Proactive Strategies for Creating a Classroom Environment Inclusive of People with Disabilities
At the University of Wisconsin - Madison, it is the responsibility of the student to request accommodations for disability. Students should contact you within the first three weeks of class with their requests. However, needs for accommodations can come up at any time that will require your involvement. Understanding you responsibilities and rights as an instructor can help you deal with these needs effectively and in a timely manner. This year, an Access and Accommodations Resource person will be appointed from the faculty for each department. Find out who that person is and refer questions to him or her as they arise. Also:
- Become familiar with the McBurney Disability Resource Center
The McBurney Disability Resource Center coordinates services for students with disabilities. Although you may provide accommodations for students with disabilities on your own, it is advisable to work with McBurney recommended processes. Doing so takes you out of the awkward position of deciding for yourself which accommodations are needed and fair.
Students requesting services from McBurney go through an extensive process that allows the center to recommend and provide appropriate accommodations. First, students meet with counselors to discuss their needs and after reviewing professional documentation, the Accommodation Specialists at McBurney determine appropriate academic accommodations. Students are then provided with letters or VISAs (Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations form) outlining the accommodations to present to their professors and instructors. Approved accommodations may include: alternative testing recommendations, taped textbooks, notetaking services, paratransit, library paging, etc. Some of these services are provided by you, others the professor and others by McBurney or other campus resources. See faculty #1143 for details on alternative testing accommodations.
- Provide information needed for accommodations
You will not always know if you will have a student with a disability in your class until the first day. If the student's disability is hidden you may find out later or may never know. Many accommodations such as taped textbooks (used by students with visual impairments and those with learning disabilities), alternative testing and notetaking require a lot of planning to implement. A little advance planning on your part will save everyone headaches later on. You can facilitate this process by making it a policy to always provide the following information your syllabi: complete bibliographic information (including texts used, page numbers, specific sections of anthologies); exam, presentation and assignment due dates; information on reserve materials; reading packets (including when and where students can purchase them), and recommended reading. Realize that last minute changes can produce major scheduling problems for students with disabilities, McBurney staff and volunteers.
Include a statement urging self-identifying students who require academic adjustments for disability (or religious holidays or other special needs for that matter!) to see you ASAP during office hours to discuss accommodations. In this discussion you should focus on clarifying who is responsible for which parts of the accommodations. Keep the discussion to the topic of clarifying the accommodations. Resist any urge to fulfill curiosity on other aspects of the students' disability.
- 3.Be creative and flexible
Most accommodations are east to provide and your flexibility and creativity can make a big difference in the success of students with disabilities. Also, many accommodations are also useful to students without disabilities, just as a ramp into a building or curb cut facilitates mobility for many people. Some ways to make your teaching more accessible may include: providing handouts of key points from lecture or discussion; speaking clearly (do not talk facing the chalk board); planning several ways at assess student work (combination of written and oral communication, objective and critical skills); and avoiding having class outside on nice days (this may prove to be difficult for students with various disabilities to sit on the ground, or students may have allergies, etc.).
Above all, keeping lines of communication open between you and your students with disabilities can help you avoid potential misunderstandings or conflicts. Following are some other suggestions requiring flexibility:
- You may have interpreters or helpers animals in class. If an interpreter is present, address yourself to the student, not the interpreter. Interpreters and helper animals may seem distracting at first, but as time goes on, they will be less of a novelty and will become part of the class.
- Think about ways to include students with sensory impairments in class. If you are unsure of how to make a class exercise accessible, ask the student outside of class. It is likely that he or she can think of ways to adjust the exercise or assignment.
- Be aware that many students with mobility impairments often have difficulty with transportation. Encourage students who are excessively tardy to discuss the problem with you as soon as possible.
- Be sure your classroom is physically accessible. Note that many buildings that are technically wheelchair accessible may be very inaccessible to people with mobility impairments that do not use wheelchairs. If you need to change a classroom for yourself or for a student, make sure you understand exactly what sort of classroom the student needs and then ask your departmental secretary to arrange for a change. Often exam sites are not accessible. Check out the room ahead of time (or ask the student to check) to be sure that it meets the needs of the student (and you).
- Include Discussions of Disability in your classroom
If appropriate, include discussions of disability representations or issues in your class.