Improving Accessibility of Teaching for Neurodiverse Students

THE TEAM

Student leads: Harriet Hunter, Navya Malik, Shannon McCann, Ritika Sukhani

Treasurer and staff project lead: Dominika Dykert

DEPARTMENT

Psychology and Language Sciences

WHAT HAPPENED?

Our project originally arose from neurodiverse students bringing up suggestions on how small practical changes within the classroom could have a large impact on improving inclusivity and the learning experience of neurodiverse students. The project aimed to explore the learning experience of neurodiverse UCL students and gain further suggestions on how other changes could be implemented within the classroom environment to accommodate all learners. The experiences of neurodiverse students were gathered through various means (focus groups, interviews, qualitative questionnaires) all answering the same questions focusing on their overall learning experiences and face-to-face classroom / online learning experiences. Through thematic analysis we narrowed down many similarities between students about difficulties they faced and suggestions of how their learning experiences could be improved. These themes highlighted the importance of: clear organisation within the course; the accessibility of course materials; support from staff and the physical classroom environment, which can have a large impact on the learning experience of neurodiverse students. These themes were then presented in our workshop with staff members at the Anna Freud Centre whereby we worked together to discuss solutions and identify which of our themes could be feasibly incorporated into the everyday classroom environment within the Anna Freud Centre. Although our project was small through the information gained from the staff and student partnership we will be creating and distributing a leaflet summarising our findings and the suggestions we wish to continue to incorporate within the Anna Freud Centre to make it an inclusive environment for neurodiverse students.

WHAT ADVICE OR ENCOURAGEMENT WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE THINKING OF DOING A CHANGEMAKERS PROJECT?

Sometimes things in your project may not go as planned. For us we experienced set-backs which had a domino effect on our recruitment and led to us changing the format of how we gathered information (We went from focus groups to using interviews/qualitative questionnaires). So, our advice is to be flexible on how to approach these problems and not get too shaken by them especially when you’re strapped for time. Also, your staff partners can be a life-saver to minimise these setbacks when they arise.

Improving the wellbeing of students at UCL who identify as male through physical activity

The team
Lead students: Anne Cole and Nadia Yeo
Support students: Millie Morgan, Letitia Leong, Marta Radosevic
Project Active Lead: Lilley Kennedy
Department

Psychology and Language Sciences

What happened?
Our project has continued the work of a project completed last year. Our aim has been to increase the participation in Project Active classes of students who identify as male. Project Active runs engaging, non-competitive physical activity classes and the aim is to improve student wellbeing across the UCL community. We used behavioural science theories to gather data through surveys and focus groups to understand what could facilitate increased uptake of classes amongst male students. Results included increasing awareness, focusing on the social element of classes and providing incentives and loyalty schemes. The team and Project Active are now devising an initiative that can be rolled out in Term 1 2023 drawing on this data.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
Ensure you have clear, achievable goals and have a clear timeline with other teams.

Gendered self-perception and implicit gender bias in virtual reality

The team

Project lead: Mx Lucile Bottein, staff co-lead: Dr Aneesha Singh, PhD student Miss Leya George

Department
UCL Interaction Centre (UCLIC)
What happened?
Virtual reality (VR) is becoming increasingly used beyond the world of gaming; it is taking on an educational role in some cases, and may in the future facilitate remote working and learning (especially considering the rise of hybrid teaching/working with COVID). However, this may have harmful effects if not accompanied by rigorous and critical research. Specifically, using VR often involves the embodiment of an avatar, and the perceived identity of this avatar can have positive and/or negative effects on the cognition of the person embodying it. Our project aims to investigate how embodying female avatars might adversely impact implicit gender bias depending on how objectified this avatar is. Findings can indicate avenues of progress for the use of VR in educational/interventional contexts.
What advice or encouragement would you give to someone thinking of doing a ChangeMakers project?
Changemakers is a fantastic avenue to fund but also to support and organize your project. They have a large number of valuable resources and speaking with the team is always a delight. A successful project depends on many factors, one of which is a clear timeline (which accounts for the many delays and hiccups you will meet).