In education, a project works to enable the disabled

For most students, higher education is synonymous with a successful future. However, not all are given the same opportunities in the classroom to achieve their goals due to aging educational practices.

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa Center on Disability Studies (CDS) is working to equalize education for all students through specialized training workshops for instructors as part of a recent grant-funded study.

“We as educators do this because we want to help people reach their potential,” said Shelli McDow, CDS graduate assistant.

“Students With Disabilities As Diverse Learners” is one of many projects by CDS working to make education accessible to a wider range of people and, in particular, to improve the performance of students with disabilities.

Steve Brown, an associate professor in the College of Education and project coordinator for “Students With Disabilities As Diverse Learners,” says that working with instructors is an indirect way to change how people learn.

CDS received funding for this project by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education. Work began during the Fall 2009 semester with a team of eight that hopes to complete research in September 2011, Brown said.

The Professional Development Training educates teachers to incorporate diverse teaching methods in the classroom that will reach people of all learning styles, moving away from the traditional lecture environment that may alienate students who learn differently.

The hour-and-a-half trainings are offered in Universal Design for Learning, Multiculturalism, and Mentoring. Instructors can participate in any combination of training focus.

“The idea (of Universal Design for Learning) is that anybody can access anything,” Brown said.

Instructors who participate in the CDS-administered training complete a pre- and post-training survey. CDS will then observe the instructor’s class and survey students, then follow up with the instructor and students after six months and a year.

Project staff believe that instructors who receive this training and use what they learn from it will have better class outcomes, according to the project student survey.

CDS is now working with UH instructors on O‘ahu.

Project staff members plan to get 90 instructors involved with the Professional Development sessions, but have reached between 10 and 15 so far.

While there is interest in taking part in the study, some instructors have not participated because of their status at the university. Interested professors about to retire or go on sabbatical were unable to participate, Brown said. Others may be too busy due to the increase in student enrollment.

Project members have been recruiting instructors for the project by any Institutional Review Board-approved means necessary, such as telephone calls and e-mail correspondence.

“Anything we can think of to interest faculty,” Brown said, “we are going to keep plugging away at it until it doesn’t make sense to continue.”

The Professional Development Training has also helped reinforce changes already being implemented in the classroom.

“I liked the practical ideas they gave us, and after the workshop I was motivated to follow through with some of the ideas they mentioned,” said Joan Debrah, a French professor who recently participated in the training.

Debrah has developed a Web site for all of her French courses to better distribute homework assignments, handouts, class information and resources to her students. In a digital format, the homework and handouts she assigns are more accessible to a broader group of students.

“I felt like the ideas (CDS gave) were something I could immediately use in my class without too much preparation,” Debrah said.

“Of all who have gone through the training, 80 percent or more have used 50 percent or more of what they learned,” Brown said.

Professional Development Training is also available on the CDS Web site for educators outside of UH.

“The trainings are open to everyone; they are not confined to anyone,” Brown said.

The main goal of CDS is to “support the quality of life, community inclusion, and self-determination of all persons with disabilities and their families,” according to its Web site.

“Hawai‘i is unique because the diversity is so blatant that it is hard to ignore,” McDow said.

“We are not here to teach teachers how to teach, we’re trying to say, ‘hey, you might not know about this,’” she said. “It’s about expanding how we do our jobs as educators.”

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For more information about CDS or its projects, visit www.ist.hawaii.edu.