This survey asks about your views on how FTL methods might interact with the learning experiences of students with disabilities and chronic medical conditions. The survey is being undertaken by the Disability Office of the University of Western Australia and aims to identify the benefits of more flexible teaching methods as well as the barriers that face teaching staff in adopting these approaches. The project outcomes will include the development of practical resources and information to support teaching staff in the use of FTL methods for all students. For further information on the project, please contact Mark Edwards on (08) 9380 3809 or by e-mail: mgedwards@admin.uwa.edu.au
Thank you for taking the time to answer the following questions. The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete. Please return the survey to YOUR institution’s Disability Officer via internal mail by Monday 13th August 2001.
1. At which institution do you do all or most of your teaching?
2. Please indicate your employment status at this institution:
| Full-time |
 1 |
Part-time |
2 |
Casual
|
3 |
3. How many years of teaching experience have you had?
| 1-2 years |
1 |
3-5 years |
2 |
more than 5 years |
3 |
For the purposes of this survey, FTL is defined as:
“Providing a teaching and learning environment that supports a range of access methods and different learning modes to optimise the learning opportunities of students.”
4. Would you like to have more opportunity to be more flexible in your course delivery?
| No 1If no, why not? |
.....................................................................................
|
| Yes 2 If yes, what is preventing you? |
.........................................................
|
5. Use the scale provided below to indicate your agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements:
As far as I am aware:
| a) |
My teaching methods cater well for most students with disabilities |
|
| b) |
My usual methods of presenting class content may present difficulties for students who have physical difficulties with writing |
|
| c) |
I do not know how teaching methods might impact on students with a disability
|
|
| d) |
I think that students with a disability should be accommodated through support services only and not by how I teach |
|
| e) |
I would change my teaching and learning methods if I knew how I might better
accommodate students with disabilities |
|
| f) |
I would change my teaching and learning methods if I could see the benefit(s) for students with disabilities |
|
6. Using the scale provided, please rate each of the following factors on how much you feel they would inhibit you from adopting more flexible methods of teaching.
|
1
Very little |
2
A moderate amount |
3
A lot |
| a) |
Large class size |
|
| b) |
Lack of necessary equipment/resources |
|
| c) |
Lack of technical support |
|
| d) |
Lack of funding to cover teaching load when developing flexible courses |
|
| e) |
Lack of funding to implement strategies |
|
| f) |
Constraints on time to create flexible materials |
|
| g) |
Concern over intellectual property/copyright |
|
| h) |
Security of academic materials |
|
| I) |
Loss of academic freedom |
|
| J) |
Nature of the course/unit is not conducive to flexible delivery |
|
| k) |
Lack of encouragement from Faculty/department regarding flexible delivery |
|
| l) |
Lack of professional development/training/support |
|
| m) |
Learning space /environment restrictions |
|
| n) |
Other (please specify |
|
7. What do you feel is the likelihood of each of the following outcomes occurring as a result of you adopting more FTL methods?
|
1
Unlikely |
2
Moderately Likely |
3
Highly likely |
| a) |
A more inclusive learning experience for all students |
|
| b) |
A more satisfying teaching experience for staff |
|
| c) |
Drop off in attendance at lectures |
|
| d) |
Opens up other options for using lecture time |
|
| e) |
Less communication between staff and students |
|
| f) |
Less student-student interaction |
|
| g) |
Opens up more avenues for individual learning styles |
|
| h) |
A more effective learning experience for students with a disability |
|
| I) |
Students listening and note-taking skills decrease |
|
| j) |
Increased progression rates for all students |
|
| k) |
Loss of intellectual property/copyright |
|
| l) |
Other (please specify) |
|
8. The space below is for any further comments that you would like to make regarding the issue of disability and FTL methods.
.......................................................................................................................................
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
Please return your completed questionnaire to your institution’s Disability Officer
via internal mail by Monday 13th August 2001.
