HECU 4

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Improving the Student Experience Through
Inclusive Policy and PracticeSeptember 2008
Developing Inclusive Curricula in Higher
Education Through an Appreciative Inquiry
Approach
Dr Val Chapman (NTF) and Will Bowen Jones
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As a result of engaging with this session you
should be able to

• Understand the philosophy underpinning the
  project
• Understand the Appreciative Inquiry process as
  used at Worcester
• Describe the activities undertaken in the
  Institute of Sport and Exercise Science in
  implementing the Appreciative Inquiry approach
• Make use of the web-based resource, SCIPS
• Discuss the issues and opportunities arising from
  the project

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Inclusive Learning and Teaching (LT)

• .An inclusive approach to learning and teaching
  avoids a point of view that locates difficulty or
  deficit within the student and focuses instead on
  understanding and responding to individual
  learners' needs. (Tomlinson, 1996)
• Aligned with social model of disability
• Flexible
• Meets needs of all learners

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Key features of project

• Development of innovative staff development
  package
• Supplementary resources to support academics
• Further development of the SCIPS web based
  resource (www.scips.worc.ac.uk)
• Embedding in institutional policy and practice
• Piloted with the Institute of Sport and Exercise
  Science at the University of Worcester (UW)

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Project research question

• How can we engage the interest and
• commitment of staff to further develop their
• inclusive practice in learning and teaching?
• Selection of an Appreciative Inquiry approach
• 4 phases
• Discovery phase
• Dream phase
• Design phase
• Destiny phase

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Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process
START
DISCOVERY
Briefing on inclusion and AI
Students interviews (VI)
Pre-workshop activity
Generation of adjectives
AI workshop (students)
Roll out model to additional departments
Students Post-it activity
Student presentation
Generation of propositional statements
Focus group interview questions
Focus group interview
Staff development
Further planning embedding
Inaugural ISES staff/student research summit
Staff response
Prioritisation meeting
Inclusion survey
DREAM
DESIGN
DESTINY
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Appreciative Inquiry

• Methodology developed by Professor David
  Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case Western
  Reserve University (US) in the 1980s
• Approach has been used throughout the world for
  organisational change (in companies such as BP,
  McDonalds and British Airways) and for community
  consultation and development.
• Focuses only the positive

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Discovery phase (Jan/Feb 08)

• Selection of student researchers
• Pre-workshop activity
• AI workshop
• Data collection by student researchers
• Post it exercise
• Disabled student interview
• Focus group interview (conducted by student
  member of project team)
• Answers to reflective questions (pre-workshop
  activity)
• Development of propositional statements

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Dream phase (Mar 08)

• Inaugural Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
  (ISES) staff/student research summit
• Student researchers presentation
• Audience
• Vice Chancellor
• Guest speaker Chief Executive, British
  Paralympic Association
• ISES staff
• Departmental Learning and Teaching (LT)
  representatives

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Student presentation - Laura
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Post-it data from student lectures

• Adjectives (n265)
• Enjoyable
• Interesting
• Challenging
• Fun

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Student researchers experiences of learning

• Personal accounts
• Inclusive practices
• Challenges successfully overcome
• Engagement of staff

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Propositional statement 1

• All students make a positive contribution to the
  learning of their peers.

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Propositional statement 2

• Students value the Schools strong sense of
  community and being made to feel part of it.

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Propositional statement 3

• Students love it when staff support and celebrate
  their achievements.

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Propositional statement 4

• Staff inspire students through being role models.

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Propositional statement 5

• Students really enjoy learning through doing.

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Propositional statement 6

• The Institute of Sport and Exercise Science
  (ISES) offers students a ticket to their
  future it gives them the opportunity to do
  things for themselves, become more
  independent, to reinvent themselves and be
  their own person. It offers a liberating and
  transformative experience.

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Design phase (Apr 08)

• Prioritisation meeting with ISES team to
  determine
• Individual priorities
• Draft priorities for referral to departmental
  Learning and Teaching Committee
• Staff survey ISES staff confidence ratings in
  inclusive practice (via survey monkey)
• Analysed to determine staff development
  priorities

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Destiny phase (Ongoing)

• Implementation of innovative staff development
  package
• Supplemental resources
• SCIPS (Strategies for Creating Inclusive
  Programmes of Study) www.scips.worc.ac.uk
• (used 24/7, page ranked by Google 5/10)
• Embedding inclusive policy and practice in
  existing departmental structures and systems e.g.
  peer observation

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Departmental priorities agreed at May ISES
meeting

• Share innovative practice champion good
  practice act as advocates for recruitment of
  disabled ISES staff and students
• Use peer observation to focus on inclusion
• Ensure effective screening to identify
  disabled/dyslexic students/issues
• Monitor retention achievement in order to
  identify issues

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Departmental priorities agreed at May ISES meeting

• Identify support strategies for part time/mature/
  overseas/living at a distance students
• Integrate inclusive practice throughout all
  modules rather than just focus in Sport and
  Disability module (inclusion strategy)
• Adopt a more coherent approach to inclusion
  across the whole school.

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ISES Learning Advisory Group Meeting

• Sticky messages
• Shared goal
• Reminder of draft priorities
• Collated report on results of Individual
  Inclusivity Profile
• Future action

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Elite Athlete/Disabled Learner

• Paralympics disabled sport differentiated to
  allow participation and competition at highest
  level
• Inclusive academic practice learning and
  teaching differentiated to allow participation
  and competition at highest level
• Paralympic motto Dont do different things for
  disabled people, do things differently.

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Goal

• Within the next two years,
• the ISES team will have an
• international reputation as
• leaders in the field of
• inclusive practice in sport
• and exercise science.

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• How can we raise
• the IQ of all ISES
• staff to help
• achieve our goal?

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Fact

• The ISES academic team have a higher collective
  IQ than the national average
• IQ Inclusivity Quotient
• 8.91 of students registered on sport related
  courses at Worcester have a disclosed disability
• National average 7.47 of all students at UK HE
  institutions have a disclosed disability

(University of Worcester Planning Office, 2008)
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Individual Inclusivity Profile - aspects covered

• Admission/induction
• Course content and design
• Course delivery
• Teaching styles
• Assessment/
• examinations
• Feedback to students
• Physical environment

• Technology/
• e-learning
• Learning resources/
• course materials
• Course Monitoring
• Staff development
• Academic Support
• Work placement

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Individual Inclusivity Profile (example) n 19
(76) response rate (H High M Medium)
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Opportunities (value added)

• Provides evidence of UWs commitment to provide
  excellent, inclusive education as stipulated in
  its Mission Statement
• Review and revision of Open Day practice
• Research informed teaching
• Students as researchers
• Raised external profile, e.g. 360 degree
  conference presentation
• Step by Step Guide to AI
• Roll out to other departments at UW
• AI Guide distributed to other HEIs in UK and
  South Africa

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Issues

• Student involvement proved labour intensive for
  project staff
• Pressurised timescale
• Ethics and responsibilities
• Associated costs
• Alternative formats for disabled student
  researchers

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Further work

• Institute of Sport and Exercise Science (ISES)
  project Disabled Students as Researchers,
  Mentors and Mentees
• Development of generic Step by Step Guide to AI
• Development of ISES Research Centre with focus on
  inclusion
• Roll out to Business School and Centre for
  Education and Inclusion Studies