Making our teaching accessible to all of our students sends the message that “you belong” and creates better learning experiences for all of us. UM-Dearborn’s Disability and Accessibility Services offered an opportunity for faculty to learn more about the ways DAS supports students and instructors.
Here is the link for the recording of Five Ways DAS Supports Faculty and Students webinar.
There is an interesting question at minute 38 about what to do when an accommodation, such as when describing something in a geology class, would essentially give the answer away. DAS staff had excellent suggestions that faculty can use to avoid robbing students of the learning experience. For example, in some cases publishers may have descriptive alternatives for graphs and tables. DAS staff are also willing to help faculty think through alternative assessments.
The session included slides which have quick access to the many referenced links. If you are curious about the ways that DAS works with students you can check out slides 26-33 about Support Coaching or slides 15-21 to see the student process for requesting test proctoring (hint – they need to give DAS staff at least 7 days advance notice). Faculty resources for creating accessible documents can be found on slides 22-25.
The DAS team has grown to now include:
- Dr. Sara Byczek, Director of DAS and CAPS
- Dr. Charles Starkman, Assistant Director of DAS and CAPS
- Judith Walker, DAS Coordinator
- Cathy Sidor, DAS Testing Center and Alternative Formatting Coordinator
- Hillary Degner, DAS Coordinator of Case Management and Support
DAS staff can be reached by email at disabilityservices@umich.edu or by phone at 313-593-5310.
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash