Receiving information
Using records of lectures
Augmenting visual information
Augmenting aural information
Recording information
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Students with various impairments often express anxiety about using lectures in their learning as do many other students. In traditional lectures, if the primary aim is to convey information, then how students receive and record that information will be important. The following points are some of methods that academic staff can adopt to ensure that students get the most out of the lecture. If you feel that some of these methods are not being employed but would be benefitial, then students should approach the lecturer or their Student Representative to enquire about the possibility in future.
Receiving information
It is useful for all students if they receive a clear over view at the beginning of the lecture of what it will be covering. This should be summarised at the end to ensure that all topics were covered. It is often very helpful if the students are made aware of what the next lecture will be about so that they can read up and prepare if they want to.
It is extremely beneficial if lecturers provide a safety net for students unable to attend lectures (for whatever reason) in the form of lecture material held under the relevant module on UWE On line. These alternative ways of enabling students to receive information can be as effective as lectures, where the purpose is to disseminate information.
Any notes should be placed on UWE Online within the time frame specified to the students so that they do not have to wait too long to access them or remind lecturers to put them up.
Using records of lectures
However students record information from lectures, they are likely to want to refer to them, at a later stage. The distinction is sometimes made between taking notes and making notes. Some students may ‘take’ notes in lectures, and ‘make’ notes later, that is, actively process or work with, the notes they have taken. All students can benefit from advice about ways of ‘making’ notes.
Augmenting visual information
Students who are reliant on taping lectures as a way of receiving information will need a translation of visual material into an auditory form. Some thought needs to be given as to the best way of conveying information from diagrams, graphs, charts and other complicated visual material.
Augmenting aural information
Students who are deaf or hard of hearing may need to lip-read, and if this is the case, then the lecturer’s face – or the face of any other speaker in the lecture theatre - needs to be visible. Spot-lighting may be needed for lip-reading (and sign language interpretation) when the room is darkened, e.g. for showing slides or video. Where students use the services of a lip-speaker or an interpreter, such educational support workers are likely to need short breaks during the lecture. They may also need help with provision and positioning of seating. Both student and signer or lip-speaker will derive great benefit from being given an outline of the lecture material beforehand. Signs for new terminology need to be devised in advance.
Recording information
While writing notes is not possible for some students with some impairments, writing notes might not be the most effective way for many students to derive maximum benefit from a lecture. Many students might benefit from study skills training in e.g. note-taking. It can be very beneficial for students to go into the lecture tuned into the context of the lecture before hand. Providing students with a framework for following the lecture, such as copies of overheads, (which could be available on the UWE Online) which the students are then able to annotate or supplement, is one way of doing this.
Students with a range of impairments, such as those who are dyslexic, visually impaired or manually impaired may want to record information by taping, or Brailling. Referring students to a web-site will be useful if the information there is designed to be visually accessible, and if the student has the appropriate equipment or software for reading it. Some lecturers are happy to provide students with disk or hard copy of lecture material, or of copies of overheads. Provision of these can enable students with some impairments to devote more attention to listening.
Do not expect students to copy lots of information off the board, or take copious notes from dictation and always allow time for students to complete writing.
(adapted from Teachability Project - University of Strathclyde 2000 – 2005)
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