Equal Access: Inclusive Strategies for Teaching Students with

UndergraduateK-12 Education

National Center for Women & Information Technology

PROMISING PRACTICES

Equal Access: Inclusive Strategies for Teaching Students with Disabilities (Case Study 3)

Recruiting and Retaining Women through Inclusive Pedagogy

More students with learning and physical disabilities are in the

educational pipeline than ever before. Being aware of the issues,

tools, and services for students with disabilities makes it easier for

them to learn and for you to teach them. Below is a summary of

tips from Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction, a resource

provided by DO-IT(Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and

Technology) at the University of Washington. DO-IT’s mission is to

increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities

in challenging academic programs and careers, including science,

engineering, math, and technology.



IT at the K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and career levels.

This case study describes a research-inspired practice that may need further

evaluation. Try it, and let us know your results.

Authors



NCWIT Strategic Partners: National Science Foundation, Microsoft, and Bank of America

NCWIT Investment Partners: Avaya, Pfizer, and Merck

RESOURCES

Burgstahler, S. (2010). Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction, University of

Washington. The communication tips shared above are used with permission

of DO-IT.

Sevo, R. (2011). Basics About Disabilities and Science and Engineering Education.

Georgia Institute of Technology.

http://www.washington.edu/doit/

http://www.washington.edu/doit/Resources/technology.html

http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/index.php?vid=12

HOW CAN YOU ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS



Make sure that assistive technology can be made available

in the computer lab.

Invite students to meet with you and discuss disability-

related accommodations.

Ensure physical access to all facilities.

Arrange instructional spaces to minimize distraction and

maximize visibility and comfort.

Ensure that everyone can see and use equipment and

materials safely and effectively.

Learn campus procedures for accommodation requests

(e.g., arrangement of sign language interpreters).





General

Ask a person with a disability if he or she needs help before

providing assistance.

Speak directly to the student, not through his or her

companion or interpreter.

Refer to a person’s disability only if it is relevant. Always

 mentionthepersonrstandthenthedisability.“Amanwho

 isblind”isbetterthan“ablindman”becauseitputsthe

 personrst.

Avoid negative descriptions of a disability. For example, say

 “apersonwhousesawheelchair,”not“apersonconnedto

a wheelchair.”

Never interact with a person’s guide or service dog

without permission.

Blind or Low Vision

Bedescriptive.Say,“Thecomputerisaboutthreefeetto

 yourleft,”not“Thecomputerisoverthere.”

Verbally describe all of the content presented with overhead

projections and other visuals.

Offer persons with visual impairments your arm rather than

grabbing or pushing them.

Learning Disabilities

Offer directions or instructions both orally and in writing. If

 asked,readinstructionstoindividualswhohavespecic

learning disabilities.

Mobility Impairments

Position yourself at the approximate height of people sitting

in wheelchairs when you interact.

Speech Impairments

Repeat what you think you understand and then ask the

person with a speech impairment to clarify or repeat what

you did not understand.

Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Face people with hearing impairments so they can see

your lips.

Speak clearly at a normal volume.

Use paper and pencil if the person who is deaf does not read

lips or if more accurate communication is needed.

Ask students in groups to raise their hands when they speak

so that their deaf peer knows who is speaking.

When an interpreter voices what a student who is deaf signs,

look at the student, not the interpreter.

Psychiatric Impairments

Provide information in clear, calm, respectful tones.

Allowopportunitiesforaddressingspecicquestions.

“Thesecommunicationhintswillhelpyougetstartedina

conversation with a person with a disability. Every situation

isunique,sobeexibleandwillingtolearn.”

Richard Ladner, University of Washington Department of

Computer Science and Engineering

UndergraduateK-12 Education

Authors



National Center for Women & Information Technology

PROMISING PRACTICES



with Case Study 3



Visit www.ncwit.org/practices to nd out more.

RESOURCES

Eisenhart, M. & Finkel, E. (1998). Women’s science: Learning and succeeding from the margins. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Hiemstra, R. (1991). Aspects of effective learning environments. In R. Hiemstra (Ed.), New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education (pp. 5-12). San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass.



Both the physical and the social aspects of a learning

environment inuence student participation and

satisfaction, as well as learning itself. For example, when

students’ seatsareboltedto theoor facinga lectern,

student collaboration can be inhibited.

An important aspect of a classroom learning environment

is the communication climate. When instruction is

mainly lecture-based with few or no opportunities for

interaction, students have little expectation that they

will, can, or should learn from each other. Under these

circumstances students may resist different teaching

methods such as student-led discussion or small group-

work. Studies show, however, that with effective teaching,

small group-discussion enables students to effectively

internalize and apply interpretive procedures. Hearing

other students talk about the concepts being taught has

manybenets.Especiallyimportantinthisprocessare

the supportive relationships and the network of learning

partners students can develop. So, despite the years

of socialization and expectations that students (and

instructors) bring with them, new routines can quickly

develop into new norms.

Physiology is important, but learning occurs within social

environments, and it is mediated by the communication norms

of those environments. As NCWIT Social Science Network

member Margaret Eisenhart and colleague Elizabeth Finkel

wrote, learning develops when one “changes from novice to

expert, newcomer to old-timer, or naïve to mature practitioners

in a social practice such as the activities of a science curriculum

or an engineering workplace” (p. 8).

Decreasedcondenceamongwomenisafrequentlyrecurring

theme in STEM and IT research. Women are more likely than

men to lose condence in their ability to complete the tasks

required for earning acceptable grades, even when their

performance is equal to males’. This loss of condence can

resultfromthesuggestionthatwomendonotttheimageof

“scientist”or“engineer.”Weknowthatstudentsandprofessors

maintain mental models of the types of people who belong

and what they can or should contribute. For example, two

studies in engineering showed that despite entering their

engineering majors with stronger academic preparation than

their male peers, women were often considered less capable

academically, or even described as “not the real engineering

type.” Not surprisingly, women in these studies eventually came

to view themselves in the same way, resulting in either dropping

out or practicing on the margins in their project groups. With

repeated (and often subtle) messages that one is not like

the other students—not as smart, not interested in the same

activities,nota“real”computingmajor—itbecomesdifcultto

imagine oneself developing the identity of a computer scientist.

Classroom opportunities for holding intellectual conversations

can help to alleviate the loss of condence among women,

while allowing them to develop support groups and networks

of intellectual support. Hearing other students talk about what

they are learning gives women better information for making

judgments about whether they in fact do belong there. And,

other students hearing women’s intellectual talk forces them

to recognize that women are competent contributors to the

intellectual enterprise.

Despite the years of

socialization and expectations

that students (and instructors)

bring with them, new routines

can quickly develop into

new norms.

NCWIT Strategic Partners: National Science Foundation, Microsoft, and Bank of America

NCWIT Investment Partners: Avaya, Pfizer, and Merck