Historically, Deaf and Hard of Hearing students (D/HH) who solely rely on an interpreter during the organic chemistry lecture courses at the Rochester Institute of Technology consistently performed below the average in the class. The greatest barrier attributed to D/HH student performance is the lack of American Sign language STEM vocabulary. As such, our group worked to address this language void through a deliberate effort to develop insightful hand signs and gestures that convey terminology related to organic chemistry as well as expansions to demonstrate challenging concepts. This presentation will discuss our remarkable findings after the signs were developed and implemented, and the implications signs could have on how we teach all STEM students in the future.<br/>

Our hands as skilled communication tools for conveying organic chemistry

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.