10 Tips to Make Your Course More Accessible and Inclusive to Disabled Students

Mariah Arral

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Conference: 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Start Date: June 26, 2022
End Date: June 29, 2022
Conference Session: Disability, Neurodivergence, and Sense of Belonging in STEM: Equity, Culture & Social Justice in Education Division Technical Session 5
Page Count: 17
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41768
Permanent URL: https://strategy.asee.org/41768
Download Count: 934

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Mariah Arral Carnegie Mellon University

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Mariah Arral is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Her Ph.D. advisor is Dr. Kathryn Whitehead, and her thesis research focuses on lipid nanoparticle-mediated messenger RNA (mRNA) delivery. Mariah obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire and did her Honors thesis with Dr. Jeffrey Halpern studying electrochemical biosensors. She has received multiple awards including the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP). Mariah is an openly disabled scientist and has a passion for creating equitable access to education for everyone. During her undergraduate studies, she developed an interest in studying mentorship of disabled individuals and initiated an ongoing research project with Dr. Halpern. In addition to her mentorship research, Mariah enjoys advocating for the disability community.

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Abstract

Ableism is a barrier to accessible engineering education. Although Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates equal access to postsecondary institutions for people with disabilities, there has been continuous pushback. Improvements have been made through laws, research, and activism, but there are still many steps we must take to further the accessibility of education and inclusion of disabled students. Disabled people make up between 13-26% of the US population, but only 6% of undergraduate students, and 7% of doctoral students with an engineering degree (NCSES). This underrepresentation of disabled students in engineering is likely due to a combination of factors. Studies have shown that disabled students face systemic barriers ranging from a general lack of support to negative views from faculty members. Resources about accessible and inclusive education practices related to the disability community are limited, and educators identified this limitation as a barrier to the support process. There is a clear and present need to ensure that support is implemented in our classrooms and that faculty have the resources to adapt their courses to an accessible format. The goal of this paper is to provide a guide to professors and students on accessible education. This guide will summarize resources and findings from both disability and education research into one cohesive space. I will discuss 10 guidelines, as follows: 1) Provide instructor- and course-specific accessibility and accommodations statements, 2) Meet with students privately about their accommodations, 3) Do not ask students to disclose their disabilities, 4) Consider the implications of language used, 5) Apply principles from Universal Design for Learning in the classroom, 6) Proactively provide accessible materials, 7) Upload notes and class slides and/or recordings, 8) Remove attendance requirements, 9) Solicit feedback from students on how accommodations are working in your class, and 10) Include content from those in the disability community in the curriculum. Adopting these guidelines is just the first step in starting to create a more inclusive and accessible educational environment. In conclusion, accessible education for all is within our power, but resources are needed for 1) disabled individuals and 2) educators. This paper provides guidelines and resources backed by disability and education literature to assist in making education accessible.

Key Words: ableism, disability, teaching tips, inclusion, accessibility

Citation
Format

Arral, M. (2022, August), 10 Tips to Make Your Course More Accessible and Inclusive to Disabled Students Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41768

TY - CPAPER
AB - Ableism is a barrier to accessible engineering education. Although Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates equal access to postsecondary institutions for people with disabilities, there has been continuous pushback. Improvements have been made through laws, research, and activism, but there are still many steps we must take to further the accessibility of education and inclusion of disabled students. Disabled people make up between 13-26% of the US population, but only 6% of undergraduate students, and 7% of doctoral students with an engineering degree (NCSES). This underrepresentation of disabled students in engineering is likely due to a combination of factors. Studies have shown that disabled students face systemic barriers ranging from a general lack of support to negative views from faculty members. Resources about accessible and inclusive education practices related to the disability community are limited, and educators identified this limitation as a barrier to the support process. There is a clear and present need to ensure that support is implemented in our classrooms and that faculty have the resources to adapt their courses to an accessible format. The goal of this paper is to provide a guide to professors and students on accessible education. This guide will summarize resources and findings from both disability and education research into one cohesive space. I will discuss 10 guidelines, as follows: 1) Provide instructor- and course-specific accessibility and accommodations statements, 2) Meet with students privately about their accommodations, 3) Do not ask students to disclose their disabilities, 4) Consider the implications of language used, 5) Apply principles from Universal Design for Learning in the classroom, 6) Proactively provide accessible materials, 7) Upload notes and class slides and/or recordings, 8) Remove attendance requirements, 9) Solicit feedback from students on how accommodations are working in your class, and 10) Include content from those in the disability community in the curriculum. Adopting these guidelines is just the first step in starting to create a more inclusive and accessible educational environment. In conclusion, accessible education for all is within our power, but resources are needed for 1) disabled individuals and 2) educators. This paper provides guidelines and resources backed by disability and education literature to assist in making education accessible.

Key Words: ableism, disability, teaching tips, inclusion, accessibility

AU - Mariah Arral
CY - Minneapolis, MN
DA - 2022/08/23
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - 10 Tips to Make Your Course More Accessible and Inclusive to Disabled Students
UR - https://strategy.asee.org/41768
DO - 10.18260/1-2--41768
ER -