We have had some experience with this over the years with a health sciences course. We try to schedule our classes only in rooms with flexible furniture, which also makes it easier to accomodate wheelchairs etc.
Special needs students have occasionally shown up on the first day with note-takers but quickly discovered that they were not necessary in this type of learning environment.
I have also heard from our student counselling service that students with various disabilities reported fewer problems overall in our TBL setup compared to their other courses with traditional formats.
We do our IRATs online, so there are no in-class or timing challenges for special needs students.
One challenge I found this year was trying to stay visible to a hearing-impaired student in one group, who needed to be able to see my face while I talked, despite my tendency to wander around the room between groups, when teaching. A technical solution for this is to have the student use a personal FM system, so your voice can be heard wherever you are in the room.
Noise is a big factor, particularly when the room acoustics are poor. I found that smaller teams, 4-5, do better in noisier rooms, as they can more easily arrange the furniture in order to hear each other. I too have a hearing loss and I find it very difficult to hear what the individuals are saying when I sit down to visit with a team.
Hope that is useful Rick, and good luck with TBL.
Gary
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Gary Kapelus MBA DSP
Professor and Coordinator, Interprofessional Education
Faculty of Community Services and Health Sciences
George Brown College of Applied Arts and Technology
200 King St. E., Room 721
Toronto, ON M5T 2T9
Tel: (416) 415-5000 Ext 3508
Cell: (416) 450-8083
http://www.georgebrown.ca/healthsciences/ipe.aspx <http://www.georgebrown.ca/healthsciences/ipe.aspx>
<http://www.georgebrown.ca/healthsciences/interprofessional-education-event.aspx>
________________________________
From: Team-Based Learning on behalf of Richard Sabina
Sent: Thu 4/28/2011 9:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Special Needs Students in the TBL Envrionment
To All:
We are gearing up to receive our inaugural class in August and I am seeking feedback regarding situations and experiences with accommodating special needs students in the TBL environment, e.g., providing extra time for assessment, noise and mobility issues, etc. Thanks.
Rick Sabina
Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
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