The 'sloppiness of recommendations' referred to may be a result of the
Student Adviser not being able to put forward a strong case for recommended
support - based on the evidence provided by the student.
We are a student-centred organisation and whilst we will point out to a
student that they may not be successful in their application for support if
we consider that their request will be rejected due to lack of evidence, if
the student wishes the Student Adviser to make a claim on their behalf to an
LEA for funding for support, then we will do so.
Is this how other institutions work? As a relatively new Student Adviser, I
am fascinated by the diversity of working practice in this field!
Sue
-----Original Message-----
From: claire wickham [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 10:58 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Notetakers for dyslexic students
Re. Notetakers:
In response to David's insightful contribution:
>
> David Grant wrote:
>
> > This discussion has raised some fundamental issues. So my comments are
an
> > attempt to unpack these issues.
> >
> > 1] Sloppiness of recommendations.
COMMENT: Absolutely David.
> >
> >
> > 2] Student preferences
> >
COMMENT: I would disagree. Obviously, as you so rightly point out, if
the needs assessment had been competent, it might not be necessary for
so many other areas to be explored, as there would be a more clear
picture of the specific difficulty facing the student.
However:
1. Notetaking costs would be related to the type of course: number of
lectures etc.
2. Students should be able to make informed choices and there should be
support to enable them to develop appropriate strategies that will
result in effective learning. (Recording lectures may be a highly
ineffective strategy as the end result is hours of recordings that may
never be listened to again.) Once more, the strategy may be dependent
on the course: it might be appropriate to record lectures for a student
who has 3 or 4 a week but highly inappropriate if there were 16 hours
of lectures. Support is the outcome of interaction between the
individual and the course.
> > St. John comment that "Notetaking should be "only agreed when all other
> > strategies have been fully explored"
> > >
> > Claire comments: "I disagree. This removes personal choice and
preferences
> > from the
> > >disabled student"
> >
> > To employ a professional notetaker will cost in excess of #15,000 over a
> > three-year period. A mindic recorder will cost about #250. There is an
> > obligation to make cost-effective recommendations.
> >
> > [A xerox copy of a student's notes is a lot cheaper, but if a dyslexic
> > student can read the hand-written notes of someone else then I would
> > question just how severe their dyslexia was.]
> >
> > I think all would agree that it is vital that a student is an active
> > participant in the decision-making process, but this also means that the
> > student is informed of the requirement for assessors to make cost
effective
> > recommendations, and for assessors to outline alternatives.
> >
> > I'm often asked to recommend a laptop - but reasons of social
> > convenience/personal preference are not a reason for agreeing to a
request.
> >
> > 3] The purpose of higher education.
> >
> > HE is about becoming an independent learner. I very much agree with
Bernard
> > about enabling students to become automonous, and most students, to be
fair
> > to them, very much want to achieve this.
> >
> > Reamining totally dependent on a note-taker is reducing the ability of a
> > student to play an active part in the learning process [for example, by
> > learning how to be selective]. It is for this reason that I would agree
> > that recommending a note-taker should be exceptional [for example, when
a
> > student is very close to being functionally illiterate].
COMMENT: I do not see dependency on a Notetaker as failing to be an
autonomous learner if this the most effective strategy. Using HACs as
opposed to TACS does not necessarily make one more dependent and less
autonomous. Moreover, the student would be directing the Notetaker so
that selectivity is achieved.
> >
> > 4] The responsibility of HE institutions.
> >
> > As I mentioned above, my estimated costs of providing a professional
> > note-taker is in excess of #5,000 per annum. Why should this cost be
> > provided when lecturers could resolve this need through providing good
> > quality notes in the first instance? A few do - many more should.
COMMENT: Yes! Lecturers should develop more inclusive teaching
strategies. Perhaps this goes back to the Needs Assessment: is the
student, for example, able to take satisfactory notes if provided with
adequate handouts/lecture notes before the class?
ATB
Claire
----------------------
Claire Wickham
Director: Access Unit - Short Courses and Outreach
University of Bristol
Union Building
Queen's Road
Clifton
Bristol BS8 1LN
Tel: 0117 954 5710
Textphone: 0117 954 5715
Fax: 0117 954 5714
[log in to unmask]
|