The Writing Place (WP) is Northwestern’s peer-to-peer writing center. This workshop, facilitated by WP leadership and Senior writing consultants, will share current research on equitable and accessible teaching practices and the changes that we have implemented over the past year to make the WP more inclusive of the needs of neurodivergent students. We will explore the challenges neurodivergent students face in classrooms, pitfalls educators face when designing their courses and assignments, and accessible approaches that WP consultants use in our sessions with student writers.
The workshop will be divided into three, 30-minute modules: 1) Thinking about Neurodivergence in Syllabus and Canvas Design; 2) Best Practices for Composing Accessible Assignment Prompts; and 3) Considering Classroom Space and Neurodivergent Needs. Each module will begin with a short presentation showcasing the research of our Senior writing consultants before transitioning to an activity that invites participants to explore our methodologies in their own courses and contexts.
