Accomodating a Learning Disability
My student had a learning disability. Functionally, she had difficulty in choosing words to speak and difficulty correctly spelling the term. She knew the term.
During office hours, I spent time with her to review the concepts/definition and place them on flash cards. I identified early that Repetitiveness was key to her exam success. I also noted on the first exam that she was spelling words the way she spoke them. I changed the format of the exam to Multiple Choice for all students, without changing the integrity of the test.
After taking this course, I am curious if I confused success with access.
Cindy,
Not at all. You did what you could to FOSTER her success -- as you would have done with any student who was struggling. And you were astute enough to recognize what worked and didn't work for this student and figured out a way to reconfigure the test for ALL students that worked for ALL students. That's called "universal design", not over-accommodation! GRIN
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Thanks! This experience taught me to rethink how I test students.
Thanks!! This experience has also taught me that rethinking the testing process has helped a few students who are Dyslexic.
Lori,
And my guess is that it has helped students without disabilities, as well. That's what Universal Design is all about!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
