UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Melanie Gangle

TLC From The TLC: Accessible Education Services Resources

Does it seem like you have more students in your classes who have an Accessible Education Services (AES) accommodation plan?  Your intuition is correct, and it’s not just you, according to AES manager Melanie Gangle. Accessible Education Services is experiencing slow but steady growth, and is currently serving over 350 students with disabilities. This equals about 8.5 percent of the student population, and the vast majority of these students experience a non-apparent disability. The following resources and tips from AES are designed to support faculty in facilitating accommodations and accessibility in your teaching.

Did you know that Accessible Education Services has a Faculty Toolbox in PilotsUP for faculty regarding AES accommodations for students? Here you will find information on faculty responsibilities regarding accommodations, as well as tips on facilitating accommodations working with students with specific types of disabilities.

Are you looking for more general resources to support student learning in your course? Given the nation-wide growth in clinically significant anxiety and depression among college students, Kristel Gallagher and Shevaun Stocker developed a Guide to Incorporating Social-Emotional Learning in the College Classroom, which features a curriculum containing short weekly activities for students to complete outside of class  (apart from an initial activity for the first class day), suitable for adapting and adding to any course curriculum. These activities are based on exercises from the Greater Good in Science Center’s website, based at UC Berkeley.

Do you have questions about accommodations for a specific student in your class? Please reach out to Gangle at gangle@up.edu, or Susan Ayres, AES access counselor, at ayres@up.edu for information and technical assistance regarding student-related accommodation questions.

TLC From The TLC: Growth Mindset & Universal Design

Did you know that the majority of students with accessible education services (AES) accommodations have either a learning disability (LD), or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or both LD and ADHD? These two articles discuss the benefits of utilizing a growth mindset approach when teaching students who experience ADHD and LD. The surprise? These same growth mindset and universal design strategies also benefit learning outcomes for students without disabilities.

The Creativity of ADHD:  More insights on a positive side of a “disorder”, by Holly White in Scientific American. (Read this article in 5 minutes.)

There is a Better Way to Teach Students with Learning Disabilities, by Jo Boaler and Tanya Lamar in Time Magazine. (Read this article in 4 minutes.)

Are you interested in an introduction to Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindsets in learners? Check out her TED talk (10-minute video).  If you are looking for efficient strategies to incorporate in your course to support growth mindset, check out: A Growth Mindset About Mistakes: Support students in identifying a mistake and developing skills to learn from that mistake. (Read this article in 3 minutes.)

Would you like to incorporate growth mindset and universal design principles into your courses, or have general questions? Please email Melanie Gangle, AES program manager, at gangle@up.edu.

TLC From The TLC: Incorporating Universal Design

Incorporating Universal Design into a course is an iterative process, much like course design itself.  Continually utilizing feedback and ideas from colleagues, class discussion, and the literature to modify and enrich learning experiences provides greater opportunities for all students to access course content, regardless of learning modality preference. UC Berkeley’s Instructional Design Community focused on Universal Design and shared these tips to consider.

Accessible education services staff are available to consult with faculty members interested in incorporating Universal Design into courses. Are you intrigued by the idea of measuring learning outcomes and/or overall student learning experience in a Universally-Designed course?  Would you like an objective AES staffperson to assist in reviewing your spring semester course syllabus for UD ideas?   Would you simply like to debrief about a specific course element? If so, AES would love to hear from you.  Please contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu for more information.

New Accessibility Education Services Hire: Lisa Deneen

The Shepard Academic Resource Center is pleased to announce that Lisa Deneen has joined Accessible Education Services (AES) as an access counselor. In her new role, Lisa assists students in effectively utilizing their AES accommodations, and provides students, faculty, and staff with technical advice, problem-solving assistance, and procedural guidance regarding AES accommodations and policies. You are invited to stop by the AES office in BC 163 to welcome Lisa to campus. Questions? Please contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu.

TLC From The TLC: Universal Design for Learning

Feeling fresh from summer’s rest, research, and writing? The new academic year provides new opportunities to design or redesign courses to increase support for student learning. Nationally, more faculty, departments, and institutions are adopting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to provide students with multiple pathways to learn, individualized opportunities to demonstrate course competencies; and communities of learners to support individual and collective student learning outcomes. To learn more, please check out the “UDL In Higher Ed” resource page from CAST.

Questions?  Interested in getting started with UDL in a specific course? Please contact Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, at gangle@up.edu.

TLC From The TLC: Faculty-Led Abroad Experiences & Planning for Accessibility

Participation in faculty-led study abroad courses, programs and experiences provides outstanding ways for UP students to deepen their understanding of discipline-specific content in an international context.  Are you thinking of creating a faculty-led study abroad program or course (or have you already created one)?  It is important to plan for accessibility while creating your course or program. Melanie Gangle, program manager for Accessible Education Services (AES), is glad to consult with you in partnership with Eddie Contreras, director of studies abroad, in order to design a faculty-led abroad experience to be as inclusive as possible, and accessible for students with many different types of disabilities. Interested in learning more? Check out this tipsheet from Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and feel free to contact Melanie at gangle@up.eduto continue planning.

