NFB EQ for Teachers: A Nonvisual & Accessible Engineering Curriculum

The word "STEM" appears over several math and engineering-related doodles.

NFB EQ for Teachers is a free, online curriculum and collection of resources for educators who want to teach NFB EQ, the National Federation of the Blind’s week-long engineering program designed for blind and low-vision youth.

The National Federation of the Blind has always been an innovator when it comes to education, technology, and access. We believe that STEM learning should be accessible for all, including blind and low-vision youth. As our world is evolving to become more and more digital, we discovered a need to create a version of our popular NFB EQ curriculum that is digitally accessible, free, and publicly available. In other words, an online, Open Educational Resource (OER) that allows educators to access the NFB EQ curriculum remotely — from anywhere.

The correct citation for this curriculum is:

Shaheen, N. L., Goodridge, W. H., Lopez, S, Anderson, P., Cunningham, A., Nietfeld, D., (2023, April). NFB Engineering Quotient Curriculum. National Federation of the Blind. https://nfb.org/programs-services/education/national-center-blind-youth-science/nfb-eq/nfb-eq-teachers

NFB EQ is part of NFB’s Spatial Ability and Blind Engineering Research Project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1712887. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

About NFB

NFB is the oldest and largest organization of blind people. Founded in 1940 and currently headquartered in Baltimore, NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, and divisions in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Through our network of blind members, we coordinate many programs, services, and resources to defend the rights of blind Americans, provide information and support to blind children and adults, and build a community that creates a future full of opportunities.

We have produced science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs for blind youth nearly every year since 2004. These programs, with support from universities, federal agencies, and STEM employers, have been facilitated with blind youth of various ages on university campuses, museums across the country, at the NFB Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, and have even been adapted for remote-learning experiences. While the format has varied, the core values have remained the same: a fundamental understanding that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

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Introduction to Drawing

Intermediate Drawing & Drafting

Engineering Drafting & Multiview Drawing

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Forming Foundations

Fun with Forces

Columns of Calculation

The Roof System

Forces in a Roof