Tools for increasing accessibility in teaching, guidance and supervision

Being aware of students’ starting points and considering accessibility reduces the need for individual arrangements. Problems can be kept from accumulating by understanding students’ circumstances, discussing how they affect studies in connection with guidance and supervision, and considering appropriate pedagogical options and solutions in advance. 

The following starting points should be considered in all teaching, guidance and supervision when students have an illness, disability or learning impediment that affects their studies: 

• University students are usually familiar with their support needs, especially if they have been studying for a while. This is why it is often advisable to start by asking students themselves what could support their learning. Discuss with them which course completion options best support their learning, guiding them to identify the most suitable ones. At the same time, encourage students to choose, whenever possible, varied completion methods to develop their academic skills (e.g., groupwork skills).  
• Urge them to develop their learning skills and use the learning methods that work for them.    
• Rather than only encouraging them to keep up with the recommendations, talk about a realistic and reasonable pace of studying based on their circumstances.    
• Discuss future studies well in advance with students who have an illness or disability (e.g., visual or hearing impairment) that requires advance information on courses and course material. If necessary, students can be referred to student advice or an accessibility contact person.

Anxiety is common and normal; groupwork, discussions and, in particular, presenting in front of others can cause anxiety in many students. Anxiety becomes a problem if it causes students not to take courses or to drop out of them.  

Anxiety can be alleviated by practising interaction and presentation skills. Experiences of success and skills development mitigate anxiety. You can learn to live with your anxiety. It is also important to keep in mind that you need not eliminate anxiety altogether. Reasonable anxiety is useful, as it helps to focus on the task at hand.  

Tools for teaching

• Talk with students about anxiety being normal in interaction.  
• If students don’t know each other, make time for them to get acquainted. Making acquaintance through pair or small-group exercises reduces anxiety. Working repeatedly with the same partner or small group can increase a sense of safety.  
• Oversee students’ division into small groups so that no one is excluded.  
• If appropriate for the learning outcomes, continue using pair and small-group assignments throughout the course. Presentations in this format are an option too.  
• Clear assignments and rules reduce uncertainty and anxiety for all students. For example, small groups can agree on roles and the division of duties.

Tools for guidance and supervision

• In guidance and supervision, pay attention to students’ course performance. If you find that a student has not completed compulsory courses that require presenting or engaging in groupwork, you can carefully ask about it and, if necessary, direct them to seek support.  
• They should gradually include in their studies courses involving groupwork, discussions and presentation. Consider how to do this so that the student gradually gains positive experiences of anxiety-inducing situations. Even though the development of social skills makes it necessary to leave your comfort zone, excessive demands can increase anxiety and stress.  
• Students can choose a course that involves presentations or groupwork, initially agreeing on individual arrangements. As their skills develop, the need for individual arrangements often decreases.
• If necessary, consult a study psychologist. At students’ initiative, you can organise meetings attended by a study psychologist. 

Examples of individual arrangements

Practising social skills benefits students, but at times course requirements and completion methods are too stressful for them. Instead of supporting students’ development, excessive demands produce experiences of failure and easily lead to increasing avoidance of social situations.  If a student tells you that the requirements are too high for them, or if you notice this yourself, you can ask them to apply for a recommendation for individual arrangements. You can also consult a study psychologist.  

Individual arrangements include completion methods that enable achievement of the course learning outcomes:  

• If the learning outcomes do not require students to practise communication and interaction, you can agree with the student on essays, learning journals and other completion methods so that the learning outcomes are achievable in accordance with requirements corresponding to other methods.
• If the learning outcomes require students to practise communication and interaction, you can agree with the student on an individually tailored completion method. To enable the student to practise the social skills included in the course, start from their personal circumstances. Have a one-on-one conversation with the student and try to identify viable practices.

