DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 ‘Enhancing the Learning Experience for Disabled Students in the Built Environment Disciplines’ Alan Maddocks Dr Adam Crawford Prof John Dickens Loughborough University

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 Alan Maddocks DART Project Manager Engineering CETL, Loughborough University

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART (Disabilities: Academic Resource Tool) Project: – Aims / Intended Outcomes Capture & disseminate the experiences of disabled students within Built Environment / Engineering disciplines To enhance: Provision offered to disabled students by academic staff within these disciplines Accessibility of the curriculum Educational experiences of disabled student

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Project: Primary Outputs 25 Student Case Studies Range of disabilities Across the HE spectrum Learning & Teaching experience Web-based Auditing & Diagnostic Tool Built Environment / Engineering Academics Searchable data-base Bespoke advice and guidance

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Auditing & Diagnostic Tool: Designed for use by academics seeking SENDA compliance General & Specific advice Case Studies / Existing Resources Links to websites of interest Information on other HEFCE funded disability- related projects

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Auditing & Diagnostic Tool: Searchable data-base / DART Matrix Search options Barriers (e.g. delivery methods) Context (e.g. lectures, laboratory work) Disability (e.g. visually-impaired) Typically 10 criteria per search option

NDT Conference: Watford: April 2005

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 The DART Tool can be used in different contexts: Addressing the needs of students with specific disabilities or conditions Developing more accessible teaching strategies and resources Producing accessible programmes and module specifications Conducting module reviews Reviewing institutional disability provision

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Tool: comments from academics “A very useful tool indeed. Quite illuminating and informative as it provides clear guidance about the most appropriate course of action” (GS, UCE) “It was relatively easy to source relevant information on each area of disability” (RJ, UCE) “Very useful” (SM, NTU) “I have DART on my favourites list” (RM, Loughborough)

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Tool: comments from disabled students “I feel very comfortable that all academics should have access to this tool” (SA, SHU) “The structure and presentation of the information was excellent” (JP, Bolton) “I think that the DART Tool is a useful starting point for staff to find out about disabilities and to develop an understanding of disabled students” (CW, Loughborough)

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Tool: comments from disability specialists “This is exactly the kind of tool that I think would benefit our academic staff. They need something that they can refer to time and time again without it getting misplaced or lost, and that offers a whole kaleidoscope of advice and guidance” (KJ, Bolton) “I would feel justified in recommending academic staff to use the DART Tool” (HH, NTU)

DART presentation: BEECON 2006: London: September 2006 DART Project Embedding success: Enhancing the learning experience for disabled students (The Higher Education Academy, 2006)