- Title: Investigating the impact of Accessible Pedagogies on the experiences and engagement of students with language and/or attentional difficulties
- Authors: Haley Tancredi, Linda J. Graham, Callula Killingly & Naomi Sweller
- Access the original paper here
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Paper summary
This research paper investigates the impact of the Accessible Pedagogies™ program on Year 10 students with language and/or attentional difficulties. The study explores whether teachers’ use of accessible teaching methods, focused on reducing extraneous language and cognitive load, affects these students’ classroom experiences and engagement. Findings from student interviews revealed that students noticed and appreciated specific teaching strategies emphasized in the program, even without knowing their teachers were participating. Notably, the study found a statistically significant increase in cognitive engagement among students whose teachers implemented Accessible Pedagogies™, suggesting that reducing instructional barriers can enhance their ability to focus on learning. The research contributes to understanding how accessible pedagogy can create more inclusive learning environments for students with specific learning challenges.
What are the key implications for teachers in the classroom?
Based on the research investigating the impact of Accessible Pedagogies™, there are several key implications for teachers in the classroom. This study suggests that teachers’ adoption of accessible pedagogical practices can significantly improve the classroom experiences and engagement of students with language and/or attentional difficulties.
Here are some key implications for teachers:
- Reducing Extraneous Language and Cognitive Load is Crucial: Teachers should be mindful of the language they use and the cognitive demands of their instruction. Long, complex instructions, abstract language, unnecessary teacher talk, low-frequency words, and fast-paced verbal instruction can create significant barriers for students, especially those with ADHD and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). By reducing these extraneous elements, teachers can free up students’ mental effort to focus on learning.
- Accessible Pedagogies™ Enhance Cognitive Engagement: The study found a statistically significant increase in cognitive engagement for students whose teachers participated in the Accessible Pedagogies™ Program of Learning. This implies that when teachers actively work to make their pedagogy more accessible, students are more likely to intellectually invest in the learning process and exert the effort needed for comprehension and mastery.
- Specific Strategies Make a Difference: Students identified several concrete teaching practices that helped them pay attention and understand. Teachers should consider incorporating strategies such as:
- Regular check-ins to maintain attention.
- Using a moderate instructional pace with intentional pauses.
- Reducing the quantity and complexity of verbal instruction.
- Utilizing visual supports like hand gestures, PowerPoints, and lists on the board.
- Providing clear and economical explanations.
- Explicitly teaching new vocabulary and simplifying complex terms.
- Regularly checking for student understanding through questioning and monitoring.
- Repeating important information.
- Using clear signals for transitions.
- Providing accessible slides with less information.
- Using routines and strategies to keep students on track.
- Focus on Removing Instructional Barriers: Instead of solely focusing on students’ deficits, teachers should prioritize identifying and removing instructional barriers. Accessible Pedagogies™ align with the social model of disability, which emphasizes the role of environmental barriers in hindering participation.
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles are Relevant: While UDL is a comprehensive framework for lesson planning, its underlying principles of optimizing engagement, representation, and action and expression are relevant for classroom pedagogy. Accessible Pedagogies™ can be seen as a way to address pedagogical barriers, which are a key component of creating truly inclusive learning environments.
- Student Feedback is Valuable: Gathering feedback from students on the accessibility of teaching can help teachers refine their practices in real-time. The study highlights that even without explicit knowledge of an intervention, students can perceive and articulate changes in their teachers’ instructional methods.
In conclusion, the research strongly suggests that by embracing Accessible Pedagogies™, teachers can create more inclusive and effective learning environments that enhance the cognitive engagement of all students, particularly those with language and/or attentional difficulties, by reducing unnecessary instructional barriers and making learning more comprehensible.
Quote
Findings suggest that the reduction of extraneous language and cognitive load through teachers’ use of Accessible Pedagogies™ may have helped students deploy available mental effort to engage in learning, rather than expend that effort to overcome unnecessary instructional barriers
