Methods for Inclusivity: Accessibility & Appeals

Speaker: Kate Sonka

Accessibility in education works to create an equitable learning environment for disabled students, and equally important is the need for multi-modal appeals to faculty, students, and practitioners to implement accessible teaching practices. This talk will explore an interdisciplinary approach to coalition building centered on six methods for encouraging adoption of accessible practices: student success, social justice, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), community impact, legal, and business. Attendees will hear how these approaches have been used and will be invited to consider how any number of them might be suited for their own teaching practice. The format will include a short presentation, breakout rooms for group collaboration, and Q&A.

Speaker bio
Kate Sonka is the Executive Director of Teach Access, a non-profit focused on infusing accessibility into the higher ed curriculum. She holds an M.Ed. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education and more than 12 years of experience in higher education. She has worked to improve teaching and learning through faculty course design and support, teaching in both campus-based classrooms and via immersive learning settings, and training and mentorship for faculty members and students. In exploring how accessibility exists in professional and academic spaces, she helped establish the Teach Access Study Away Silicon Valley program, implement the Teach Access Faculty Curriculum Development Grant program, and founded the Accessible Learning Conference at Michigan State University.

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