Hi Heather,
I've worked in this field in the US, and I wouldn't say it's common practice to permit students to
take in such a memory prompt. If it's an individual adjustment, it raises all the same concerns
there that it would here - that it may be altering the nature of the assessment in a fundamental
way. What I think may be more common in the US is a 'universal design' approach where all students
are permitted to take a limited memory prompt into an otherwise closed-book exam.
In either case, the first step would be for the lecturer to articulate the learning outcomes of the
course and the marking criteria for the piece of assessment - if the assessment task is intended to
test recall, it wouldn't be appropriate, whether for all students or only for disabled students. If
you can manage to have this conversation with the lecturer (which is the hard part) it becomes clear
pretty quickly whether it would be appropriate. So a first step towards a policy might be to set
out the questions one would ask in such a conversation?
all the best,
Katya
>>> Heather Griffiths <[log in to unmask]> 04/12/07 5:20 PM >>>
Dear all
I have received a request from one of our dyslexia tutors, for a
student to be allowed to take a mind map or memory triggers into
exams. I understand this is common practice in the US, and was
wondering if anyone has adopted this approach here in the UK. If so,
any chance I could have a copy of any policy or procedures you have.
Best wishes
Heather Griffiths, Inclusion Co-ordinator, Disability
Newman University College
Birmingham B3 3NT
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