I've struggled with this one in the past and I am not sure if there should
be a hard and fast rule to this. Group work with deaf students can be very
restricted if the student does not have a dedicated interpreter and the
group can only meet when an interpreter is available. Also, if the aim of
the group work is to complete a presentation they will have to practice
this with the interpreter in advance, necessitating early completion of
their work. If they aim to complete a piece of written text, the deaf
student may have to have it checked over first, but the English support
person may need to see all the texts in order to be able to work through it
with the deaf student.
I was once in a situation where I was voicing over for a deaf student in an
assessed presentation and the lecturer gave the group a better mark because
he spotted that I had written preparation materials. Ethical? Who knows.
One of the things to consider is that group work can be difficult for any
non-standard student. Mature students with kids may find it difficult to
arrange child care, Asian women may find it difficult to meet outside
dedicated lecture times, foreign students may have language problems, etc.
I doubt whether these groups would get lenient marking. In order to ensure
that there is fairness in the assessment, why not change the assessment
brief, so that all groups have the chance to equally fulfil the criteria.
For example, all groups should have written materials available in advance
of a presentation (these are impossible to interpret without), groups
should keep a log of meetings to show how organised they have been, where
email contact and written notes are rewarded and students should come up
with a minimum number of and schedule of meetings, so that the deaf student
can organise their support in advance.
Favouring only one student, or one group doesn't do much for the acceptance
of a deaf or disabled student. It would be better if the problems were
eradicated from the assessment, so that the disabled student is not seen as
a hinderance or a bonus, but can just get on with it.
Hope this helps,
Judith
At 09:19 13/11/00 +0000, you wrote:
>What is the attiude of others towards the idea
>of compensating non disabled students involved in group
>work assignments/exercises with disabled students? A tutor
>is minded to do so, following a reported communication
>problem between a profoundly deaf student (with signer) and
>his fellow student.
>
>Bryan Jones
>Equal Opportunities Adviser
>London Guildhall University
>
>Tel: 020 7320 1137
>
>
Judith Mole
Direct Learn Training
Online services to education, courseware development, project management,
deafness/disability consultancy
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: http://www.directlearn.co.uk/ - last updated 26.09.00
Tel: +44 (0)1629 540386
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Fax: +44 (0)1629 540820
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