In-class adaptations

In-class adaptations

Introduction

All teaching environments will create barriers for at least some students, is not always possible to eliminate all barriers but it is important to understand them and try to mitigate their impact.

 

Disclaimer

This section includes videos and demonstrations that attempt to replicate some of the experiences that students with impairments might experience. They have been created in conjunction with relevant charities. As the experience of individuals with impairments will all differ considerably, these demonstrations can only offer a slight insight into the experience of being disabled. It would be far better to speak to the students in your class about their experiences as they will be able to give you much more detailed and comprehensive explanation of what they experience than you will get if you were to rely on these videos.

 

Attendance

There are a variety of conditions and impairments that might lead to a student being unable to attend every teaching session; absences might be due to the condition itself or due to the need to attend medical appointments or to have treatment.

Problems might also arise if changes are made to scheduled teaching sessions with little notice. This is sometimes unavoidable, however particular groups of students may find this particularly problematic, for example students with Autism Spectrum Disorders can find change difficult and students with Chronic Fatigue or Chronic Pain may have arranged their timetable to spread out their commitments so as to manage their energy levels and so may find changes difficult to accommodate. Dyslexic students can have poor memories and organisational skills and so forget if there are changes to the regular schedule.

Students with several different impairments may find arriving at the correct location at the correct time for their taught sessions difficult. It might be difficult some students to arrive on time because of the route they need to take to avoid crowds or because of the time it takes to travel across campus as a result of mobility impairments.

Student quote:

‘I find it difficult to get stuff from the library because of the number of people there. The [construction] works around campus make it harder to access it due to funnelling people.

Seating

Allow students with impairments to sit where they choose in class; don’t insist that everyone sits at the front of a lecture theatre. Wheelchair users and students with other mobility impairments may find it impossible or difficult to use stairs, while individuals who use crutches, or other mobility aids, may find stairs easier than using ramps.

Students with a range of conditions (diabetes, allergies, anxiety, chronic pain, Crohn's disease, colitis) may have to leave a teaching room at short notice, to administer medication, for example. Such students may choose to sit at the end of the row, or at the back of the class, in a lecture or near a door or toilet in a tutorial.

Try to ensure that there are on obstacles in the route between the door and the seating area as student with sight impairments may not see them and trip.

 

This is a video attempting to replicate that it would be like entering lecture theatre with sight loss as a result of glaucoma.

 

Students who use hearing aids may need to sit away from other students, or in a particular part of the room, to limit the interference that mobile phones and other electronic devices cause to their hearing aids. [1] Students who use lip reading may want to sit as close to the lecturer as possible to ensure that they have an unobstructed view of the instructor during the class.

 

Behaviour

Some conditions, both physical and psychological, may have behavioural manifestations; individuals in pain may fidget and be short-tempered, depression might cause an individual to be disengaged and medication might also affect an individuals’ demeanour and behaviour. Other students may find absorbing instructions difficult sometimes taking instructions literally. Other students might find changes to schedules and the teaching environment difficult to cope with.

Some students wear particular clothes in order to help manage the symptoms of their impairment; it might be that need to accommodate medical equipment such as stoma bags or dressings, or it might be that sunglasses, hats or headphones help reduce the sensory overload student would otherwise experience.

Student quote:

When asked what helps you to feel physically comfortable in class one student said “headphones, sunglasses, stress ball all help” ... “Bright lights are stressful but sunglasses help. I've been told that I can't reserve a seat but being able to sit in the same seat makes a big difference - hopefully I'll be able to keep staying in the same seat in future.”

Lectures

When directing students towards further reading or resources, lecturers should ensure that these resources are also accessible (see section on writing accessible teaching material).

 Neurodiversity

Lecturers should explicitly differentiate between times when students are supposed to be taking notes and if/ when they are dictating.

Lecturers should also; read out the content of overheads, describe diagrammatic material, write down new terminology, proper nouns and foreign words (and spell them out) and provide lecture handouts and/ or lecture outlines. This is also vital students with visual impairments. It is also helpful if you can mention which slide you on the PowerPoint presentation because when a visually impaired student is reviewing the class via lecture capture they can identify whereabouts in the lecture notes they are.

