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Alana Sejdic, director of Academic and Student Disability Services at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn. writes, I was recently presenting a workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and I was discussing learner variability, interests, and preferences as a key to providing meaningful learning opportunities and incorporating choices and options into course design.
Photo: Faculty Focus
One of the faculty members in the workshop asked a great question, “How do we know the needs of the students?” My answer is twofold:
Firstly, many assumptions about students are harmful, so why not start making some assumptions that are helpful? For instance, many assume that all students have had appropriate training in secondary school to prepare them for the expectations of our college level courses. We assume that students should be able to finish tests in the allotted time that we think is reasonable. We assume that they know how to advocate for themselves.
If you are reading this and thinking, “I don’t make these assumptions,” I suggest you look at your courses and the way they are designed. The design of your course will indicate your assumptions about students and may reflect some implicit assumptions of which you are not fully aware. In fact, have someone else look at your course and you may get some valuable perspective...
Many institutions engage in their own institutional research that can provide good insights, so why not take a look? Connect with your admissions and enrollment department to find out more about the students they are marketing to, and the students that are applying and being accepted. For administrators and department leaders who have this data, you should share it. Institutional research and enrollment data isn’t just something to be collected and posted on the website, or looked at by a committee of administrators. This type of information should be shared with your faculty development department and, most importantly, with your faculty. Divisions and departments should not be operating in silos but should be transparent across campus to better serve all stakeholders.
Source: Faculty Focus
