Characteristics of Motor/Manual Dexterity Difficulties Impacting on Learning and Teaching

Receiving Information During Lectures

Students with a range of impairments, such as those with manual impairments, may want to record information by taping. Some lecturers are happy to provide students with a disk or hard copy of lecture material, or copies of overheads. Provision of these can enable students with language and comprehension difficulties to devote more attention to listening.

Taping lectures is not usually an unqualified success, unless the student develops a system for retrieving information from the tapes, perhaps by tone indexing the tapes or by carefully cataloguing or labelling them, and keeping a record of the main ideas of the lecture. Taking home tapes of lectures for transcribing at a later stage can be very time-consuming, and students who do this may benefit from advice from lecturers and/or the Disability Coordinator about whether this is likely to be a successful strategy for study.

Practical Classes

There are some fairly straightforward and low-tech ways of modifying or adapting equipment or activities to allow students with various impairments to participate in practical classes. Examples include: auditory displays of visual information (such as talking thermometers), tactical displays of visual information (such as beakers with raised markings), clamps and other devices for holding items of equipment, and hand held, illuminated magnifiers. Examples of such innovations are likely to multiply as more people who develop impairments while in employment are maintained and supported in their employment.

Work Placements, Study Abroad and Field Trips

Departments organising placements, field trips or study abroad for students with impairments will need to consider, ideally alongside the students themselves, the differences between the new context and environment and the more usual, and often more structured, context of study. Sometimes, the use of equipment, arrangements or personal assistance could, with a little planning, transfer to a different context. For example, travel, physical access and length of working day may all be relevant considerations for students who have impairments affecting their mobility or stamina. For some students, the option of carrying out a placement or field trip over a longer period, or on a part-time basis could be helpful, and reflections on the large numbers of people in employment who, for many different reason, work part-time, might recommend this option. The fact that funding may need to be found in order to purchase additional equipment for placements, field trips or study abroad, underlines the necessity to plan and prepare long before the placement start date.

Students with impairments are positive assets on courses, where a reminder of the diversity of human experience is important. It can be instructive to be reminded of substantial gains for all students from organising placements in such a way that students with impairments are safely included, and not to think exclusively about problems.

Teaching Strategies

These strategies are suggestions for inclusive teaching. This list should not be considered exhaustive and it is important to remember that all students are individuals and good practice for one student may not necessarily be good practice for another. You may also like to contact the Disability Specialist in your institution for further information. If you have any good practice that you would like to add to this list, please email your suggestions to v.chapman@worc.ac.uk

• Slower writing speed needs to be taken into account when assignments are given (the length may need to be reduced or extra time given).
• Provide extra time for examinations.
• Consider the use of a computer in examinations, as some students may be more skilled at using a keyboard than writing.
• A note-taker or scribe may be required for lectures and/or examinations.
• Provide notes in advance for lectures.