This survey aims to gather some information on the basic methods of service provision that disability officers employ to meet the education/training needs of higher education students with disabilities. The survey is being undertaken by the Disability Office of the University of Western Australia and is part of a DETYA funded project looking at the impact of flexible course delivery on the service needs of students with disabilities. The project outcomes will include the development of practical resources and information to support teaching staff in the development of more flexible teaching practices. For further information on the project contact Mark Edwards on (08) 9380 3809 or by e-mail: mgedwards@admin.uwa.edu.au
The survey should take 15 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential and all identifying information will immediately be removed from your response.
|
DO NOT USE THE “REPLY” FUNCTION ON YOUR E-MAIL PROGRAMME.
Please email the completed survey to the return email address:
mgedwards@admin.uwa.edu.au
|
NOTE: In this survey the term “flexible delivery” refers to flexibility in the delivery of education and training programmes to accommodate the diverse learning needs of students. In the disability context flexible delivery draws on the principles of Universal Instructional Design.
1. Use the scale provided below to indicate the approach you take when a student with a disability has a problem accessing course/unit materials or lecture content.
|
1
Almost Never |
2
Infrequently |
3
Sometimes |
4
Frequently |
5
Almost Always |
a) I provide individually targeted support services (e.g. note taking) .........
b) I provide individually targeted assistive technology .........
c) I refer the student to the course coordinator .........
d) I negotiate with the course coordinator to provide the student with individual supports, e.g., notes, overheads .......
e) I negotiate with the course coordinator for increased flexibility in the basic method of course delivery, e.g. hard copy notes for all students ..........
2. Please indicate your agreement or disagreement with the following statements by using the scale provided.
|
1
Strongly Disagree |
2
Disagree |
3
Unsure |
4
Agree |
5
Strongly Agree |
a) The typical education/training needs of most students with disabilities can best be met through more flexible delivery of those education programmes .......
b) The individual targeting of supports is mostly a very cost efficient and effective way of providing disability services. .........
c) The needs of students with disability needs should generally be met without the need for discloser of disability or medical condition.....
d) Students with different types of disabilities often have the same supports needs......
e) Students with different types of disabilities often require the same types of support services. ........
f) Most students with disabilities need to repeatedly disclose their disability in order to receive education supports..........
3. Please indicate for each of the following whether they encourage a systemic approach to meeting the education/training needs of students with disabilities.
a) My institutions Disability Policy...................................................Yes / No
b) My institutions Disability Action/Service Plan............................ Yes / No
c) The funding approach of my institution........................................ Yes / No
d) The culture of my professional environment....................................Yes / No
e) My preferred method of providing disability services........................Yes / No
f) The student’s preferred method of receiving assistance........... Yes / No
g) DETYA’s funding approach................................................ Yes / No
4. If I had more resources to address the problems students face in accessing the content of their education/training programmes, I would put them into improving (use percentages e.g. 25%, 50%, and 25%):
a) the level of assistive technology supports provided to individual students ......
b) the level of general non-technological supports such as note taking, transcription, tutoring, and personal assistance ........
c) the level of supports provided to teaching/training staff to change their way of delivering courses ........
5. For each of the following types of functional problems encountered by students with disabilities, indicate whether they are best dealt with by flexible delivery or through individual supports. Put “FD” for flexible delivery and “IS” for individual supports.
a. Unable to see much of the information presented in class ..........
b. Unable to hear much of the information presented in class ..............
c. Writing management problems ..............
d. Unable to concentrate in the education/training setting ...............
e. Absence due to illness/disability ..............
f. Unable to interact with the equipment/materials provided in the learning situation ..............
g. Student has difficulty with disclosing disability ............
h. Student has difficulty in negotiating with teaching staff ..............
MANY THANKS FOR COMPLETING THIS SURVEY.
PLEASE RETURN IT TO:
mgedwards@admin.uwa.edu.au