Focus on teaching and learning
Didactic suggestions for diversity-sensitive, inclusive teaching
Diversity-sensitive educational design ...
... tries to do justice to all students and acts out of the awareness that social inequalities also exist in higher education. The diversity of all learners, e.g. in terms of capital, learning and life experiences or competencies, must be taken into account in the teaching/learning concept in an appropriate manner, without acting in a categorizing, stereotyping and discriminatory manner.
Some suitable presentations:
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Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom
Rosalia DeNardo, Camden County College
Creating an inclusive learning environment begins with course design and continues with course delivery. This webinar discusses ways to make all students feel welcome and included in the classroom regardless of modality. -
Universal Design for Learning—A Paradigm for Maximum Inclusion
Terence Brady, University of Oxford
Brandy, Oxford research fellow focused on curriculum development, explains the theory behind how the universal principles of design, used in fields such as architecture, might be applied to education to create more inclusive learning environments and support systems. -
Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education
Katie Billard and Bianca Sorbera highlight the three principles of Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education. By exploring practical examples, Katie and Bianca provide insight into how to create a more inclusive learning environment.
Accessible studying with an impairment, disability or illness
As an instructor, you are legally obliged to make accessible studying possible. When implementing barrier-free teaching, you do not act with "goodwill", "niceness" or "less strictness", but implement the university's obligation to provide barrier-free studies and compensate for existing (structural) disadvantages and barriers. With inclusive teaching, you enable your students to show and develop their potential.
The right to barrier-free studies applies to all students, but especially those with disabilities, physical, motor, sensory or mental impairments, chronic illnesses, autistic perception, reading and/or spelling difficulties, the consequences of accidents, (acute) injuries and the like. Depending on the impairment, disability and/or illness, needs may vary and may include, for example, the following:
- Assessment adaptations: e.g. different exam methods and locations
- Deadline and time extensions: e.g. submission deadlines, examination duration
- Study assistance
- Flexibility in examination performance and attendance
- Accessible learning material and recordings
- Withdrawal from courses and/or examinations without consequences
The Disability Resource Centre offers students with disabilities and impairments services and is also available for consultation.
If you would like to delve further into the topic of ableism or teaching that is critical of ableism, you can find suggestions here:
The talk discusses the broad nature of the invisible disability and why sometimes invisible disabilities are thought of as less legitimate disabilities even though most Australians with a disability have an invisible disability.
Two students share their experience of living and studying with an invisible disability and offer advice on how we can create a more inclusive university and community.
Having previously worked with the Brisbane City Council to help disadvantaged people of all backgrounds enter independent publishing and the arts community of Brisbane, Anne Kelley went on to begin her own dedicated arts career as a disabled artist. From this, she has commissioned works displayed in both Australia and Finland and has featured in several local gallery shows with her film photography and oil painting, dedicated to the experiences of her disabled life.
Sensitive to gender & social background
While gender-related equality work at universities has a long tradition and is incorporated in the University Act, there are no such legal options to date with regard to social background or class position, but there is a National Strategy on the Social Dimension. In this respect, the implementation of gender-sensitive and classism-critical didactics is of great importance to the University of Graz.
More material on the topics:
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University of Graz Awareness Campaign Video "Key player"
Be aware of who is considered more/less important in a team and how management and colleagues treat parental leaves. -
University of Graz Awareness Campaign Video "Participation"
Listen to what staff and students have to say about supporting their participation. -
Classism in education still exists
Read about distinguished research professor Valerie Walkerdine, School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, who has spent four decades studying class-related issues. -
Classism on Campus
Read what Neil M Speirs, students and fellow scholars have to say about the hidden curriculum and classism on campus.
You might also be interested in:
The University of Graz is not the only university working on diversity-sensitive university didactics. Numerous useful resources have also been created at other universities recently.
The university teaching MOOC, which was created at the University of Vienna, deals with diversity, power relations and inclusion. It focuses on university didactics and can be completed free of charge as a self-study course.