Building Neuroinclusive Learning Environments: Best Practices to Support and Empower Neurodiverse Learners in STEM (Meeting 1 of 4)
Start time
February 15, 2024 07:00 AM
End time
February 15, 2024 08:30 AM
Presented By
CIRTL
Location
Online (Registration open 1/8/24)
Workshop Worth
4
Description
Learn neurodiversity basics including the strengths and challenges people with differently wired brains have in the classroom and how these differences intersect with other aspects of peoples’ identities. Participants will also learn about both low and high input changes to their classrooms that will help them harness the strengths of their students. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore the stigma associated with neurodiversity as well as their personal experiences. By the end of this short course, participants will be able to:
- Identify different functions of the neurodivergent individuals including their strengths and challenges they might navigate in the higher education context
- Recognize and apply strength based and avoid deficit approach in teaching, communication, and advising
- Apply a variety of techniques to enhance the students’ engagement in the field of STEM using Strength-Based approach
- Design or revise a course component to support the success of neurodiverse learners in undergraduate or graduate programs
Instructors
Rachel Prunier, University of Connecticut
Sarira Motaref, University of Connecticut
Connie Syharat, University of Connecticut
Sarira Motaref, University of Connecticut
Connie Syharat, University of Connecticut
This 4-week course meets online on Thursdays from February 15 to March 7 at 1-2:30PM Atlantic / 12-1:30PM Eastern / 11AM-12:30PM Central / 10-11:30AM Mountain / 9AM-10:30PM Pacific.
Workload
Participants will need to do some work outside of sessions, including work on their redesigned course component.
Audience
This workshop is designed first and foremost for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and instructional staff in STEM/SBE disciplines who hold minoritized identities and are interesting in development specific practices to foster rest and wellbeing.
This short course has a cap of 25 students. Registration is open from Monday, January 8, until capacity is reached or until Thursday, February 8, whichever comes first. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Kate Diamond (kdiamond3@wisc.edu), who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:
- Using alt-text on images in reading materials
- Sending pre-session reminders with upcoming assignments to all students
- Sharing materials for synchronous sessions with students (slides, activity instructions, etc.)
- Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
- Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions
Learning Outcomes
All CIRTL Network programming is designed to help participants achieve familiarity with our Core Ideas. This workshop is designed around the following learning outcomes.
Associate: Learning community
- Describe and recognize the value of learning communities, and how they impact student learning.
- Describe several techniques and issues of establishing learning communities comprising a diverse group of learners.
- Describe several techniques for creating a learning community within a learning environment, including strategies that promote positive interdependence between learners so as to accomplish learning goals.
- Recognize the value of and participate in local professionally-focused learning communities associated with teaching and learning.
Associate: Learning-through-diversity
- Describe and recognize the value of drawing on diversity in the development of teaching plans (including content, teaching practices and assessments) to foster learning.
- Describe how an instructor’s beliefs and biases can influence student learning.
- Describe several learning-through-diversity (LtD) techniques and strategies.
- Describe the impact of diversity on student learning, in particular how diversity can enhance learning, and how inequities can negatively impact learning if not addressed.
- Describe the scope of diversity in learning environments, of both students and instructor.
Make sure you RSVP with the CLSE and the hosting unit!
· RSVP for the workshop with the CLSE here by clicking “RSVP” in the upper right corner. If you decide not to attend, please “Cancel RSVP”.
· Also RSVP with the hosting unit (if other than the CLSE) using the event webpage linked above.
Following the workshop, email Toacca Roberts (.2384) to confirm your attendance for the full event time. If you were not able to attend the full event, email Toacca Roberts to discuss the possibility of 5001 course points.
