Equity in College STEM Education: Advancing Accessible Science Teaching for Students with Hearing Impairments

Students with hearing impairments continue to encounter significant barriers in college science classrooms, where instruction frequently relies on spoken lectures, auditory demonstrations, and rapid verbal interaction. The limited availability of STEM-specific sign language, insufficient multimodal and accessible learning resources, inadequate professional development for college science instructors, and weak institutional and policy support for inclusive practice reinforce these barriers. This position article argues that inequities in science instruction often persist from earlier educational stages into higher education, requiring deliberate pedagogical and institutional responses at the postsecondary level. Drawing on existing literature and instructional practice, the article synthesizes key challenges faced by students with hearing impairments in college STEM courses and outlines evidence-informed strategies to support inclusive science teaching. These include the integration of assistive and captioning technologies, multimodal instructional approaches, the development of STEM-specific sign language resources, targeted faculty training, and strengthened institutional policies. The article concludes by providing guidance for science faculty and administrators seeking to promote equity, participation, and persistence in STEM education.