This page contains guidance when planning Set Exercises for students who have an ISP
Individuals with processing and memory diffculties:
may have an SpLD or neurodiversity, be on the Autistic Spectrum (ASC) or have Fibromyalgia, Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) Chronic pain, Epilepsy, and similar conditions which may need ongoing medication for management.
may experience
interruptions to production of work due to a disability or medication side effects.
that tasks take longer.
difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofreading.
problems with word retrieval.
difficulties with processing receptive oral information.
may use assistive technology for research and writing and this can be time-consuming.
To support these individuals:
Adjustments as per the Exam adjustments on the ISP are required for any time-controlled assessments, e.g. include extra time and rest break time when setting up online quizzes.
If any student would usually use assistive technology (AT) in exams, consideration needs to be given to whether this would be compatible with any online programs they are expected to use, e.g. for an online quiz. If they cannot use their assistive technology, an alternative might be considered, such as a human reader or scribe.
If the assessment is a precursor to further teaching delivery or assessment, consider students with ISP extensions/arragements at the design stage. How can you stop students with extensions being consistently behind or missing parts of the content?
Provide feedback via a video or audio recording.
Individuals with sensory overload:
may have ADHD, ASC, IBD/Crohn's Disease/Ulcerative Colitis, Mental Health difficulties and similar conditions which may need ongoing medication for management.
may experience
interruptions to production of work due to disability or medication side effects.
task takes longer.
difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofreading.
Possible perfectionism.
may use assistive technology for research and writing which can be time-consuming.
To support these individuals:
Consider when the task is set so that it maximizes the available time students have to work on it. This is particularly important when students are not able to use extensions.
Disabled students have frequently reported that Online Time Controlled Assessments, such as the 24-hour take-home exam was a better way of being assessed than a traditional exam (Pauli, 2021). However, it is important that students understand how long the task is supposed to take and what they are expected to produce.
Individuals who are hard of hearing:
May be D/deaf or have auditory processing difficulties.
some people
are born Deaf or have hearing loss before they develop spoken language and they may regard their deafness as part of their identity and culture and not as a disability. They may predominantly use British Sign Language. They will not have been able to learn spoken or written English like a native speaker. They may have a sign language interpreter.
lose hearing or are deafened after they have acquired spoken language. They are more likely to use hearing aids and lipreading skills.
may have difficulty with spelling, grammar, punctuation and proofreading.
Will rely on captions or transcripts for audio-visual information.
To support these individuals:
Individuals who have a Visual Impairment or Visual Difficulties:
may have no vision, only some light perception, some colour vision, double vision, nystagmus or tracking difficulties or be short and/or longsighted.
some people may
have been born with little or no vision or may have lost their sight for some reason.
need enlarged texts.
may need to use a screen reader on their phone or computer to hear information read out loud.
may need more light or be able to control light or to reduce glare and to maximize their available vision.
need information in Braille if that is a system they have learned.
A visually impaired person may use a short or a long cane to help with navigation
A visually impaired person may have a guide dog
A "mild" visual impairment may be harder to deal with than a severe one especially if someone is having difficulty adjusting to a new way of working.
To support these individuals:
If providing written instructions on the day ensure that a suitable version is available, e.g. large print, audio, or whatever is the student’s preference. Or provide an electronic copy in advance so the student can make their own preferred conversion. Then allow the use of the desired device (if required) for the session.
When planning formative tasks and opportunities to give feedback, you need to consider students with extensions, and what their equivalent schedule will be.
Individuals who have Speech/Speaking Difficulties:
May have
a Stutter or Stammer - it is not helpful to try and finish people's words or sentences.
Selective Mutism - it should be noted that although called selective individuals can't always choose when they can physically speak.
Cerebral Palsy that can affect their speech to varying degrees. They may need to use AAD or an Augmented & Alternative Communication Device to be their voice.
been born Deaf people and they may need to communicate through an interpreter.
Autism which means they may speak in a rigid or repetitive way, although this only affects some people on the autistic spectrum.
May
not be able to speak at all
actually have a processing difficulty which means they find it hard to be put on the spot and formulate a spoken response immediately
actually have an anxiety disorder which means they find it hard to be put on the spot and formulate a spoken response immediately
take longer to get their point across
need to have a support worker
To support these individuals:
Individuals who have Mobility Difficulties:
May have these due to congenital issues, or a result of injury, muscular dystrophy (MD), cerebral palsy, amputation, multiple sclerosis (MS), pulmonary disease, heart disease or other reasons.
some people
may use a wheelchair some of the time or a walking aid.
may have a visual impairment that affects mobility at least until they have mobility training, although obstacles and changes to familiar environs can also cause difficulties.
may take longer to travel between teaching sessions or project meetings.
A visually impaired person may have a guide dog.
To support these individuals:
Pauli, M. (2021) ‘Rethinking assessment: From fixes to foresight: Jisc and Emerge Education insights for universities and startups’ Jisc, Available at https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/rethinking-assessment (accessed 10 August 2022)