The second REU site:  TO BE UPDATED

Bilingual ASL-English Summer School in Cognitive and Educational Neuroscience was a six-week intensive interdisciplinary research training program exposing undergraduate trainees to cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging methods. This interdisciplinary REU Site promoted the progress of science by providing high-end training and research experience in several neuroimaging techniques for investigating the mind and brain, all within a fully accessible bilingual ASL-English environment. Through several multi-day workshops, students received hands-on training in four neuroimaging techniques: fNIRS, fMRI, EEG, and psychophysiology by experts in educational neuroscience. Activities ranged from learning the practical aspects of data collection to the basic skills needed for data analysis. Students were guided in processing fMRI, fNIRS, and EEG datasets. Importantly, along with each workshop, students discussed the ethical considerations related to conducting research in neuroscience with historically excluded populations, such as Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing participants. Beyond the workshops, students honed their skills through hands-on research experience in one of the cognitive neuroscience labs in the Ph.D. in Educational Neuroscience (PEN) Program at Gallaudet University by contributing to ongoing research activities. Student presented their lab research work at the end of the 6 weeks. Thanks to their lab mentors and PEN program peers, students received mentoring during their summer school but also expanded their professional network by joining the Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) student network, providing an enduring network of peers within a fully accessible ASL-English bilingual community. 

Out of the six participants supported by the NSF REU grant, four identified as Deaf or Hard of Hearing. However, a larger number of students attended the events as REU-affiliated members. Hosted at Gallaudet University, this REU was uniquely able to support diversity in research and science by training Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students who are typically underrepresented in STEM fields due to systematic language barriers. The REU provided students with critical early-stage research experiences, increasing trainees’ competitiveness in securing more research experience at their home institution, increasing their likelihood of selecting STEM-related courses, and fostering a peer and mentor network essential for retention in academia and research. Overall, appreciation for the REU experience was overwhelmingly positive and beneficial to a group of students who joined the first edition of the REU site experiences.