Examples of tailored communication and interaction skills practice: 

• A bachelor’s thesis presentation for a smaller group or the teacher
• A presentation that is recorded and shown to other students or the teacher only
• Serving as an opponent in a seminar in writing and providing feedback to another student one on one or with the help of the teacher  
• Completing calculation exercises on the board initially in small groups or reviewing the assignment shortly before the actual calculation exercise begins

Support for students suffering from anxiety

• The ERI courses offered by the Language Centre as alternatives to completing a foreign language course (English) and demonstrating second national language proficiency (Swedish).
• Oral communication classes offered by the Language Centre for students with stage fright
• Directing the student to a study psychologist: counselling in groups or individually
• Services provided by the FSHS
• Online discussions organised by student support organisation Nyyti

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) is a developmental disorder that reduces one’s ability to function. It involves difficulties concerning attention and cognitive control. These difficulties may affect several areas of life, including studying. ADHD takes on many forms, and each student’s situation is unique.

The symptoms of ADHD are often stronger if the environment contains a lot of distractive stimuli, the instructions are unclear or the person is required to work on a task for a long period of time. When working independently, the student may have difficulties with creating a study plan and following it, assessing how much time it takes to complete the tasks, completing tasks that require concentration or perseverance, or getting lost in the tasks that interest them.

In addition to challenges, ADHD comes with strengths. For example, the student may be very creative, innovative, energetic and unafraid of new challenges.

Recommendations for reducing attention-related challenges

• Take the multisensory approach into account in everything you do: present matters both verbally and in written form and by showing and telling. Use diverse materials, such as text, images, videos and sound.
• Provide the students with a lecture outline and lecture materials in advance.
• Offer clear and specific information on the structure of the course, essential dates, exam requirements and practical arrangements.
• Ensure that longer lectures include breaks and variation. Even those without an attention disorder have an attention span of approximately 20 minutes.

Recommendations for special situations

• Go through the instructions and methods related to studying privately with the student.
• Ask the student what kind of learning materials and working methods support their learning. For example, team work and discussions may make it easier for them to process information and learn things.
• Take additional breaks and increase variation. It is typical for ADHD to lose attention already after 5–10 minutes.
• If the student’s hyperactive behaviour or constant tardiness is disrupting the teaching, you should review the common rules of conduct with the whole group and, when necessary, also go through them with the student in person. If the student is interrupting you by asking a lot of questions, you can ask them to write down any questions and ideas that they have so you can return to them later. Don’t take it personally if the student says something impulsive or inconsiderate - you can always clarify and clear up matters in a constructive manner.
• You can agree that the student finds a seat in the teaching room based on what best supports their concentration. If the student is easily distracted, the best place may be at the front of the teaching room. If the student focuses best when they are able to move, the best place may be next to the wall or at the back, where they can move without the others noticing or being bothered.
• You should tell the student about the different ways to demonstrate their skills as early as possible. These may include, for example, oral presentations, exams or learning tasks. Reading exam books independently and focusing on them for long periods of time may be very difficult for some students, while learning the same content through writing essays can be much easier.
• It can be useful to divide tasks that require long periods of concentration into smaller pieces; for example, having several smaller exams, writing your thesis one part at a time, etc. When working on a longer project, such as a thesis, regularly scheduled meetings with the supervisor may create regularity and a rhythm for the student’s studies.
• You can extend the deadlines for tasks when it has been agreed in advance.
• The student may need additional time for exams if they are sensitive to distractions or need to move around to stay focused. A separate exam room may also be necessary. Using a computer may also be justified to avoid mistakes due to carelessness.
• When necessary, the student should be allowed to use tools that support their learning, as well as to create sound and video recordings of materials for their personal use.
• Guide the student in using a time management tool, such as a timetable, a calendar, a notebook or the time management functions available in a mobile phone, in order to support their memory and planning.

Support for students with ADHD

• Consulting a study psychologist: individual or group counselling
• FSHS services
• Diverse learners’ association in Helsinki
• The Finnish ADHD association
• The ESOK accessibility project

The autism spectrum refers to people with a neurobiological development disorder. The disorder affects how people communicate, how they sense and experience the surrounding world, and how they interact with others.

Both the symptoms and the limitations posed by the disorder are highly individual. The student may have trouble with starting and completing tasks or controlling their own activities, or they may be slow at processing things, have sensory defensiveness, fluctuations of attention, or problems with controlling their emotions. Teamwork may be difficult for them.

