Developing an
Inclusive
Curriculum
© University of South Wales
Key themes of this session
• What is inclusivity in learning
& teaching?
• Legislative duties
• Barriers to learning and how to
overcome them
• Reasonable adjustments
• Importance of academic
standards
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Inclusivity is:
• To make learning, teaching and
assessment accessible to people
from a wide range of different
educational, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds
• Inclusivity recognises that people
are individuals, each with their own
strengths and weaknesses
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Inclusivity is not only accessibility
• Accessibility:
– Aims to make learning, teaching
and assessment accessible to
disabled people
• Inclusivity:
– Aims to make learning, teaching
and assessment accessible to
people from a wide range of
different educational, cultural and
socio-economic backgrounds
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Inclusivity is not
• About lowering standards.
• More paperwork and hassle
• “Political correctness” or getting
into trouble for using the wrong
words
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Inclusive practice in Learning
Teaching and Assessment
• …is about finding practical, commonsense solutions to remove barriers
that prevent students from
participating and achieving
• Benefits all students, not just disabled
students or “awkward cases”
• Increases retention; improves degree
attainment; enhances academic
standards
• Inclusive practice is good practice
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Inclusive practice in Learning
Teaching and Assessment
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Inclusivity in Learning Teaching
and Assessment
• As lecturers we have a duty
under equality legislation not to
discriminate (directly or
indirectly) or disproportionately
disadvantage students on the
basis of any of the nine
protected characteristics
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Protected Characteristics
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Age
Disability
Gender reassignment
Marriage and civil partnership
Pregnancy and maternity
Race
Religion and belief
Sex
Sexual orientation
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From reactive to proactive
• Up to the 2010 Equality Act
adjustments for individual
students had been reactive –
reasonable adjustments
• The expectation of inclusivity is
to take a proactive approach
• Teaching staff are required under
the Equality Act to anticipate the
needs of their students
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So how do I do this?
• “How can I anticipate the needs
of students I don’t (yet) have?”
• Designing out barriers
• Adopting a ‘Universal Design for
Learning’ approach
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Designing out barriers
• What is essential to the course/module learning
outcomes and what are tangential
• What are the demands of Learning, Teaching
and Assessment activities on students’
capacities:
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Vision and hearing
Speech and language skills
Mobility and dexterity
Concentration and stamina
Cognition and working memory
Social skills and awareness
Race
Sex
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Universal Design for learning
• Provide Multiple Means of
Representation (the “what” of
learning)
• Provide Multiple Means of Action
and Expression (the “how” of
learning)
• Provide Multiple Means of
Engagement (the “why” of
learning)
•
Source: http://www.udlcenter.org/
© University of South Wales
What am I trying to teach?
• If you can articulate what is
essential and non-negotiable, you
will find ways around barriers when
it is possible to do so; and you will
be able to say with confidence and
with justification when it is not
possible
• A clear statement of the limits to
flexibility is an important part of
making a course genuinely
accessible
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An example - a traditional lecture
• Disadvantages the following students:
– Students with visual/hearing impairments.
– Dyslexic students (lack of dexterity – writing
notes while trying to concentrate on what’s
said is a challenge for dyslexic students)
– Students with concentration problems (e.g.
ADHD)
– Students with fatigue issues (MS,
medication, or a long day at work if evening
lecture)
– Students who struggle with English.
– Students who can’t attend the lecture (e.g.
because of illness, disability, work, childcare
responsibilities)
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An example - a traditional lecture
• Addressing the issues
– Provide lecture notes in advance on VLE or
at the start of the class
– Build participation/discussion into the
lecture: keeps students more engaged and
more alert
– Allow students to record your lectures
– Make use of podcasting/lecture capture
• These simple strategies
– enhance students’ learning
– remove barriers that prevent students from
learning effectively or from attending
– increase retention and attainment
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An example - mobility
• A student with a mobility impairment can’t
participate in a field trip to the summit of
Cadair Idris
– Can the course’s learning outcomes only be
achieved by scaling this mountain?
• What are the alternatives?
– Geological features in roadside cuttings, etc
– Alternative fieldwork, e.g. OU’s fieldwork
course for students with mobility and visual
impairments
• Do all the students on the field trip have to
do the alternative option?
– NO!
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What can I do to make my
module/course inclusive
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Anticipate the needs of your students.
Be flexible and adaptable
Be creative
Use common sense
Make reasonable adjustments to
enable a student to participate fully in
the learning/assessments – but better
to do it before it gets to this stage
• If you’re not sure how best to support a
student, then ASK! Ask the student,
ask the Disability and Dyslexia
Service, ask CELT
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Virtual Learning Environments
Digital Learning Environments
(DLE’s)
• meet accessibility standards
like W3C WAI and the Section
508–guidelines
• fit with existing solutions for
accessibilty
• are open to updating
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Creating inclusivity
• Creating an “equally rich
learning experience” for all
students
• Myths and misconceptions
– Inclusive websites are not
attractive
– You can add inclusivity at the end
of the production process
– There is a lack of information
about inclusivity online
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A reading problem …
Tob eornott obe
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How does it look now?
Tob eornott obe
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When using Text
When using text it is important that users
have some element of control in how
they use it.
• Users should be able to:
– Change the font.
– Change the size.
– Change the colour of both the text and
the background.
– Access the meaning of text when
formatting, such as bold or italics, is
removed.
– Access the meaning of text transmitted
in another format, such as an image.
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When using Images
When using images as content it is
important that learners are able to
access the learning intended.
• Users should be able to:
– Access the image when it is
magnified or scaled.
– Access a text or audio description of
what the image signifies in respect to
the intended learning.
– Understand the learning intended
regardless of any information
imparted by the use of form or colour
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Sources and References
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CELT, University of South Wales – Inclusive Curriculum http://celt.southwales.ac.uk/does/ip/
Centre for the Universal Design for Learning http://www.udlcenter.org/
Curriculum Design Guide http://celt.southwales.ac.uk/media/files/documents/2014-0130/CURRICULUM_DESIGN_GUIDE_final_2013.pdf
Equality Act 2010 - http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/legal-andpolicy/legislation/equality-act-2010
Equality and Human Rights Commission http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/
Equality Challenge Unit - http://www.ecu.ac.uk/
Higher Education Academy – project report https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/InclusiveLearningandT
eaching_FinalReport.pdf
JISC Techdis - http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/
University of Sheffield – Inclusive Learning and Teaching Handbook http://www.shef.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.18989!/file/The-inclusive-learningand-teaching-handbook.pdf
University of Wolverhampton – Learning to teach inclusivity project http://www.wlv.ac.uk/about-us/internal-departments/centre-foracademic-practice/projects-archive/learning-to-teach-inclusively/
© University of South Wales
For more information
Contact:
Lyndsey Muir – Senior Lecturer in
Educational Development
lyndsey.muir@southwales.ac.uk
© University of South Wales