1 Establish a welcoming learning environment
Why is this important?
Establishing a welcoming environment is critical to student engagement and academic performance as emotions and learning are deeply connected. In a welcoming environment, students feel safe and understand that all people are treated with respect and dignity. For students with disabilities, feeling welcome means being able to fully and independently participate in all activities as equal members of the class instead of being “accommodated.” While strategies in this section will not entirely eliminate the need for individualized accommodation (e.g., a personal support worker, ASL interpreter, or Deaf/Blind intervener), they can help students feel comfortable to discuss and meet their learning needs.
Here are two things you can do to create a welcoming learning environment for students with disabilities:
Include course orientation modules
Providing an orientation of the course is a great way to communicate course expectations, help students quickly find key information, and offer explicit directions about how to proceed through the course[1]. This can be of particular value for students who have disabilities (e.g. learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder) or personality traits and learning preferences that lend themselves to a need for structure and clear expectations. The course orientation is also where you can build students’ excitement and motivation about your course.
Create a dedicated orientation module(s) in your course on eCentennial, with information that:
- Introduces yourself as the professor
- Describes how the course connects to student’s overall learning journey in the program,
- Describes how the skills or knowledge they will learn in your course will help them on the job following the completion of the program,
- Provides students with a clear opportunity to meet with you to discuss their learning needs,
- Describes any technology students will need to complete the course activities, and
- Outlines other supports and services available at the College for student success
Use course templates
Using course templates is a helpful method of organizing your content in a logical manner best suited for online/distance-learning making the course layout easy for both you and your students to navigate through the course materials. An explicit and well-organized online course layout allows learners to access course content quickly, easily and with less confusion and frustration. Templates can also help you create accessible content that is optimized to use and read in online learning environments.
- UDL On Campus: UDL Syllabus http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/planning_syllabus ↵
An individual who supports a students' individual activities of daily living (e.g. toileting, eating, escorting students to school and between classes).
The Interpreter's role is to facilitate communication between American Sign Language (ASL) and English so students can interact fully with key stakeholders (e.g. peers and instructors).
Intervenors act as the students 'eyes and ears' by using modified sign language techniques (e.g. close contact and/or tactile) to communicate.