On the other hand, the student may be good at noticing details and concentrating on things that they are particularly interested in. They might also have a good sense of justice.

Recommendations for teaching and instruction

• Offer clear and specific information on the structure of the course, essential dates, exam requirements and practical arrangements.
• Be precise and concrete. Be proactive. Before the course starts, go through any relevant instructions and procedures together with the student. Provide the student with a summary of the lecture before the lecture. Divide larger tasks into smaller subtasks and establish clear deadlines and a detailed schedule.
• If possible, use charts and images instead of abstract concepts, or use them side by side.
• Reserve time for one-on-one discussions after covering the main themes.
• Try to make the teaching situation as free from disturbance as possible. Students with autism spectrum disorders may benefit from having a fixed seat in the lecture room (e.g. in the front row).
• Offer them the possibility to wear earplugs or hearing protectors, or to listen to music (quietly).
• Extra time for exams and submitting tasks. The possibility of taking a longer time to complete studies.
• A separate examination space.
• Using a computer and a voice recorder.  
• Study plan supervision arranged regularly and in person.

Students may face many different types of challenges related to reading and writing. In Finnish or Swedish, the challenge is usually that the person reads slowly and/or they are prone to make mistakes when writing.

Dyslexia tends to be more visible when using languages with a low letter-sound correspondence. In these cases, the person tends to make a lot of spelling mistakes and pronouncing and writing unfamiliar words may be difficult for them. This is why dyslexia is often visible as problems that arise when writing foreign languages, such as English.

Some find it more difficult to remember new concepts and they may need more repetition to help with remembering.

Dyslexic people may also have a narrow working memory, making it difficult to remember long instructions or follow a lecture while simultaneously making notes.

Recommendations for teaching situations

• Allow the students to get to know the written course materials in advance or at least after the class. Ensure that the students have time to take notes during your teaching; writing and listening at the same time can be a burden.
• Allow the students to read the necessary text materials during class or provide them with the text so they can read it before the next class.
• The student should know the themes and materials of each lecture well in time. This allows them to prepare for the learning situation.
• The student may benefit from notes written by the teacher or another student.
• Choose materials that are also available as audio books or can be otherwise listened to. Direct the student to audio books and tell them about the possibility of extending their loan periods at the university library.
• If the students are asked to write on the board, they should also be allowed to demonstrate their learning in other ways, such as by showing the teacher a task they have completed. If a student misspells a word on the board, keep an empathetic approach and only fix the errors that may cause misunderstandings.
• On courses arranged in English, you can provide Finnish-language materials to support the students’ learning.
• You should tell the student about the different ways they can demonstrate their skills as early as possible. These may include, for example, oral presentations, exams or learning tasks.

Recommendations for special arrangements

• The special arrangement for dyslexic students almost invariably includes extra time and the possibility of using a computer.
• You can agree on an extension to the deadlines of tasks. The student may be taking several courses that all require reading and writing, which makes the extra time all the more necessary.
• Alternative methods of completion. If the stated objectives of the course are not related to writing, the teacher and the student may agree on another method of completion that does not involve writing. This could mean, for example, an oral exam.
• If the stated objective of the course is writing, the course cannot be completed orally. In cases like theses, dyslexia can be taken into account through increased supervision, or the student can be directed to different supporting courses (such as the Master’s thesis course offered by the Language Centre).

Support for dyslexia

• The accessibility page of the University of Helsinki libraries contains information on, for instance, extended loan periods and audiobooks.
• The ERI courses offered by the Language Centre as alternatives to completing foreign language courses (English and Swedish).
• Directing the student to a study psychologist: counselling in groups or individually
• Diverse learners’ association in Helsinki (www.lukihero.fi)

Nearly everybody suffers from mental symptoms at some point in their life. Factors such as prolonged stress or sleep disorders may temporarily reduce your ability to function.  Many psychological symptoms are temporary. Some stages of life will burden your mental health more than others, and it is perfectly normal to feel temporarily anxious in a difficult situation.

One in five male students and more than one third of all female students suffer from mental health problems. They show long-term psychological symptoms with serious negative effects on their life and ability to function, normally also including their studies. Identifying the problems early on and finding suitable help is essential. Recovery is often a long process.  However, living with mental illness can be as diverse and meaningful as any other life.

