Students with disabilities
All your students will be different, and some will have specific disabilities that will require you to give them special consideration in your teaching. These can include: visual impairment, reduced mobility, impaired hearing, learning disabilities, and health-related disabilities.
It can be difficult to clearly assess what kind of accommodation an individual student with a disability requires. This is best done by the Office for Students with Disabilities, who can help you and your students to identify specific considerations and courses of action. They can, for example, arrange for exams and quizzes to be printed in Braille or a film to be captioned; they can also make special exam accommodations for students and provide tips on how to lecture effectively when there is a hearing or visually impaired student in the class.
Below you will find examples of teaching techniques that benefit all students, but are especially useful for students who have disabilities (based on resources from DO-IT at the University of Washington at http://www.washington.edu/doit/)
Classroom
- Select course materials early so that students and the Office for Students with Disabilities have enough time to translate them to audio-tape, Braille, or large print.
- Make syllabi, short assignment sheets, and reading lists available in electronic format (e.g., disk, electronic mail, web).
- Face the class when speaking. Repeat discussion questions.
- Write key phrases and lecture outlines on the blackboard or overhead projector.
Laboratory
- Take the student on a tour of the lab he/she will be working in. Discuss safety concerns.
- Assign group lab projects in which all students contribute according to their abilities.
- Arrange lab equipment so that it is easily accessible.
- Give both oral and written lab instructions.
Examination and Fieldwork
Some students will require extra time to transcribe or process test questions; follow campus policies regarding extra time on examinations. Contact the Office for Students with Disabilities for specific details and guidelines.
- Consider allowing students to turn in exams via electronic mail or diskette.
- Attempt to include students with disabilities in field work opportunities, rather than automatically suggesting non-field work alternatives. Include special needs in requests for field trip vehicle reservations.