Simple
modifications in classroom teaching practices could greatly assist college
students with disabilities and help out the rest of the class to boot, in the view
of an Assumption College professor.
In a
guest column for The Chronicle of Higher Education, James M. Lang recounted how his institution invited faculty to
hear a panel of students discuss their various disabilities and what they
needed in the way of accommodation to succeed in their coursework.
For the
most part, the students asked for easy changes that would add little to no time
or cost to an instructor’s lecture preparation and wouldn’t disrupt class
proceedings. Among the requested alterations were: writing larger and more
legibly on whiteboards with black markers (not colors); creating PowerPoint
slides with fewer words in bigger type; and providing PowerPoints or other
materials before or after class so students can review them on their own.
“In
example after example, [the students] described teaching practices that would
have universal benefit in the classroom and that could be adopted without
putting a spotlight on students with disabilities,” Lang noted. “So if I take a
little more time and effort to make my writing large, legible, and organized on
the whiteboard, I am going to help the student with visual impairments—but I’m
also going to help everyone in the room take better notes on our discussion.”
Lang
suggested that faculty “should take the diversity of learners into
consideration up front as we design our courses. And if we do, we will need to
make fewer accommodations at the request of specific students, because
inclusive design practices help all learners succeed.”