If you have to dictate or say something that you expect to be noted down speak VERY slowly (saying not more than 4-5 words at a time) and give plenty of time for this to be written down, spelling out (no more than three letters at a time) any names, numbers or technical words; dyslexic students are likely to have particular problems spelling proper nouns. A dyslexic student may have a very poor short-term memory and may have forgotten the beginning of a sentence before you have reached the end. Equally, speaking slowly when spelling out technical words will ensure that a sign language interpreter will have the time to accurately relay the information.

Try to avoid the use of idioms and figures of speech or explain their meaning, as they cause particular problems for students with ASD. This will also help students who are not native speakers of English.

 

Dyslexia simulation exercise

The following exercise demonstrates one aspect of what is like to be dyslexic. You will need a pen and paper and to turn on the sound on your computer.

When you press play you will hear a recording of a reading of a short piece of text. I want you to make notes on this text using pen and paper as if you were making notes in a lecture.

As you copy down the text you need to replace some of the letters. Every time you would normally write the letter ‘a’ I want you to write the ‘@’ symbol instead, and where you would normally use the letter ‘e’ use the ampersand symbol ‘&’ in its place.

So, you will replace ‘a’ with @, and ‘e’ with &.

Press play when you are ready.

(Source: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ‘The Adventure of the Cardboard Box’ via Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2344/2344-h/2344-h.htm read by Lord Andrew Camsell)

Hopefully, what this has demonstrated is that it’s very difficult to take notes when you have to think about how to spell almost every word you write. You are likely to have also realised that it is very difficult to remember what you were going to write before you got to the end of a sentence.

 

Seminars and Tutorials

Outside of a lecture theatre, there is a greater reliance on two-way communication and so it is important to appreciate that some conditions will impair communication to varying degrees.

If a student has a visual impairment, it will be necessary to explicitly tell the student when you address them, and when you have stopped.

Dyslexic students will be very aware of their language deficiencies and may find reading out loud or writing in front of the class impossibly stressful.

Text can appear to ‘move’ to students with dyslexia so this may mean that it will take students longer to absorb information from slides and handouts.

 

 

Students with dyslexia may also have phonological processing problems which will also cause dyslexic students to take longer to process and absorb ideas and concepts they may be unable to contribute to class discussions and answer question in class.

 

Managing tutorial discussions

Most of the issues that might arise in small group teaching can be resolved by providing digital material in advance, ensuring topic areas are known in advance and by discussion with the students who may require additional consideration.

 

Students with hearing impairments

If a group discussion is taking place, it may be difficult for a student to follow what is said. A student will be able to lip read if it is made clear who is speaking and if the student can see each speaker’s face.

If an interpreter is required, extra time may be required for the interpreter to sign each contribution to the student. Additionally, it may be useful to explain to the group the role and purpose of the interpreter and the beginning of the tutorial.

 

Students with mental health difficulties

Speaking in public may exacerbate a student’s anxiety. A lecturer could consider allowing such a student to prepare a discussion paper in advance instead of speaking in class.

 

Students with speech impediments

It should not be assumed that students with speech impediments are uncomfortable speaking in class.

A student’s speech may not be accessible to the rest of the class. If this is the case, a student may wish to use an assistant, who is used to the student’s speech patterns, to articulate the student’s contribution. Alternatively, a student may wish to write down what they wish to say and have the tutor or another student read this to the class. Students who use a speech synthesiser will need to know the tutorial topic in advance so that they can prepare their response.

 

Students with visual impairments

Students with visual impairments will be helped if they are told: who is speaking at any one time, when a question is directed at them and when the lecturer has moved on to another member of the class.

 

Laboratories

It is of particular importance to help students with visual impairments to navigate busy, cluttered and potentially dangerous environments such as laboratories. Good practice would be to invite such students to the laboratory before the course begins so that they can be shown the layout and possible hazards when the room is empty.

 

 

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References

[1] http://www.hearingreview.com/2011/12/digital-wireless-hearing-aids-part-4-interference/