Edinburgh Napier University

  In this presentation I will outline a number of case studies where I have learned from working with students from different learning backgrounds to develop my teaching ethos of ‘no alarms and no surprises’. I address the accessibility of ‘surprise’ through reflecting on the experience of assessing, lecturing and exploring active learning approaches such as LEGO Serious Play and Problem-based Learning with a diverse student demographic. For example, I will examine the ‘reasonable adjustments’ for a written assessment in a first-year module for a blind student and how that led to my setting a precedent at the university for an alternative assessment for a research student with dyslexia and ask ‘what is the point of lectures and exams?