association for higher education access and disability, , email: [email protected]@ahead.ie the charter...

Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, www.ahead.ie, Email: [email protected]

The Charter for Inclusive Teaching and Learning

INNSBRUCK

Ann HeelanStephen Kennedy


A Socially Inclusive Institution• Higher education must accept that the

implications of offering access to non-traditional students do not end, but rather begin, at the point of entry (Bamber and Tett 2001)


• Societal demands• Paradigm shift• Inputs to outputs: Bologna Process• Teaching to learning• Diversity in student population• Reduced funding

Why?:


Resistance/Barriers• Attitude, the student is the problem• Lack of understanding• Fairness

– “we don’t allow other normal student to use proof readers”

• Responsibility– “ academic departments see it as the responsibility of the

disability office”


Resistance /Barriers• Assumptions and beliefs about teaching• “academic identity”

– Scholar– Researcher– subject

• Impact of disability


Academic Culture• Teaching and learning methods• Academic Culture shock

– Language– Teaching methods

• Relationships/remoteness with staff• Numbers


Charter for Inclusive Teaching and Learning

• Teaching• Learning• Assessment and examinations• Quality Assurance


Teaching

• At a minimum:• The institution provides students with access to course materials, including on-line,

before the lecture where possible, so students can fully engage with the lecture.• Staff use creative and innovative teaching methods and integrate, where required,

the 7 principles of universal design.• Learning outcomes and assessment approaches are clearly stated for all student

courses/programmes.• All academic staff teach in accessible formats. This may require some professional

development in consultation with learning support and disability support services.• The institution provides training and support to staff to further develop expertise

in teaching and learning.

Teaching is implemented in a manner that allows all students to fully take part in all activities and minimises the need for additional adjustments.Staff use information and communication technologies to meet the learning needs of students.


7 principles of universal design• Equitable Use• Flexibility• Simple and intuitive• Perceptible information• Tolerance for error• Low physical effort• Size and space


Classroom as the place of engagement• Active not Passive

– Involvement and choice• Student centred learning

– Meaningful activities– Understanding expected outcomes– Independent learning

• Interaction with staff• Formative Feedback

• Learner AutonomyLiz Thomas Edge Hill University


Learning

At a minimum: • Study skills are a clearly articulated part of the curriculum for all students,

including students with disabilities, and are expressed in course/programme as learning outcomes.

• Students and staff make maximum use of timely, constructive and relevant feedback in the learning process, given that it is a key component of student achievement.

• Students, for their part, engage as partners in the learning process.

Active learning is an integral part of all course provision.Standards of learning are improved through formative assessment and continuous feedback on performance.The curriculum is designed and delivered in a manner that respects that everyone learns in different ways and that learning outcomes can be achieved in many ways.


Assessment and Examinations

• At a minimum:• The institution considers the most appropriate and balanced methods to

assess learning outcomes.• When assessing students’ learning, whether through continuous

assessment or end-of-year assessment, a range of approaches, where practical, are offered.

• The institution offers a choice of assessment, thus reducing the need for reasonable accommodations. (This does not exclude reasonable accommodations identified in an assessment of need).

• The institution provides clear information to students on the assessment methodologies used and the marking schemes employed.

• The institution provides students with timely information on assessment, when and how, and in an accessible format. This also provides for any extraordinary accommodations to be put in place.

Assessment and examinations are student-centred, flexible, transparent and fairThe assessment methodologies match the stated learning outcomes.


Choice of Assessment Methods

• Empowers Students• Reduces the need for special accommodations


Choice• “The choice was good to have as some people

don’t do well with just one final exam and are better suited to continuous assessment”

Dr. Geraldine O’Neill, 2005 Student Centred Learning


Student voice• Seek feedback on teaching methods• Student Suggestion box• Ensure they understand the learning

outcomes, what is expected of them


Quality Assurance

At a minimum:• The inclusion of students with disabilities is embedded

within existing quality assurance procedures, with a code of good practice to guide implementation.

• Each institution captures the voice of the student with a disability and actively uses that voice to effect improvements.

Institutions have quality assurance procedures that capture the voice of all students including students with disabilities and those from other minority groups.


Strategies for Implementation• Institutional change needed

– Student engagement– Assumptions and perceptions

• Top down and bottom up– Importance of senior staff– Visible enthusiasm– Shared understanding of inclusion– Act as a role model


Contd..• TIC Principles ( Trinity College)

– Think beyond disability – good for all students– Buy in from senior staff– Be a resource to teaching staff– Take a whole college approach– Provide tools and templates– Provide templates and checklists

• [email protected]


Question

1. What engages the student?

2. What positive teaching and learning initiatives include all students?


References• Improving student Retention in higher education,

2009, Liz Thomas Edge Hill University UK• O’Neill, g, McMahon t 2005 Student –Centred

Learning: What does it mean• Rose and Shevlin 2010, Count me In, Ideas for

actively engaging students in Inclusive Classroom• [email protected]


Thank You

[email protected]@ncirl.ie

www.ahead.ie

association for higher education access and disability, , email: [email protected]@ahead.ie the charter...

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