:adagostino@ndm.edu"><span style="color:#467886">adagostino@ndm.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">Sent:</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"> Friday, June 14, 2024 3:18 PM<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">I am collecting information from students who are blind or have low vision about barriers and experiences they have encountered in studying chemistry.
(At the end of this e-mail, I have provided information about myself.( Would you please strongly and thoughtfully consider providing responses to the below questions? After I review initial responses, I will issue a survey to help categorize responses and
collect more information.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">You may respond to me directly and / or to the whole-mail list. You may use the following e-mail:
<a href="mailto:adagostino@ndm.edu"><span style="color:#467886">adagostino@ndm.edu</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">Alfred T. D’Agostino, PhD.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">Emeritus Professor of Chemistry<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">(FYI, I am blind and non-visually conduct my work and professional activities. I am interested in promoting changes in how chemistry is taught
to students who are blind or have low vision, and in promoting advances in adaptive/ assistive technologies in chemistry instruction)
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">1( Would you please describe your First-hand account of the barriers you have encountered in your study of chemistry at the college / university
level. That is, in the in-person and online / virtual environments, and especially in the laboratory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%">2( In considering your experience in taking chemistry courses and laboratory in any setting), what method, tool, innovation, would have helped
you learn chemistry more effectively?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Alfred T. D’Agostino, Ph.D. - Professional Biography
</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Outreach in Non-Visual Accessibility</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Dr. Alfred D’Agostino’s personal and professional activities overlap his interest in promoting accessibility in
science lab instruction for blind/ low-vision (BLV) students. Dr. D’Agostino non-visually conducts his professional activities; he completed the C.O.R.E. Program at Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees).
He is a reviewer for Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research. He is a member of the Digital Accessibility Advisory Board at his institution. Dr. D’Agostino has given many professional talks on the topic of accessibility for the blind; including Communicating
in equations and formulas: Symbolic representations and challenges in the online environment to the Maryland Distance Learning Association, and a plenary presentation to the CLEAR International Symposium on Practical Approach to Accessible Chemistry Instruction
for Blind and Low-Vision Students. In 2021, he published Accessible Teaching and Learning in the Undergraduate Chemistry Course and Laboratory for Blind/ Low-Vision Student in the Journal of Chemical Education. He has facilitated ‘hands-on’ chemistry experiments
for college students and adults at National Federation of the Blind’s Louisiana Center for the Blind and at the Colorado Center for the blind using ‘speech-enabled’ probe ware. He has supervised undergraduates in his general education courses in service-learning
projects on hands-on chemistry experiments with blind school-age children. In 2016, Professor D’Agostino held a Symposium at the Biennial Conference on Chemical Education titled “accessible instruction and participation in the undergraduate science course
for students with vision impairment or loss” and he presented “Making General Chemistry laboratory accessible to blind/low-vision students” at the 2018 conference during the Symposium on Addressing Underrepresented Groups in STEM. He hosted “Including the
Blind in Chemistry: Making Instruction Accessible” symposium at BCCE 2022. At conferences where he presents to faculty colleagues, he highlights the access technologies (including tactile graphics) that can assist BLV students in doing independent work in
the least restrictive learning environment. </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Impact in Higher Education</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Alfred T. D’Agostino, Ph.D. served as a full-time faculty member for 23-years at Notre Dame of Maryland University. In June 2017, he was awarded the rank of Emeritus Professor of
Chemistry upon retirement. he was Chemistry Department chairperson (15 years), and Biology Department Chairperson (2 years) and he has served multiple times on all major academic and governance committees over a 40-year career in academia at several universities
including University of South Florida (two PH.D. students), University of Maine and Rutgers University. Professor D’Agostino has taught chemistry to non-science majors, students in radiological science and pharmacy programs, nurses, and to majors and graduate
students; his specialty areas are in physical and analytical chemistry, including research in surface science and interface analysis. As a teacher, he uses active teaching and facilitated learning practices and methods. He has used POGIL (Process Oriented
Guided Inquiry Learning) in his courses including the physical chemistry classroom and laboratory; he has used service-learning in his general education chemistry course and has directed undergraduate research as an ACS REU co-PI. His scholarship is in the
areas of pedagogy and learning assessment - his investigations have involved the relationship among instructional methods, assessment instruments, rubrics, learning mode and outcomes in chemistry courses. Professor D’Agostino is continuing his teaching and
study interventions at Community College of Baltimore County – projects include how online student interaction can be used to improve problem-solving skills and how student metacognition feedback may be used to assist students in improving study habits. He
is also engaged in the Teaching Squares program and in the Student Success Center. Some of his recent and upcoming presentations have been at Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons, Biennial Conference on Chemical Education Maryland Distance Learning
Association, AFACCT, MCSC and MAALACT. Presentations have included Communicating With Formulas and Equations: Symbolic Representations in the Online Environment. He has given roundtables and workshops on improving science writing using group interaction
and peer review, outcomes assessments and collaborative learning. Professor D’Agostino participated in workshops on reflective teaching and on the use of education cards to inform teaching at International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
conferences.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Experimental Research</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;text-indent:.5in;line-height:105%">
<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Dr. D’Agostino’s research has been in the areas of surface science and interface analysis. He held a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. He has been an AFOSR
Faculty Research Fellow at Wright Laboratory. As a NASA Faculty Research Fellow, he performed research at the John Glenn Research Center and at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. D’Agostino has been a Visiting Research Professor in chemistry at Johns Hopkins
University where his research was supported by an NSF ROA and published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry. His current research involves learning pedagogies.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:105%"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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