Thus, as a teacher, you may meet both students with only temporary symptoms and those with a long-term mental disorder.

Are you worried about somebody?

If you are worried about a student, it is important to take the following factors into consideration:

• Long-term stress and mental load can cause mental health problems for any student. Keeping the course workload reasonable and distributing the tasks over a longer period of time may help all students to stay healthy.
• How other people and the environment react to mental health problems is an essential factor in recovery. Information on mental health problems and disorders may reduce prejudice.
• As a teacher, supervisor or student adviser, you do not need to know the student’s diagnosis or whether they have one. You can talk to a student with mental health symptoms like you would to any other person.
• It is a good idea to bring up your worries as early as possible. It is important to stay tactful and respect the student.
• If you feel you are nearing the limits of your skills as a supervisor, you can consult a study psychologist or refer the student to the psychologist or the FSHS.
• If the student’s symptoms are severe and they need help immediately, call 112.

If a student with a visual disability is participating in your class, they may benefit from the following arrangements:

• Discuss the teaching practices and instructions with the student in advance: what happens during class, what kinds of tasks are included, how they should act (e.g. should they raise their hand when they want to speak, etc.).
• Be specific when you talk about essential matters, emphasise hearing, do not ask them to look at the slides or the board.
• If possible, teaching should take place in only one room.
• If necessary, help the student to find the right lecture room.
• Write the student’s name on the attendance list on their behalf.
• Address the students by their names while in class; this way, the student with a visual impairment will know when it is their turn to speak and when it is somebody else’s turn.
• Help them to find a team for teamwork tasks and exercises.
• Be flexible about team work tasks, especially if the student is currently involved in several tasks that require team work.  Offer them the possibility of doing another task as a substitute for the team work.
• Extend their deadlines for submitting tasks, especially if they have several overlapping deadlines, as they may need longer to finish tasks than other students.
• Be flexible about your course materials. If the course book is not available in an accessible format, if possible, try to substitute the book with another one that is.
• Give the student lecture slides and other materials as a text file (such as a Word document) before class; images can be difficult for the visually impaired (save your PowerPoint as an RTF file).
• Allow team tasks and other tasks to be submitted in an accessible format (such as a Word document).
• Help the student to get to know the lecture space before they are due to give a presentation.
• Take visual disability into account in active situations; for example, if it is necessary to move around the lecture room.

If a student with a hearing disability is participating in your class, they may benefit from the following arrangements:

• Discuss the teaching practices with the student in advance, or at the latest at the beginning of the course, so that they can bring up their needs for support and arrangements. If the student communicates through an interpreter, have this discussion with the help of the interpreter.
• If the student has special needs concerning the facilities, you may ask help from the training officer and/or the porter.
• Be cautious and take into account needs related to seating arrangements in teaching situation. Usually the best place to sit for the student is at the front of the lecture room. The student should see the teacher, the screen and the interpreter at the same time.
• Have emphasis on visual information in teaching. Present information in written and oral form and demonstrate it by showing or doing. Use a variety of materials such as text, images, or subtitled videos. Always provide important information and materials in written form.
• Speak and present your message clearly, calmly and in normal volume. Avoid covering your mouth with your hand, paper, etc., and face your listeners while speaking in order to make it easier for the student to read from your lips.
• Use the microphone in teaching, and try to avoid extra movement and head twisting so that your speech does not move away from the microphone and the sound quality does not deteriorate. The use of a microphone is particularly important because it can be connected to the hearing aids used by the student.
• If the student uses hearing aids, repeat the comments and questions of other students into the microphone.
• Clearly indicate the speech turns so that only one person speaks at a time. Repeat the core issue if needed.
• Try to make the teaching situation as smooth and undisturbed as possible by minimizing background noise.
• Have breaks during the teaching. A student with hearing impairment needs time to follow both the teaching and possible interpretation.
• A deaf student participates in teaching through a sign language interpreter or a writing (speech-to-text) interpreter. You can discuss with the student through the interpreter; in that case, speak directly to the student, e.g., “Do you have any questions?”