With thanks to the DO-IT Center at the University of Washington.

Transparency In Teaching and Learning (TILT)

Jade Metzger-Riftkin (Northern Arizona University)

Metzger-Riftkin’s work and research focuses on teaching strategies supporting neurodivergent students. Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) refers to a teaching model that clarifies to students the instructor’s choices for lesson plans and specifies how those choices relate to course goals. Research demonstrates that when students are exposed to transparent assignments, they gain academic confidence and a sense of belonging. TILT moves away from the “what” of teaching to the “how” and “why” of teaching.

Supporting Neurodivergent Students in Classrooms and into the Workplace

Adrienne Decker (University at Buffalo), Andrew Begel (Carnegie Mellon), and Kurt Eiselt (University of California, Davis)

Supported by: AccessComputing
This panel will present a number of different perspectives and programs that support neurodivergent students in their coursework and in the workplace. Like many students transitioning to college, neurodivergent students lose many of their prior scaffolds and supports. Unlike neurotypical students, they often have difficulty self-advocating to acquire the help that they need to succeed. They have lower completion rates for courses and degrees and are more likely to take time off in the middle of their degree program. Supporting these students in our classrooms and degree programs requires training faculty on the challenges they experience and developing curriculum and supports that afford better access. In addition to in-classroom support, support is needed to prepare students to enter the workforce and help them stay employed. While supporting students and faculty is important, one of the other goals of programs like these is to help destigmatize neurodiverse people, help neurotypical people better understand their neurodivergent colleagues, and encourage everyone to better integrate the neurodiverse into their organizations and activities.

Planning for Success: Effective Communication Strategies and Classroom Management for Neurodiverse Learners

Kathryn Holley (The UW Autism Center)

Supported by: NNL
Planning for Success: Effective Communication Strategies and Classroom Management for Neurodiverse Learners – STEM and Neurodiversity: A Capacity Building Institute for STEM Faculty at Community and Technical Colleges

Pedagogical Approaches for Neurodivergent Learners in STEM

Sara Gardner Sanders (Bellevue College), Marisa Hackett (Bellevue College)

Supported by: NNL
Pedagogical Approaches for Neurodivergent Learners in STEM – Given at the STEM and Neurodiversity: A Capacity Building Institute for STEM Faculty at Community and Technical Colleges.

Real stories from neurodiverse students on how STEM faculty can support success

Ronda Jensen (Northern Arizona University)

Supported by: NNL
Real stories from neurodiverse students on how STEM faculty can support success – STEM and Neurodiversity: A Capacity Building Institute for STEM Faculty at Community and Technical Colleges.

This Class Isn’t Designed for Me!

Sarah Coppola, PhD, UW Allen School

Supported by: AccessComputing
Traditional and currently prevalent pedagogies of design perpetuate ableist and exclusionary notions of what it means to be a designer. In this session, Dr. Coppola will give a brief overview of historically exclusionary norms of design education and highlight modern-day instances of her own experience as a design educator in such epistemologies. Coppola will lead us in imagining a more inclusive and sustainable future of design education and present case studies from personal experience in redesigning course experiences for students with disabilities.

Alternative Grading

Kevin Lin, UW Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering

Supported by: AiiCE
Mr. Lin shared his experiences as an assistant teaching professor with alternative grading practices that better represent the learning that students achieve over time, producing more equitable outcomes by changing the way we determine final grades. He talked about the potential alternative grading has to empower students by making space for creative student work that might not otherwise thrive in a points-based grading ecosystem. He suggested that grading policies on their own often aren’t enough-at least not in the grade-focused culture at many institutions-so he also shared some of the challenges he’s faced and how he works toward better relationships between students, educators, and grades. Note: This recording was edited at the 53:30 mark to reduce static and to remove an extended pause.