Inclusive and Accessible Pedagogy

The process of incorporating accessibility and inclusion into everyday teaching practices leaves many instructors wondering how to put the words and concepts into practice. Access and inclusion cannot be addressed through an additive approach. It is also not a checklist of tasks that is simply completed. When embraced fully, accessible and inclusive teaching is a paradigm shift that fundamentally alters thinking about curriculum, course design, the classroom and campus culture. The resources provide guidance on infusing inclusive pedagogy into your course design:

Recorded webinars

• Universal Design for Learning – Tips for Improving Accessibility and Engagement in College Coursework  (75 min. video) This recorded presentation will provide instructors with strategies to improve engagement and accessibility in college coursework. Through Universal Design for Learning, barriers to traditional instruction are broken down, and instructors build learning activities that provide multiple means of engagement, representation of content, and methods to demonstrate and assess student understanding.
• Honouring Neurodiversity: Planning & Designing for Effective Accessible Learning (60 min. video). This recorded training explores ways of building courses, developing activities, and creating assignments that support neurodiverse students' learning in a range of courses and learning spaces that reflect human neurodiversity.

Other Resources

• Teaching with Access & Inclusion ( 5 min. read) provides a handout and links to recorded webinars that provide foundational information for teaching with access and inclusion. Materials were developed by Minnesota Transform, Center for Educational Innovation and the Disability Resource Center, University of Minnesota.
• Strategies for creating inclusive pedagogy (5 min. read) is a one page handout that reviews concepts from the required training, Fundamentals of Disability Accommodations and Inclusive Course Design Module 3.
• Design an Accessible and Usable Course Site (20 min. read) provides 5 tips for making a more accessible and inclusive Canvas course site. Each tip includes screenshots and links to how to apply each tip.

Teaching the same course repeatedly or inheriting an existing course site can easily lead to the accidental exposure of outdated information. Specifically, outdated assignment information presents a significant barrier to students, often causing confusion, demotivation, and reduced academic performance.

Tips for providing clear and consistent deadlines

• Clearly outline multi-step assignments. For assignments with multiple components, list each step and its exact due date. This helps students manage their workload effectively.
• Use specific dates, not just days of the week. Always state the precise date for deadlines (e.g., "due February 25") instead of only the day ("due Monday"). This eliminates ambiguity, especially around holidays or breaks.
• Announce significant changes promptly. If you make a major syllabus change, such as altering an assignment deadline, notify students immediately using your course website's announcement or messaging features.
• Match filenames to assignment names. Ensure that downloadable documents (e.g., final report.docx) have filenames identical to how the assignment is named on your course website. This makes it easier for students to locate files on their devices.
• Maintain consistent assignment terminology. Always refer to an assignment by the exact same name across all course materials. For example, consistently use "final report" instead of variations like "final research project" or "final assignment."
• Centralize and cross-reference all assignment information. List all assignments and their exact due dates in both your syllabus and on the course website. Even if you discuss them in class, this information must also be easily accessible online. Furthermore, double-check that your terminology is consistent throughout your course materials—for instance, ensure the assignment title is identical in the syllabus, schedule, discussion prompts, and assignment descriptions.
• Regularly review and update course materials. Always remember to update old due dates, correct incomplete assignment instructions, and adjust any name changes for course activities or assignments.
   

Flexibility is a key component of accessible and inclusive teaching. The following resources can help you consider ways to integrate structured flexibility into your course:

• Planning Flexibility for Accessibility in Your Teaching (60 min. video) introduces viewers to frameworks related to flexibility in their approach to teaching. It also provides ideas, examples, and tools related to planning course flexibility for accessibility.
• Increase Flexibility with Asynchronous Teaching Strategies (60 min. video) discusses how adding asynchronous teaching strategies to your online synchronous course can increase flexibility for students and instructors while still providing opportunities for deep engagement with course materials. It provides examples of different asynchronous learning methods to consider, strategies for implementing them in your teaching, and ways to keep students engaged and motivated.
• Tech Guide: Planning Flexibility for Accessibility and Accommodations (20 min. read): focuses on the tools you can use to support student learning (and make your life easier). It is organized around key concepts from the Planning Flexibility for Accessibility in your Teaching workshop that was held in April 2023.