Questions to Guide in the Planning for Accessible Education

Accessible education aims to reduce accommodation needs and move towards inclusion. Considering accessibility and accessible education from the start improves teaching quality and the learning experience for all students. As you begin planning for accessible education in your courses, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I aware of my attitudes towards accessibility and accessible education? What steps have I taken to progress forward from my attitudes that are limiting or silence others?
• Have I begun to disrupt my ideas of the hegemonic student?
• Are there any barriers in my course that will create an issue for any student regardless of disability?
• Have I talked with my colleagues about how to be more accessible and equitable?
• Are my presentations (lecture slides and talking notes) free of casual ableist language?
• Have I used previous student concerns and questions to make adjustments to my instruction and the overall curriculum of the course?
• Have I created opportunities for students to express their concerns about course content?
• Do I have protocols in place to follow-up with students who may be struggling with the course?
• Have I provided students with multiple options for contacting me?
• Do I have the learning goals of the course visible in multiple places?
• Is my classroom setup to respond to the different needs of students (clear pathways, working microphone, limited distractions, etc.)?
• Do I have various ways to present my course content? Lectures, student collaboration, video, Socratic seminars, etc.
• Do I have concrete examples to provide to students for any topic taught during the course?
• Do I allow for choice and flexibility in assignment completion?
• Do the assessments provide students with opportunities to express in a variety of ways?
• Can the electronic documents provided to students be used with a screen reader?
• Have I captioned any videos or recorded lectures? (Captioning and transcription are useful for all students, not just students who have a hearing disability)
• Do I have a variety of means for providing feedback to students on assignments and assessments? (Audio, video, rubric, electronic documents to be used with a screen reader, etc.)
• Is Canvas setup to be used without a mouse?
• Have I asked for support from CFETI on how to use various technology tools?