Inclusive Practices in Teaching and Learning Activities
This page is intended to assist staff with some useful information and resources on how you might adopt inclusive practices and embed EDI related content into SPHPSS Teaching and Learning.
Inclusive Teaching Practices
AHEAD organisation (a non-profit organisation working to create inclusive environments in education and employment for people with disabilities) has an informative(opens in a new window) Guide to Inclusive Teaching Strategies.
You can read a comprehensive set of Case Studies on Inclusive Assessment and Feedback from UCD and IADT, with contributions from our own School.
Kingston University has compiled this short video resource on (opens in a new window)Developing an Inclusive Curriculum.
A short report produced by AHEAD and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education highlights (opens in a new window) 10 Ways to Ensure that Online Assessment is Accessible and Inclusive.
Academic Advising
Providing mentorship, guidance and advice to students as they progress through their studies is an integral aspect of inclusive teaching which our school considers to be fundamental to a supportive and enjoyable learning environment. In the school there have been two projects devoted to advancing academic advising for our students and to provide guidance to staff on how best to advise and guide students as they progress through their studies.
TESLAA (Project Lead - Dr Denise McGrath) -
TESLAA stands for Technology supported Student Learning and development through Appreciative Advising. Its aim is to design and deploy a student-centred digital tool to support academic advising based on the Appreciative Advising (AA) model. TESLAA targets the following academic advising needs: Decision-making and goal-setting based on students’ interests and talents; Supporting students to become independent learners. Informed by five focus groups with programme directors, three focus groups and a co-design session with students, the “JoDo” app was created to help students improve their goal-setting, prioritisation, task and time management, study skills and reflection, along with providing education in self-management and help-seeking through multimedia embedded in the app. The first version of JoDo was deployed with 30 students who used it for the last 5 weeks of term. Our qualitative and quantitative data indicate that most students engaged with the app regularly, found it useful and see value in continuing to make it available. “Planning” and “Reflection” domains of the Self-regulation of Learning Self-report scale showed statistically significant improvement after engaging with Jodo for five weeks. Next steps are to redesign the app based on student suggestions and make it available to a wider group of students.
TILL21 - (Project Lead - Dr Conor Buggy) - the Toolkit for Impactful Lifelong Learning in the 21st Century "TILL21" is a resource guide that focuses on academic advising and supporting mature and part-time students inspired by the principles of universal design in learning. The TILL21 team comprised of faculty, staff and students from the School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science and the UCD EDI unit with input from UCD Access and Lifelong Learning. Through information, opinions and insights gathered from the literature and a series of focus groups with students, alumni and student advisors the toolkit provides an overview of resources and potential actions that can be utilised to develop relationships with mature and part-time learners, progress authentic teaching and inclusive assessment methods, and build mentoring potential for both academic journeys and professional career development. The Toolkit is located here: TILL21
Universal Design
Universal Design is an approach to designing university teaching and learning to meet the learning needs of all students. For examples of Universal Design in practice you can read the UCD Case Studies on Universal Design for Curriculum Design from across the university.
Digital Badge in Universal Design
UCD Access and Lifelong Learning has entered into a strategic partnership with AHEAD to jointly deliver the(opens in a new window) Digital Badge for Universal Design in Teaching and Learning with many staff having already completed the course.
Multiculturalism and Teaching across Cultures
Professor Marie Clarke of UCD co-authored a very interesting and informative report on(opens in a new window) The Internationalisation of Irish Education
The International Education Association of Australia has produced a useful guide on(opens in a new window) Good Practice in Teaching Across Cultures.
The Higher Education Academy has produced a report on(opens in a new window) Engaging Home and International Students.
Supporting Students with Disabilities
UCD’S ALL Unit has published very comprehensive guidance for staff on supporting students with disabilities.