Intro and background
‘Over 20% of the creative labour force are neuro diverse’ [Charles Freeman and Becki Morris] as opposed to 14% of the general population, this is not considering the percentage of people that are undiagnosed– which would lead to the assumption that a high number of students are neurodivergent. However, as most educational materials and course structures have been developed over time by neurotypical brains and for neurotypical brains, it can overlook the needs of neurodiverse students, and be based upon a ‘medical model’ rather than a ‘social model’ of ‘disability inclusion’ (UAL Disability Inclusion Toolkit, 2024)
Evaluation
As first year HPL year and design tutor, I have limited time with my students to fit in the required learning materials for design process, combined with relatively short briefs and time on each project. The workload that the students need to complete can feel overwhelming to most, and the overlap of different topics and learnings can be especially challenging for students with neurodiversity as well as the general population of new students. These factors can lead to the students feeling overwhelmed and sometimes resulting in them disengaging with the course material.
Moving forward
Ensure that I am mindful of how many activities are included in each session – focusing on a basic methodology to include an ice breaker / small exercise to get students tuned in and able to focus on the greater task at hand. Then, an activity showcasing what part of process learning / facilitating a hands-on task to enable students experience in activity. If showcasing examples, ensure backgrounds are clear, with visual rather than text heavy referenced (if text used, highlighting key words and sentences) and including multimedia for varying needs. Also ensure that it is sent out via e-mail to be printable / translatable for students. Finally ensuring students are aware that they can record the activity / presentation if it will help them with their learnings (Based on UDL Guidelines and UAL Disability Toolkit)
Be present and on campus once a week (contract permitting) so that students can check in with me about their work even if they do not have scheduled activity.
In the case of overwhelm / being unable to process and work on multiple areas of their projects, offer a weekly check in outside of classroom, via video link or face to face, to ensure learning is being understood and that they don’t disengage with the process. This will allow workload to be broken down into smaller more manageable chunks.
Encourage students to make use of technology to enhance and support their work e.g. running written evaluations through ai tool such as chat GPT and asking it to improve spelling and grammar for the pasted text.
In the case that English is not a student’s first language, encourage them to write in their own language if it is not necessary for the writing to be understood by the tutor.
Check in to ensure that they understand the task at hand and are feeling confident about participating in activity. Write notes/key words/ draw pictures to explain what needs to be done.
To conclude…
Although my initial research for this case study was focused on neuro-divergent student’s needs, I believe that these steps could be beneficial for all students.