UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence invites Penn State educators to attend a March 23 webinar on best practices for supporting students with disabilities. The webinar is part of a larger effort of the Schreyer Institute to spark conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) in teaching and learning.
The webinar, titled “Disability Inclusion in the Classroom: Being an Ally for Students with Disabilities,” will take place from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, through Zoom.
The event will address the experiences of students with disabilities in higher education, including barriers and resource needs. It will explore effective practices for working with students with disabilities in proactive ways. Additional topics will include the prevalence of disability and common myths about disabilities.
Facilitators will include Allison Fleming, associate professor in the College of Education, and K. Lynn Pierce, disability specialist intern with Educational Equity. The event will be designed to appeal to Penn State instructors of any rank or campus, administrators, librarians, instructional designers and graduate students.
“We encourage Penn State educators to attend this important conversation about how to better support students with disabilities,” said Pierce. “We want participants to leave the webinar with an improved awareness of disability and the barriers students encounter in higher education, and some ways they could be an ally to students with disabilities.”
Interested individuals can register for the webinar on the Schreyer Institute’s events page. Registration will remain open until 1:30 p.m. on March 23, and registrants will receive a link at least one hour prior to the workshop.
Other DEIA events
This offering is part of the Schreyer Institute’s broader effort to support Penn State educators in fostering more diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible (DEIA) teaching and learning environments.
“We refer to ‘DEIA’ because we believe that accessibility is a vital part of any diversity, equity and inclusion initiative,” explained Mary Ann Tobin, assistant research professor and instructional consultant for the Schreyer Institute. “The voices of disabled individuals are often missing or unheard in conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. But they also have been underserved and are under-represented in higher education, where they often encounter barriers to full access. Accessibility must be part of the DEI conversation, too.”
As part of its larger DEIA focus, the Schreyer Institute will offer additional events this spring, all available at no cost to Penn State educators:
- “Developing an Anti-Racist Syllabus” webinar 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 30.
- “How to Create an Effective, Accessible Syllabus” webinar 9:05 to 10:20 a.m. April 5.
Individuals can learn more and register for these events on the Schreyer Institute’s events page. Questions can be directed to the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at site@psu.edu.
The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence is part of the Penn State Office of Undergraduate Education.