This Guidebook is organized into five units and fourteen modules.
Module Structure
Each module has the same five component structure and the components build off of one another. Consequently, the modules are most effective when the components are completed in order. The typical module structure includes the following parts:
- Overview
- Module epigraph: A short quote that foreshadows the module topic(s).
- A Message from Shaheen: A brief introduction to the module.
- Musical moment: A piece of music composed and/or performed by a Deaf or disabled artist that is loosely related to the module topic(s).
- Overview table: The table provides estimates of how long each component of the module will take.
- Engage: This component provides a selection of media (text, video, art, audio) from a wide range of disabled and nondisabled creators. The Engage sources provide background information about the module topic(s) and offer a range of perspectives. Engage with the sources that will best support your learning.
- Note: Most of the Engage sources are freely available online. But there are a few offline sources. See the next section for details about offline sources.
- Reflect: This component provides prompts to help you reflect on what you learned during the Engage component. Document your reflections in a way that works for you (e.g., text, audio, drawing).
- Chat: This component provides conversation starters. Chat with others to deepen your knowledge and to understand others’ perspectives on the module topic(s).
- Self-Assessment: This component gives you an opportunity to pause and assess the knowledge you have developed in the module.
Engage Sources
This Guidebook includes 121 Engage sources from 110 creators, 59% of which publicly identify as Deaf or disabled. My (Shaheen’s) goal in curating a diverse list of sources was to demonstrate that:
- Disabled people are not a monolith; we have diverse perspectives and lived experiences.
- There are many valuable ways to share knowledge; text is not the only, nor always the best, way.
Additionally, I (Shaheen) hoped that by selecting a wide variety of sources the majority of the undergraduate students in my class would get excited about the subject matter.
To that end, in curating the list of Engage sources for each module, we prioritized sources created by disabled/Deaf and other minoritized people that were accessible to a range of disabled people and freely available online. Furthermore, we sought variation in the sources with respect to both format (e.g., text, video, art) and perspective.
We refined the Engage sources every semester Shaheen taught SED 101 at Illinois State University (ISU) based on feedback from students. The sources that former students found confusing or not useful were cut from subsequent iterations of the Guidebook. The present collection of Engage sources was vetted by 500 plus students over four years.
In addition to the online Engage sources, theGuidebook incorporates three books in part or in whole. You will need to obtain a copy of each of the following:
- Demystifying Disability – Penguin Random House: You will need the entire book. The chapters are divided among the modules.
- Show Me A Sign – Scholastic: You will need chapters 12, 14 and 17.
- The Pretty One – Simon and Schuster: You will need pages 51-69.
All three books are available in accessible formats on Bookshare.
Lastly, there are two articles from The Atlantic that require a subscription:
We encourage you to obtain copies of both articles through your community or university library.
Accessibility
To the best of our knowledge, the Guidebook is compliant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Each online Engage source is, at a minimum, machine readable and/or auto-captioned. We have provided a transcript for video and audio sources that have insufficient captions.
I (Shaheen) take full responsibility for any access barriers that readers encounter in using the Guidebook. Moreover, I welcome any feedback readers are willing to share about the access barriers they encountered while using this open educational resource (OER).
Implementing the Guidebook at Illinois State University
At ISU, Shaheen used earlier versions of the Guidebook to facilitate both small face-to-face sections (25-26 students) and large online sections (80-110 students) of the “Special” Education 101 course.
In both versions of the course, the first week was devoted to building community and each remaining week was devoted to one module of the Guidebook (i.e., week 2 of the semester focused on Module 1). Below we explain how the module elements were implemented in each version of the course.
Small Face-to-Face Sections
In the small sections, Shaheen shared the module overview during the first class meeting of the week. Following class, students completed the Engage and Reflect components asynchronously, submitting their Reflect responses in Canvas. During the second class meeting of the week, students completed the Chat component synchronously with their Chat partner (someone they chose to work with for the entire semester). Then, Chat pairs came together in small groups of 4 to connect the topics from the current module with previous modules. Finally, students completed Self-Assess asynchronously on Canvas. Shaheen used the Self-Assess results to identify additional supports individual students needed and to adjust the pace and structure of the course.
Large Online Sections
In the large sections, Shaheen shared the module overview in a Monday Canvas announcement. Students completed the Engage and Reflect components asynchronously, submitting their Reflect responses in Canvas. Mid-week students participated in Chat either synchronously (via Zoom) or asynchronously (via small group Canvas Discussions). Students chose on a weekly basis how they wanted to complete Chat based on their schedule and needs each week. Finally, students completed Self-Assess asynchronously on Canvas. Shaheen used the Self-Assess results to identify additional supports individual students needed and to adjust the pace and structure of the course. Shaheen addressed frequently asked questions and connections to previous modules via a Friday Canvas announcement.
