Resources
Student groups, regardless of size, are diverse. Different experiences and backgrounds make them develop different ways of learning. This makes them prefer certain ways to take in knowledge. Someone learns best from listening, while others benefit from taking part in the activity itself.
Students have different preferences and strengths when it comes to demonstrating what they can. Motivation may vary from student to student. With knowledge of the diversity in the student mass, it is important to plan teaching that best meets different needs, learning styles and preferences. Doing so will reduce the need for individual adaptions and increase the motivation of ALL students.
Contact us at tilrettelegging@uia.no for more information.
ADHD
A student with ADHD will benefit from a semester plan with a good overview of what is to be reviewed in each lecture coupled with syllabus showing which chapters and pages to read.
Lecture notes should be posted in advance, preferably posted on Canvas. The student will then get a better overview of what is going to be reviewed and gets a better outcome of the lecture.
Written information can be easier to perceive than verbally. Repetition of important information is helpful. Again, Canvas is recommended.
Students with ADHD often have difficulties keeping their concentration over longer periods of time. Varied teaching with active student participation is good.
Using a microphone during lectures is good for increasing attention and concentration.
Group work can be challenging since it requires initiatives and independence which might be difficult for people with ADHD. On the other hand, group work can be motivating and stimulates initiatives. In difficult situations, an alternative to group work should be considered in consultation with the student, without compromising on programme requirements.
Autism
A student with autisme will benefit from explaining one issue at a time, concretely to avoid misunderstandings. Messages in transferred meaning can be confusing. Visualization and examples are often helpful.
A semester plan with a good overview of what is to be reviewed in each lecture coupled with syllabus showing which chapters and pages to read is required.
Lecture notes should be posted in advance, preferably posted on Canvas. The student will then get a better overview of what is going to be reviewed and gets a better outcome of the lecture.
Written information can be easier to perceive than verbally. Repetition of important information is helpful. Again, Canvas is recommended.
Using a microphone during lectures is good for increasing attention and concentration.
Demands for social communication skills is a major challenge for persons with Asperger’s. Group work can be difficult, and alternatives should be considered in consultation with the student, without compromising on programme requirements.
Chronic disease
Chronic illnesses have a long and persistent course which can affect the completion of studies.
Individual students usually have a good knowledge of their own illness and accommodation needs, so please do not hesitate to discuss this with the student and Tilretteleggingskontoret in order to get the best possible overview.
Dyscalculia
5 % of the population has dyscalculia. Not math difficulties in general, but specific math difficulties / diagnosed dyscalculia. Students with dyscalculia normally choose studies where mathematical elements do not occur or make a significant part, but equations, tables, graphs and the like can appear in courses without this being clearly stated in the course description.
Guidance concerns facilitation in the mathematics subject itself based on teaching in primary and secondary schools, but students with dyscalculia who face challenges with numbers and finances in their studies can also apply for adapted teaching, teaching aids and exams at UiA.
Adaptations must be individual and in a collaboration between the student himself, the professional environment, UiA Tilrettelegging, and possibly dyscalculia experts. The examination office receives applications for an individually adapted assessment, here too the parties must work together to find the best solution for implementation. Expert documentation and recommendation should be provided by the student. Adaption in general should not reduce the academic requirements.
Dyslexia
Students with dyslexia use more time to read and write. They carefully plan their everyday studies to be able to get through the syllabus and compulsory activities before their exams. Structured teaching with organized lecture series and a good overview of the syllabus in Canvas will be of great help.
When using PowerPoint presentations, make sure to leave the slides long enough for students who read slowly to finish reading them. It will also be helpful if you repeat the most important points on the slide.
A common challenge for students with reading and writing difficulties is to take notes while at the same time trying to pay attention to what is being said.
Some students absorb information more easily through sound than through text. It can therefore be very helpful to be able to record the lecture. If you, as the lecturer, think it is necessary, you can point out to the student that the recording is for private use only.
Some students with reading difficulties use library equipment to make audiobooks from the books in the reading list. This is time consuming, which is why the reading lists should be available early enough for the student to get their audiobooks ready for the start of the semester. It is important that any compendia used are produced in good quality. Make sure that the text is copied with the same orientation, that the entire text is included in the copy and that the print is readable.
Foreign languages can be challenging. Any information you can give about Norwegian alternatives to foreign materials is appreciated.
Many students experience that their writing difficulties make it hard to sufficiently display their knowledge. In some cases, they apply for an alternative form of examination, e.g. an oral examination instead of a written. The academic environment will be involved to determine if this can be allowed without giving the student an academic advantage or disadvantage.
If the student has difficulties using necessary programs during teaching activities due to their challenges in reading and writing, the NAV Assistive Technology Centre might be able to provide special programmes to solve the problem. Contact the Office for Students with Disabilities who can help the student applying.
Hearing impaired or deaf
It is very important that you as a lecturer use the microphone during lectures. In most auditoriums and larger classrooms, there are inductive loops or IR systems. These are voice amplifiers connected to the microphone and allow the students to hear your voice through their hearing aid.
UiA Tilrettelegging disposes a portable wireless microphone and receiver for use in smaller lectures in classrooms in side-buildings at campus that lack hearing enhancing equipment. It is light in weight and easy to use.
Deaf and hearing impaired must compensate for impaired hearing with vision. Remember good light at the whiteboard and in the teaching room. The teaching should take place in environments with good acoustics and least possible background noise.
Lecture notes should be posted beforehand. The student then gets a better idea of what to review and more from the lecture.
Some hearing impaired and deaf people use sign language interpreters in lectures and other study activities. You may be lecturing as usual, but it may happen that the interpreter interrupts you to repeat some if something is unclear. The interpreters need to prepare themselves before the lecture and usually contact you in advance.
