Creating Accessible Teaching and Support

Our classrooms are microcosms of the diverse society in which we live. The aim of inclusive teaching is not to dilute standards or change content, but to adopt a teaching style that accommodates a diversity of abilities, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles and needs. This approach acknowledges that students with disability may learn differently, but are not less academically capable.

Inclusive teaching recognises the social context of disability and encourages a flexible approach that anticipates diversity and uses it in the curriculum.  Examples of inclusive teaching include:

• providing reading lists before classes start
• positioning yourself where you can be seen by everyone
• using a variety of teaching methods
• making lecture notes available before lectures
• clearly identifying key ideas in lectures and assignments
• drawing on the students’ own experiences
• being flexible with assessment methods
• setting clear expectations.

Approaches to teaching which assist all students to learn include: 

• Making sure students know what and how they are expected to learn: that is, they are told or can accurately work it out for themselves. This can be done by:
  • previewing new topics and showing how the new material fits in with other parts of the subject
  • making explicit what you expect students to learn from a lecture or tutorial
  • summarising the main points of a topic and making clear how that topic will be assessed
• Integrating instructions on how to learn with teaching content
• Designing the workload so that students have time to reflect on what they have learned, to see how it fits in with their previous learning and experience, and to work out what they will need to learn next
• Helping students see the relevance of their learning to broader personal and vocational goals. Provide opportunities for students to relate what is taught in class to their own experiences and values
• Demonstrating your interest and enthusiasm for your subject. Your students will better appreciate the intellectual challenge if you relate your teaching to your research interests and activities
• Providing adequate feedback on how students are progressing with their learning, particularly in regard to their learning goals
• Assessing students’ learning in line with what they thought they had to learn
• Providing opportunities for students to learn how to deal with assessment tasks before the final assessment

The learning requirements of students with disability should be established soon after enrolment to ensure, as far as possible, that the student is able to complete the course. The student should be involved at every stage of this process.

Although students are not generally required to disclose a disability, you are expected to take reasonable steps to identify any support needs.

Some students with disability will identify themselves to the university prior to enrolment and necessary support can be quickly arranged; in other cases, a student may be more reluctant to disclose their disability.  Often a student's disabilities may not be obvious and so you may not realise that the student has a disability.  This is where inclusive practices are very useful

If you think a student might have a disability that is impacting their studies, you may wish to ask the student whether there is anything that you can do to ensure they are able to complete your course.  You could also offer the assistance of the disability service. Remember that it is the implications of the disability or health condition in your course/unit that are important rather than the impairment itself.

Once the implications of the student's disability have been clarified you can discuss any adjustments to the course design or delivery that may be required.

In the context of inclusive teaching practices which enhance the learning of all students, it is often useful to know more about the impact on learning of particular impairments in order to better meet the needs of students.

Remember that it is the implications of the disability or health condition in your course/unit that are important rather than the impairment itself.

CATS includes an outline of the impact of particular impairments on learning and suggests some specific teaching strategies in the impairment-specific strategies section.

Ensure that the core requirements of the course/program are clearly stated. This makes it easier to determine the reasonableness of any accommodations that may be required.  You should not lower academic standards of the course/unit in order to accommodate the needs of any student but you may need to be flexible in relation to the way in which the program is delivered or assessed.

Find out more about the implications of a particular impairment and appropriate teaching or support strategies and discuss with the student any adjustments or support that may be required. For guidance as to what is expected of you and the student, see the Rights and Responsibilities fact sheet.  It may be prudent to keep notes of any discussions to minimise any possible misunderstandings later in the student's course.

Discuss proposed adjustments with the student or contact the disability service for assistance in negotiating a more suitable accommodation, if this is required.

Always consult regularly with the student to see whether the adjustments are proving to be effective and whether there have been any changes in her/his condition that may require revision of the arrangements.

When offering advice about educational pathways and future employment, you are not required (or legally permitted) to act as a “gate keeper” to the workforce. It is unlawful under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) for a university to refuse to admit a person to a course on the basis that the person is unlikely or unable to gain work because of their disability. A qualification may lawfully be withheld if the person’s disability means that inherent requirements of the profession or trade cannot be met (DDA section 19), but educational authorities are not permitted to pre-empt this.

Because of your knowledge of the profession you may be aware of limitations of opportunities for students with disability. Remember that technology is constantly evolving and may enable these limitations to be overcome. 

However, if you have concerns that a student is unlikely to get a job in a particular profession, it is useful to discuss this with them and provide information that can help them make an informed decision about their future. The disability service may also assist the student to meet their career goals, and may know of other students with disability working in their chosen field – there are many case studies (see below) illustrating the professional versatility and diversity of people with disability.

Staff should be aware that it is unlawful under the DDA to refuse to admit a person to a course on the basis that they are unlikely to be able to gain employment because of their disability.

Do not try to “counsel” a student away from their chosen career path: this may be seen as discriminatory. In the transition to employment, it is up to the student to negotiate appropriate work accommodations with the employer.

The key issue for you to determine is will the student be able to complete the core requirements of the course. It is important to ensure that course requirements and expectations are clearly documented as it may be necessary to consider reasonable adjustments to the program to enable the student to participate on an equitable basis.  You should not lower academic standards of the course/unit in order to accommodate the needs of any student but you may need to be flexible in relation to the way in which the program is delivered or assessed.

If the student is unable to fulfil the core requirements of the course after reasonable accommodations have been made it may be reasonable in these circumstances to reject the student's application. Remember that it is not illegal to discriminate if this is done fairly but you must demonstrate that you have consulted with the student, considered all possible adjustments and sought expert assistance in coming to a decision.