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Inclusive and Intercultural Learning

How can I promote inclusive learning in my teaching?

See three ways below to promote inclusive learning in your teaching

Multiple means of engagement involves stimulating motivation and enthusiasm for learning by promoting a variety of ways of engaging with all learning resources including fellow students and teachers. 

  • Plan an induction to the module/programme that includes opportunities for students to get to know one another and the teacher(s) and to become familiar with the learning outcomes, teaching and learning processes, and assessment strategies of the module/programme. For a very interesting case study in keeping first year students motivated and engaged for the first semester see Chapter 3: Navigating Semester One: A Roadmap for First Year Undergraduate Students.
  • Consider having a visual organiser for each module that shows clearly what will happen in each class and what students are expected to do before, during, and after each class. Take a look at this sample visual organiser for one of the University Teaching and Learning modules.
  • Provide students with a variety of modes of engaging with learning materials with shared attention in class including sharing individual written reflections or drawings, pair work, and group work.
  • Promote motivation and enthusiasm for learning by introducing some elements of choice e.g. topic and media used in group presentations.
  • Design activities that are hard fun, that combine a high level of challenge and hard work with connection, creativity, enjoyment, and fun (Barrett 2017).
  • Encourage students to see assessment as learning by discussing what and how they will learn from preparing for and completing assessments and how some assessment tasks are authentic professional tasks. 
  • Encourage students to include everyone in group work. Do this by teaching them practical strategies for including one another. For example, show students the video below. 

 

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Multiple means of representation involves teachers and students presenting content in a variety of ways to support the understanding and development of students with different learning preferences, abilities and disabilities.

  • As teachers, use a variety of ways to present knowledge including clear presentations, storytelling, technology, visuals, videos, graphs, and charts.
  • Use accessibility checkers on all learning materials before uploading them to the VLE (Brightspace).
  • Provide accessible digital learning materials including slides in advance of classes to allow students to consult them before class or to download alternative formats.
  • Use clear language and define new terms when they are first used.
  • Encourage students to use a variety of media including writing their own summaries, mind maps, Padlet, debating, visualisations, visual metaphors, and models to facilitate the development of their knowledge and understanding. See Chapter 11: Debating: How to advance students' communication abilities for a very interesting case study.
  • Share some of these learning resources created by students with the whole class. 

Multiple means of action/expression involves offering variety and choice  to students to demonstrate their learning.

Let’s be clear, inclusive assessment is not about easier assessments, its aim is to assess students equitably, and for them to achieve and demonstrate all aspects of their learning with as limited a hindrance from their personal circumstances as practical. 

Kneale and Collings, 2015, p.1

  • Clarify the purpose, structure and format of the assessments together with the assessment criteria and any associated rubrics. Consider doing this not only at the start of the module but at other stages of the module also. For more about using rubrics see the showcase Assignment Rubrics for Supportive Feedback and Consistent Grading, Designing Grading and Feedback Rubrics and Creating a Rubric in Brightspace.
  • Provide a variety of assessment types to facilitate all students demonstrating their learning. However, ensure that students have opportunity to become familiar with any new assessment types.
  • Consider providing a choice of assessment types within a module e.g. presentations, concept map or poster. For ideas on choice of assessments see A Practitioner's Guide to Choice of Assessment Methods within a Module
  • Provide specific education and resources for students on how to do different assessment types e.g. exams, MCQs, presentations, group projects.   
  • Consider providing sample assignments from previous years that received good grades marks and discuss with the student why they achieved these grades good marks.
  • Plan to use formative self-assessment and peer review/assessment as milestones towards preparing for the final faculty marked summative assessment.
  • Give constructive and timely feedback. Encourage students to also use this as feedforward to use for future assessments.
  • Involve the students in designing the detail of the assessment, assessment criteria and/or rubrics   
  • Consider a reduction in students’ assessment load to allow more time for students to engage with the assessment task.
  • Authentic assessments can support students engage in assessments based on real-world tasks, this assessment can be more meaningful.
  • Scaffold assessment to support students, guiding this on how to complete the assessment e.g. how to write an essay, how to complete a group project, etc.

Student Voice 

It is helpful when the lecturer makes it exceptionally clear what’s wanted from an assignment, group project etc.

We really need classes on how to approach group work and presentations.

Action

3. While reading the short Top Seven Tips for Inclusive Module Design consider

  • Which of these inclusive strategies are you already using in your teaching?
  • Which additional strategies do you plan to use that would make a difference to your students’ inclusive learning environments?

4. From the Table of Contents of Inclusive Assessment & Feedback Universal Design Case Studies from IADT and UCD pick a case study that you are drawn to and read it with a view to getting ideas for your own inclusive assessment and feedback practices

5. Write a plan for making your assessments in one module more inclusive.

Learn More

For more case studies on inclusive assessment, see: 

Padden, Lisa, Tonge, Julie, Moylan, Therese and O’Neill, Geraldine (Eds) (2019)  Inclusive Assessment and Feedback: Universal Design Case Studies from IADT and UCD. Dublin: UCD Access and Lifelong Learning.

References