Inclusive by Design: Co-creating resources with neurodivergent students
Inclusive by Design: Co-creating resources with neurodivergent students
Christopher Ostrowdun (School of Education) and Amelia Knowlson (School of Performance and Cultural Industries)
Project overview
The research project, devised by two neurodivergent academics, asks what could make spaces, practices, and resources inclusive from the perspective of undergraduate neurodivergent students. The project aims to foster positive change by understanding how neurodivergent students would design inclusive spaces and teaching resources by using participatory design methods to co-design solutions for inclusive spaces and teaching resources. This two-year project will seek to understand the unique experiences of students through cultural probes (i.e., active and sensory tools and methods). After which, the research will situate neurodivergent students as co-creators in the analysis and development of a toolkit to enact positive change within and beyond the University.
The research approach
This project uses participatory design methods to understand the experiences of neurodivergent students. Participatory methods such as ‘Cultural Probes’ where selected because they allow for a creative exploration of a particular topic, in this case ‘inclusion’ without heavily relying on text-based communication. These methods are creative workshops that ask students to create, draw, play and capture their experiences and understanding of inclusion.
The outcomes of these creative workshops will be collaboratively analysed to inform the co-creation of a toolkit centred on building inclusive spaces and resources. This toolkit will be tested by pairs of teaching staff and students who will work in partnership (with our support) to implement and evaluate the toolkit in teaching spaces.
If you would like to find out more about the project contact Christopher Ostrowdun or Amelia Knowlson
Each fellowship has a project sponsor that helps the fellows achieve impact across the institution. The sponsor for this fellowship is Jenny Brady
Project start date: September 2024