In conversations, it is important to address the student and not the interpreter. Make sure to make eye contact before you speak.
Sign language interpretation will usually happen with a slight delay. To compensate for this, you should wait a little bit before you ask questions to the audience, or before you change slides.
Repeating questions coming from the audience is a good help. An additional microphone that can be sent around among the fellow students is appreciated.
Group work and study groups can be challenging with too many attendants. Smaller groups are preferred, if possible.
Streaming of lectures is of great help to hearing impaired and deaf students. The Media Centre at UiA can be contacted for recording assistance and self-learn video production. Any video placed on learning platforms or other online solution should have a text option, except direct streaming of lectures. The text option should ensure that the main message of the educational content is emerging. To text all that is said is not the only solution. It can be a script, good notes or subtitles.
If the student has difficulties using necessary equipment during teaching activities, the NAV Assistive Technology Centre might be able to provide equipment to solve the problem. Contact the Office for Students with Disabilities who can help the student applying.
Mobility impairment
Make sure that the lecture room is accessible for the student. If the room is not suitable for disabled access, contact the Timetable Office to switch rooms.
If the student has difficulties using necessary equipment during teaching activities, the NAV Assistive Technology Centre might be able to provide equipment to solve the problem. Contact UiA Tilrettelegging at tilrettelegging@uia.no who can help the student applying.
Avoid paper sign-up sheets for study groups. Some physically challenged students might not be able to sign up on these. Digital signature is better.
For excursions, it is important to consider whether special transport or other accommodation is necessary. Contact the student and clarify any special needs before the excursion.
Some students might have a physical challenge that makes it difficult to take notes during lectures. Making sure that notes, summaries or supplementary PowerPoints from the lectures are available on Canvas is appreciated. If these are unavailable or insufficient, the student can contact the Office for Students with Disabilities in order to apply for help taking notes.
Some students get regular physical treatment or in periods. This might necessitate delayed assignment submission deadlines. Likewise, video recordings of the lectures are very helpful to follow the lectures when they are unable to attend. The Media Centre can facilitate recordings.
Psychosocial challenges
Student with psychosocial challenges are often experts on their own limits and possibilities and should be given the opportunity to discuss reasonable facilitation.
There are good and bad periods. In bad periods, and if asked for and possible, extended deadlines on examination requirements such as compulsory assignments, laboratory work, project work etc. should be considered.
In periods of absence, streaming of lectures is of great help. The Media Centre at UiA can be contacted for recording assistance and self-learn video production.
Some students suffer from anxiety, which can be related to achievements and social situations. Consequently, during lectures, group work and exercises, these students might ask to be exempted from giving presentations in class. A possible solution can be to allow the student to give their presentation to a smaller group of students, or alone.
Special needs
Students with special needs have the same right as students with functional impairments to suitable individual adaptation of physical environment, teaching, teaching aids and examinations.
Temporarly physical, psychosocial or learning challenges could also be included in the accommodation obligation, such as, for example, a broken leg, pregnancy, the need to breastfeed, or care responsibilities for minor children. Special needs, however, means that the need must be of a significant nature. For example, a broken leg will not necessarily mean that the student could demand accommodation. Furthermore, it will not always be possible to demand accommodation when caring for minor children or pregnancy. UiA must assess each individual case, provide equal treatment. The burden the student faces must always be taken into account.
Visually impaired or blind
There are different types and degrees of impaired vision, and the students use different vision corrective devices. You should speak to the student to find out what you can do and how you can pass on information to them in the best possible way.
Some visually impaired persons are dependent on their syllabus being available by audio. It is important that the reading list is ready well before the start of the semester so the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille (NLB) can to produce the audiobooks in time.
Compendia must be of good quality so they can be converted to audiobooks or read by speech synthesis.
Important information should be posted on Canvas, sent by e-mail or given verbally. Avoid written notices on notice boards or on the door of the lecture room.
When you collect content for compendia, it is important that you copy the text with the same orientation, that the entire text is included in the copy and that the print is readable.
Electronic study materials are very helpful, as they enable the student to use different support materials like enlargement and speech synthesis. The optimal formats are .doc, RTF or HTML, but a text-based PDF can be used if the layout and quality is good enough. Printed text can be scanned and OCR-processed. Most multi-machines are set up with OCR-processing as standard when scanning.
Avoid handwritten study materials.
Some students need support materials to be able to read. It is therefore a great advantage if the lecture materials are available in advance, preferably posted on Canvas.
PowerPoint presentations should have fonts without serifs, like Arial. The font size should be relatively large, and there should not be too many disturbing elements like pictures and animations. If you use these types of elements, make sure to place the pictures away from the text and supply them with explanatory captions.
If you use the blackboard during your lecture, you should take care to provide contrasts and write as tidily as possible. Say what you write and what you are pointing at. Blackboard lighting can be very helpful for many students.
Some visually impaired persons can have difficulties taking notes during lectures. They might benefit from having access to the lecturer's manuscript or presentation. If these are unavailable or insufficient, the student can contact UiA Tilrettelegging in order to apply for help taking notes.
Some students benefit from making an audio-recording of the lecture instead of taking notes. If you, as the lecturer, think it is necessary, you can point out to the student that the recording is for private use only.
Some visually impaired persons need more time reading and writing than other students and might need more time on shorter tests.
Some students have guide dogs. These are necessary aids for their owners and can be brought places where animals are normally not permitted.
If the student has difficulties using necessary equipment during teaching activities, the NAV Assistive Technology Centre might be able to provide equipment to solve the problem. Contact UiA Tilrettelegging who can help the student applying.
Contact person
- hakon.reinertsen@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 10 75