What would you like to start doing based on the things we’ve talked about today?
Use bullet points more consistently instead of text, especially in emails to students! I use them in the Canvas course– i.e. have a weekly overview page with a bullet point list of all activities for the week, but might be a helpful strategy in email communication as well. It’s hard to keep track of everything in a paragraph so bullet points or numbers are really helpful.
Feedback is especially helpful for new assignments to you, ones you haven’t used before to improve them.
Say the most important thing first (e.g. due date/deadline) and then give them the information around it. Keeps info from getting buried.
Work further on the idea of listening carefully.
Do a perception check more frequently and provide additional communication to try to figure out what is going on.
Explore using the TILT template; adjust how I describe assignments.
Further explore the cultural nuances and context as they relate to the classes that I teach.
Explore the further use of “simple instructions”, maybe with more white space, related clip art or something.
Use the TILT template for more assignments and pay more attention to how disabled individuals describe themselves.
What would you like to stop doing?
Not all of my lectures are captioned, and most free programs can’t transcribe the vocab/terminology very easily. I wish I could find a way to do it that would work better.
Using euphemisms.
What are you already doing that’s working well for your students?
3 math lessons in a week – first click on the week, then each lesson has a file for note-taking, Canvas page with lesson, link to assignment page, link to textbook. This allows more organization and makes it easier for students to find things.
Explain to students how YOU have organized the modules and how you would approach the learning for the week – when to do reading, how to take notes, how to approach assignments. They can then modify that strategy to fit their own needs/style.
Post survey halfway through the quarter – “How can I help?” including “is there a change I could make that might be helpful for you now? For future classes?” This lets students know you are open to feedback/ideas.
Ask people to identify their terminology, depending on the individual.
Making the documents you use an accessible format (for students who use Text-to-Speech software).
Captioning videos; We have worked out how to offer captions for everyone.
Use design tools and accessibility checkers in Canvas. Secret set of keys to click to access these.
In live settings, letting people know in advance what will be asked and the order they will be asked to respond.
Having an organized Canvas with links, being more flexible with deadlines, allowing students to choose their assignments, and cleaning up closed captioning in Panopto.
Did you have any “ah-ha” moments that will inform your teaching going forward?
“When my accessibility needs are met, I am not functionally disabled.”
“When we talk about age, people make a lot of assumptions, including about those who are of an older age or a non-traditional age. The idea of assumption-making.”
“When my access needs are met I am functionally not disabled” from the video, it shows how much about a culture is unspoken and has variable rules.
Terminology that is considered acceptable.
Different ways of expression: thinking about loudness, sounds, side conversations and how that can be disruptive. Other classroom management issues as well.
What are examples from your teaching that you routinely use to support neurodiverse students?
We set our own deadlines and create our own tasks.
Being transparent and interjecting my story.
Everyone has a 72 hr grace period after the due date assigned by the instructor (didn’t work to have people choose a due date). I’ll add a due date for a specific student if it’s outside the 72 hr grace period.
Everybody gets notes, this makes it more accessible for everyone and less stigma for those who cannot “hide”.
Have an index card, 3”x5”, handwritten as a memory aid during the exam.
Group discussion on advice for future students.
When it comes to teaching, if you learn something from a presentation, write a letter about the impact of it and forward it to that person. They can have it included in their portfolio.
Turning on Live Transcripts on Zoom.
Have a person who does live captioning (professionally).
In what ways do you plan to enhance your STEM course(s) in order to promote higher levels of engagement and learning among neurodiverse students?
Taking best practices from trauma-aware and mental health-aware teaching principles and applying them to neurodiverse students.
As a math instructor, it is a difficult question about demonstrating knowledge. I would like to dig deeper into that topic.
I would like to explore further the idea of encouraging students to be flexible, adjust for different learning and working styles, and demonstrate learning in different ways in a science lab.
For group work, thinking about expectation setting and context for students. I would like to improve ways to do community building in the class and in group work.
Explore creating cohorts for working together, and utilize the cohorts and changing of cohorts as areas for student growth in social skills.
Working on establishing a safe space before working on growth edges or pushing students. Create environments where students feel safe enough to take on some discomfort.
Continue to work on having the presence of mind to intervene in the moment in a manner that is accepting and honoring the task at hand.
Adding something light in the middle of a stressful situation such as an exam.
What are examples of strengths and unique perspectives that neurodiverse students bring to the STEM college classroom and the STEM discipline?
In STEM we need new solutions. Different thought processes and perspectives bring in new thought processes which can lead to new ways to identify solutions.
Sometimes when students have a certain goal, they’re more dedicated to their studies. If they face a challenge, their goal can push them to find ways to overcome that challenge for themselves and others.
STEM has historically been dominated by cis white males, while studies show that diversity makes for finding better answers.
Help students understand that they have the power/ability to figure out what works for them; I can’t tell them exactly how they can master info but I can provide tools; try and see what will work for you. Students learn they don’t have to come with all the answers; the more diverse perspectives the more rich the exploration of learning and processes.
Toughest critics can be STEM faculty.
Are there specific resources or opportunities academic units can provide to STEM faculty to improve the success of neurodiverse students?
Cutting-edge and reliable technology resources for increasing accessibility, such as in communication courses.
Resources for designing learner objectives and assessments to be more inclusive of multiple modalities of demonstrating learning.
What are Different Sensory Inputs in Educational Settings?
Presence of other students in the classroom.
Lighting and temperature of the environment.
Ambient noise (from electronics, other background sounds).
Mask-wearing requirements.
Lack of non-verbal cues when the speaker is wearing a mask.
Side conversations, tapping, gum-chewing and other behaviors.
Smells (e.g. white board marker fumes).
Noise of writing on a blackboard or white board.
Zoom rooms: Need for new clear rules (e.g. attending class while driving, eating/changing clothes, putting on makeup on camera. etc.)
students or faculty not turning on cameras
lack of muting leading to background noises
distractions from virtual backgrounds, or people disappearing into/reappearing from virtual backgrounds
slow internet access causing sound to freeze or get distorted, or drop participants from the meeting entirely
What Strategies are There to Create and Incorporate Age/Developmentally Appropriate Visual Supports in the Educational Setting
We need to avoid “walls of text” and ensure that the information is balanced. If it’s important for students to remember, provide handouts.
Allow for Q&A around the visuals.
There is a lot of visualization in mathematics. You want to make sure the graph speaks to the reader, so good labels are needed, and conveying a good amount but not too much information. Moreover, visualization in STEM is so critical. In the lab, so much of the work is hands-on. There are a lot of drawings so visualizing what they are about to do is important. (e.g. posters, thinking maps, etc.)
One challenge is how to describe many of the math visuals to someone who cannot see them.
One person has helped students create thinking maps as they study and learn, and then reflect on their thinking map (a page with drawings, concepts, connecting lines, boxes, key words) throughout the day. This encourages students to make a new one each day.
