Accessibility considerations in the classroom

a little girl reading in braille
All students benefit from accessibility considerations. A student does not need a formal diagnosis or code for the following suggestions to benefit your classroom. Ensure you prepare to teach to diversity. Kids with disabilities are not the only students who learn in different ways or need more support. Shelley Moore advocates that the goal should be to teach to the differences, rather than simply  include a few students that need additional support. We will find more success in the classroom when we recognize that teaching to diversity is a celebration of all learning types. 

Students with disabilities face many barriers in their everyday life: physical, financial, communication, and attitudinal barriers. Assuming all students are competent with the proper support  challenges one’s own biases and addresses barriers that may prevent a student’s learning and growth. Teachers are often forced to accommodate after the development of curriculum, lesson plans, and instructions, increasing the risk that students are left behind. Our Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles will provide opportunities for students to engage, express, and access information in various ways.

What will UDL look like in my classroom?
  • Engagement: How can I involve students with a variety of needs in interactive activities and discussions?
  • Expression: How can students demonstrate their learning? Exams? Papers? Projects? Presentations
  • ​Accessing Information: How do I present the information to my students? Lectures? Readings? Web pages? ​

How can I consider various needs during class activities?

  • Can students participate in this activity with various communication methods, including speech, writing, and/or visuals?
    • Ensuring that a variety of communication methods are available to students increases engagement and accessibility for students with disabilities, communication difficulties, hearing impairments, language barriers and other needs.
  • Can students participate in hands-on activities that engage different sensory systems?
    • Sensory regulation is calming for ​children — especially those with behavioural or sensory processing difficulties.

How can I consider various needs when utilizing public resources?

  • Do the videos I show in class have closed captions?
    • Intentional closed captions are considered the most accurate and accessible option. Automated captions may contain spelling errors and other mistakes that impact the information students. 
    • Closed captions assist students who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or are English Language Learners (ELL).  These captions augment speech in the video and include important non-verbal information like sound effects and music. 
  • Do the videos I show in class have audio description? 
    • Audio descriptions are voice-overs that describe key visual elements for students who are blind or have other visual impairments. 
    • While audio descriptions are seldom created for videos, they provide immense value for students with visual impairments.
  • Do the visuals I show in class have an image description?
    • Image descriptions use words to describe key elements of the visual  so students with visual impairments can form their own mental image.
  • Do the books I use in class have a read aloud option? 
    • Audiobooks, YouTube readings or listening to an adult or peer read aloud will not only benefit students with visual impairments, but also those who learn more effectively by seeing the words while listening simultaneously.

How can I consider various needs when teaching virtually?

  • Use Zoom and familiarize yourself with their built-in accessibility features. 
  • Use visuals, images and texts to compliment verbal information.
  • Provide students with movement breaks to improve focus and regulation. 
  • Provide students and their families with a schedule of their upcoming day and/or week. This can reduce anxiety and improve outcomes for students who succeed in predictable routines or struggle with change. 

Additional resources

This website is created by Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation