Accessible Learning Institute NEW!

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The Accessible Learning Institute

Friday, November 20, 2009 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
MSU Union parlors A, B, and C

This institute is an opportunity, free to MSU members, to learn from national experts on cutting edge issues in the area of disabilities, accessibility and higher education. MSU is also offering a LEAD session, directly following the Institute from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., open to Deans, Directors, Chairs and Executive Managers in parlor A.

Click one of the following links to download an Accessible Learning Institute Promotional Flier: PDF | DOC

What is it?

An opportunity for faculty, administrators and those working with students to:

• Learn from national experts how to better support students with disabilities as well as students with various learning styles
• Learn how to respond to the trend of increasing numbers of students presenting with invisible disabilities (such as autism and learning disabilities) in order to maximize their educational experience
• Learn what universal design is, how it can improve teaching and what funding opportunities exist in this area
• Learn how to incorporate assistive technology into the classroom
• Learn how to balance keeping academic expectations high while accommodating students with disabilities

Why it matters

You need to know how to help. If you teach students at Michigan State University, it is likely that you will have a student with a disability in your classroom. Nationally, one in 10 undergraduates report having some type of disability. Forty percent of students with disabilities have a learning disability that requires additional support in the classroom. The number of students with learning disabilities has increased more than ten-fold since 1976. At MSU, there are over one thousand students registered with the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities. Faculty and those working directly with these students can be key to their success.

Understanding accessible learning techniques can help your career. One of the topics of the institute will be a discussion of universal design, which simply means designing products and environments to make them more accessible to all. The discussion will focus on the use of this concept in course materials, content and methods of instruction. Learning to do this will give you an opportunity to critically examine your teaching effectiveness in light of reappointment, promotion, and tenure processes.

Research dollars are available to help you. The National Science Foundation, Department of Education, and other funding agencies provide funding for research and programs related to the creation of inclusive learning environments for all students. Come and hear a speaker discuss his experience with two such million dollar grants.

You can help build the university’s national reputation. Student retention and graduation rates are two key metrics in evaluating a university’s reputation and ranking. Another is success following graduation. Learning how to help all students be more successful contributes to the university’s reputation in a very direct way.

It’s the right thing to do. Michigan State University is dedicated to providing an accessible education for all students and to finding solutions for the world’s most pressing problems. MSU values inclusiveness, and this is one way you can demonstrate your commitment to our core values.

Agenda for the day

“Maintaining Academic Integrity in a Program While Accommodating Students with Disabilities,” Jeanne Kincaid.

Panel Discussion: “Universal Design: Making Teaching, Technology, and Physical Spaces Accessible to and Usable by Everyone,” facilitated by Emiliano Ayala.

“Faculty and Students with Invisible Disabilities: Working Together to Achieve Academic Excellence,” Lorraine Wolf.

Presenters

Jeanne Kincaid is a nationally known disability lawyer and consultant, representing public schools, colleges, and universities nationwide on a host of disability and special education issues, including the physical accessibility requirements imposed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Kincaid has been a special education hearing officer and mediator for the State of New Hampshire, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Hampshire's Graduate School of Education, Antioch University, and Franklin Pierce Law Center. Kincaid worked in an advisory capacity with the Association of Higher Education and Disability, a national organization with membership consisting of higher education staff that coordinate services for students with disabilities. She has held staff attorney positions with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the Oregon Department of Education, and served as a hearing officer for the Oregon Bureau of Labor and the New Hampshire Department of Education. She has been a contributing author to Section 504, the ADA, and the Schools and Disability Compliance for Higher Education.

Emiliano Ayala, PhD, is an Associate Professor and serves as Chair for the Department of Educational Leadership and Special Education at Sonoma State University. Ayala’s research interests include cultural diversity in education, collaboration and legal issues in special education, and Universal Design for Learning in higher education. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Ayala’s professional interests include post secondary students with disabilities. Currently, Ayala serves as Project Director for EnACT and EnACT~PTD (U.S. Department of Education) and Co-Director for Access by Design (National Science Foundation). These three federal grants are designed to support professional development activities for faculty and administrators at institutions of higher education with the goal of providing a quality postsecondary education for students with disabilities. Ayala received his B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1986 and an MA in Counseling Psychology from San Diego State University in 1989. He received his Ph.D. in Education in 2000 from the San Diego State University/Claremont Graduate University joint doctoral program. He joined the faculty at Sonoma State University in 2000.

Lorraine Wolf, PhD, is the director of Disability Services at Boston University. She holds a doctorate in clinical neuropsychology from the City University of New York and has more than 20 years of experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. Wolf has taught experimental psychology, assessment, and neuropsychology at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Wolf has published and presented extensively on issues for students with attention and learning disorders, psychiatric disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders. She holds faculty appointments in psychiatry and in rehabilitation sciences at Boston University. She was a coeditor of Adult Attention Deficit Disorders: Brain Mechanisms and Life Outcomes, published by the New York Academy of Sciences in 2001, is the senior coeditor of Learning Disorders in Adults: Contemporary Issues published by Psychology Press in March 2008, and is the senior coauthor of Asperger Syndrome in Higher Education: A Professional Guide, published by Autism Asperger Publishing Company in 2008. Wolf’s research interests include the neuropsychology of attention disorders and effective services for students with autism spectrum and other psychiatric disabilities in higher education.

Register online

This event is full.

Request for Accommodations:

Michigan State University is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Accommodations for persons with disabilities may be requested by contacting the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives at https://msuinclusion.wufoo.com/forms/accommodations-request-form/. Please do so at least two weeks prior to the institute.

The accessible entrance to the MSU union is located on the West side of the building. There is a ramp to the right of the main doors and an elevator directly to the left once inside the building. The parlor rooms are on the second floor.