"Post"-Pandemic Access & Self-Advocacy

Hosted by the University of California's Graduate School of Education, this course was offered to students with disabilities of any academic level. This course was designed to be discussion-based and highly participatory with a focus on supporting students in their return to campus after COVID 19 remote instruction.

  • Weekly, synchronous

  • Remote Instruction

  • Open-ended and self-assessed

  • One Unit, Pass/No Pass Grading

Syllabus

DSP 198 Syllabus Fall 2021.docx.pdf

Synchronous, Remote Instruction

Students met weekly for a brief lecture from myself or a campus affiliate and were then provided prompts to discuss in a break out session or as a whole group.

Accessible Discussion

Students were told at the beginning of the semester that the course would be discussion-based and highly participatory.

Steps were taken to ensure accessibility in classroom discussion:

  • Students were provided with discussion prompts in advance of the session

  • Discussion prompts were posted in the chat for visual support

  • Students were encouraged to participate in their preferred mode of communication

Final Projects

Students were given an open-ended final assignment to give them the opportunity to further explore a topic covered in class. Students were asked to submit a proposal as well as a rubric with details on how they would like their work to be assessed. Upon submission of their work, students used their rubrics to provide a self-assessment. Below are some examples of student work.


Students submitted projects in a variety of formats including personal essays, research presentations, creative writing, and visual art. While there was some initial insecurity around such an open-ended assignment, the responses were positive and self-assessments were comparable to my own.