{"id":178332,"date":"2016-08-25T16:20:27","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T20:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=178332"},"modified":"2016-08-25T16:21:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T20:21:24","slug":"teaching-the-teachers-about-learning-disabilities-178332","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/teaching-the-teachers-about-learning-disabilities-178332\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching the teachers about students with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

As an education development specialist, Indrani Singh often hears from teachers who aren’t sure how to accommodate students with disabilities.<\/p>\n

What the teachers don\u2019t realize, Singh says, is that improvements made for those students benefit all students.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptioning, for example, isn\u2019t only beneficial for students who are hard of hearing, it\u2019s good for students for whom English isn\u2019t their first language,\u201d she says. \u201cWe also know from cognitive research that the best way to absorb information is to receive it in two forms at the same time. To see it and read it has a bigger impact for anyone, disability or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singh recently joined colleagues Jenny Hadingham and Amy Wight from the University\u2019s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning<\/a><\/strong> to teach a six-week synchronous online course called “Disabling Difference in the STEM Classroom.” The course was taught through the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning<\/a><\/strong> (CIRTL). CIRTL is supported by a National Science Foundation grant that encourages the development of future faculty ready to support diverse learners in their classrooms. The University is one of about 50 institutions that are part of CIRTL\u2019s national network.<\/p>\n

Hadingham, Singh, and Wight launched the non-credit course for graduate students, and new academic staff and faculty across the United States, promoting the inclusion of disability as a component of diversity in the college classroom. Through readings, videos, podcasts, and asynchronous classwork, they taught 19 students from universities such as Yale, Iowa State, and Vanderbilt. There were a handful of students from California, and one from Canada.<\/p>\n

Disabilities can be visible or invisible, such as a student who is deaf or has Attention Deficit\/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking in disability services, I see first-hand the lack of awareness surrounding disability, and the frustration many students with disability experience,\u201d Wight says. \u201cAbout 11 percent of students have a disability, yet few faculty have backgrounds or formal education in disability instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trio used the guiding principles of the Universal\u00a0Design for Learning, a framework for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly practical way of adapting one\u2019s classroom practice to include as many students as possible,\u201d Hadingham says. \u201cOur class participants realized that small tweaks could have massive impacts. They had the opportunity to try them out themselves and were amazed at how effective they could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The language used by teachers is also crucial, Hadingham says.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of talking about a \u2018dyslexic student,\u2019 we should talk about a student who would require additional time for reading texts,\u201d she says. \u201cThe former is a judgment, the latter not at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there is no script to teaching a student with a disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers will come in and say, \u2018Just tell me what I need to do for a student with ADHD,\u201d Singh says. \u201cBut not every student with ADHD is the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singh says many students who have reached out to teachers in high school try to \u201cgo it alone\u201d in college and don\u2019t let their professors know their needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day of class, the teacher should say, \u2018If you need any accommodations, come and talk with me. I\u2019m happy to work with you,\u2019\u2019\u2019 Singh says. \u201cWhen we say a person is disabled, they are disabled because of the system we\u2019ve created.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hadingham, Wight, and Singh would like to teach the course through CIRTL again but also hope to implement it into the University community.<\/p>\n

Changes in disability resources<\/h2>\n

Amy Wight recently was named assistant director of disability resources in the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. She says her focus in the new role will be working with Arts, Sciences & Engineering faculty to create courses that are more accessible.<\/p>\n

A new access assistant, Anne Staab, is charged with coordinating accommodations involving tests. Two access coordinators\u2014Pamela Spallacci and Elizabeth Carpenter\u2014will continue to facilitate other academic accommodations.<\/p>\n

For assistance or questions about accessibility, email\u00a0disability@rochester.edu<\/a>. More information about disability resources is available at\u00a0Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning website<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three colleagues from the University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning joined forces this summer to teach a nationally available online course on supporting and teaching students with disabilities in the college classroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":178422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5326],"class_list":["post-178332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-disabilities"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTeaching the teachers about students with disabilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three colleagues from the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning joined forces to teach an online course on supporting college students with disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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