
	CRLT Services in Spring and Summer The "school year" may be over, but CRLT is still here to support...
	Investigating Student Learning: Poster Fair on May 6 "I learned so much this semester!" This is the kind of student...
	First Day Resources As winter term wraps up, many U-M teachers are thinking ahead to their...
	Maximizing Student Response Rate on Course Evaluations End-of-term student course evaluations are important for a range of...
	Teaching in the Wake of a Tragedy Our thoughts and best wishes go out to everyone affected by the tragic...

Resources

Teaching Students Who Have Disabilities: Information from the Office of the General Counsel

Teaching Students Who Have Disabilities:
Information from the Office of the General Counsel

Accommodations for students with disabilities

Do I need to make accommodations for students with disabilities?

Instructors are obligated by law to provide reasonable accommodations to students who have a verified disability.

What does that mean? Read more »

Teaching Students Who Have Disabilities: What Faculty Can Do

To Be Inclusive: Include a Statement in the Syllabus

Include in the course syllabus a statement asking students with disabilities to meet to arrange accommodations. (Using a standard statement on the syllabus will both protect student privacy and affirm your policy.)
Sample Statement endorsed by SACUA:

If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know at your earliest convenience. Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way the course is usually taught may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress. As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate academic accommodations. SSD (734-763-3000;
http://www.umich.edu/sswd) typically recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form. Any information you provide is private and confidential and will be treated as such.
Note that some academic units have processes that ask students to begin the accommodation process with someone other than the course instructor.

Read more »

Guidelines for Discussion of CyberBullying and Expressions of Anti-Gay Sentiment

The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) has developed discussion guidelines to help instructors facilitate classroom discussion around incidents that involve the use of racial or sexual epithets, taunting, and other behavior that expresses hostility, derision or violence. In light of recent attacks made on the UM MSA President Chris Armstrong, and the tragic death of Rutgers first year student Tyler Clementi, precipitated by invasion of his privacy, we have adapted those guidelines to help instructors plan discussions or handle unexpected questions. The following guidelines help address the issue of respecting sexual identity and intimacy, and the issues of ethical practice in cyberspace.

Whatever the context, discussion about such topics must be structured in a way that defines boundaries for the process, and that brings the discussion to closure within the classroom. Discussion should be inclusive of all students in the class. It should extend discourse beyond polarized and polarizing debates. Finally, discussion must acknowledge that facts and interpretations of specific social conflicts may change with time, but tools for conceptual understanding and dialogue will continue to be useful past the current moment. Read more »