 

Service Dogs On Campus: What You Need to Know

You may have noticed more service dogs being used by people with disabilities in stores, in airports, at neighborhood meetings, and even on campus. Are you curious about what differentiates a service dog from a pet? Take a quick break and watch this enjoyable 4-minute video, which explains the myriad tasks performed by a service dog, as well as the roles of service dogs in the lives of people with disabilities.

What to do if you encounter a person with a dog in a campus building? When it is not obvious what service a dog provides, University faculty and staff may ask two questions only: (1) whether the dog is a service animal required because of a disability; and (2) what work or task the dog has been trained to perform. Service animals are almost always dogs; in rare exceptions, a miniature horse may be trained as a service animal.

Curious about the University’s policy on service animals?  It’s right here. For more information, contact  Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, at gangle@up.edu.

 

TLC from the TLC: Quick Tips for University Design for Learning

Would you like to increase the pathways through which your students interact with your course material? These quick tips from Inside Higher Ed for incorporating Universal Design for Learning into your course design are tried and tested.  By implementing some UDL strategies, you will not only save time (by reducing the number of after-the-fact accommodations needed), you will also increase student engagement in your course which can improve learning outcomes.  Trying just one new strategy in your course design can make a demonstrable difference in your students’ learning experiences.

When more students understand and master your course material, they’re more confident in sharing their knowledge and supporting other students in the learning process.  While this NYT article is a little longer (15-20 minutes to read), it outlines the exciting example of Xavier University where community-supported learning is incorporated into course and program design.  Against the odds, the impressive results demonstrate significantly improved measurable learning outcomes in Xavier’s graduates’ admit rates to (and graduation rates from) medical school.

Feedback, questions or ideas to share?  Please contact Melanie Gangle in accessible education services at gangle@up.edu.

TLC from the TLC: Helping Students Utilize Services

gangle-copyDo you wonder why some students eligible for accommodations through accessible education services (AES) do not actually use their accommodations?  According to Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, in a recent qualitative study, students identified six key reasons:  (1) Desire for self-sufficiency, (2) Desire to avoid negative social reactions, (3) Insufficient knowledge about their accommodations, (4) Quality and usefulness of DSS and accommodations, (5) Negative experiences with professors, and (6) Fear of future ramifications.

Gangle has the following suggestions for faculty who would like to support more students in utilizing their AES accommodations and demonstrating their competencies in course assessments:

  1. On the first day of the semester when reviewing the syllabus, spend a moment highlighting the section about AES and make a brief statement such as: “If you have an AES accommodation plan, please schedule an appointment with me soon so we can plan ahead for your accommodations in this class.” This simple statement creates a welcoming atmosphere while reminding students of their responsibility to communicate proactively with you about their AES accommodations.
  2. During the semester when you announce a general reminder about an upcoming exam, include a statement such as: “And if you have AES exam accommodations, remember to talk with me no later than X date (1-2 weeks in advance of exam) so we have time to make arrangements for accommodations.” This strategy helps reduce last-minute accommodation requests while encouraging students to communicate with you.
  3. Would you like support in reserving space for exam accommodations that involve extended time and/or alternative setting?  Contact your dean’s office for assistance reserving exam space.
  4. The traditional time-limited exam format assesses course competencies while simultaneously assessing how quickly your students can read, write, analyze, etc. If reading speed, writing speed and analytic speed are not essential learning outcomes for your course, consider exam alternatives such as take-home exams; online exams (via Moodle – contact academic technology services for more information); cumulative papers, projects, or presentations; outside-the-box formats such as creating a content-rich video, or a Wiki with appropriate citations.
  5. Talk with a colleague in your department or across campus to explore new strategies for assessing student mastery of course learning outcomes.

The AES office thanks faculty for all that you do to create a welcoming, supportive learning environment for all students, every day. Would you like to discuss these ideas further? Contact Gangle at gangle@up.edu or x8236.

Oct. 6 UP Crossroads Guest: Melanie Gangle

staff & faculty portraits

UP Crossroads, a new speaker series that explores the intersection of teaching and technology, continues on Thursday, October 6 with guest Melanie Gangle, program manager for accessible education services. Gangle will spark a conversation about “Accessibility and Teaching Frameworks for Inclusion.” The event takes place at 3 p.m. in the Parberry Room on the second floor of the Clark Library. Light refreshments will be served. UP Crossroads is sponsored by academic technology services in collaboration with the Clark Library.