Title : Learning and Teaching and Assessment Strategies to Support Students with Asperger Syndrome

1. Title : Learning and Teaching and Assessment Strategies to Support Students with Asperger Syndrome Author / s Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

2. Figures to show number of undergraduates presenting with Asperger syndrome (AS) at Anglia Ruskin University 2004 - 2010 Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

3. What is Asperger Syndrome? Asperger syndrome is a form of autism, which is a lifelong disability that affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people. Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

4. Triad of Impairments: 1 – Problems with Social Interaction • Struggle to make and maintain friendships • Cannot understand the unwritten social rules that most of us take for granted • Find people unpredictable and confusing • Can become withdrawn and aloof • Behave in what may seem an inappropriate manner Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

5. Triad of Impairments: 2 – Difficulty with Social Communication • Difficulty understanding gestures, facial expression or tone of voice • Difficulty knowing when to start or end a conversation • Use of complex words and phrases but not understanding their meaning fully • Literal – difficulty understanding jokes, sarcasm and metaphor Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

6. Triad of Impairments: 3 – Difficulty with Social Imagination • Imaging alternative outcomes to situations and finding it hard to predict what will happen next • Understanding and interpreting other people’s thoughts, feelings and actions (due to misreading facial expression and body language) • Having limited range of imaginative activities, which can be pursued rigidly and repetitively. Students may have an interest or obsession. Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

7. Beardon, 2007, argues against this term, and identifies the positive traits of autism, such as ‘honesty, straight talking, attention to detail, perfectionism, drive and focus’, more in line with the ‘Social model of disability’ – he recognises that those with AS have ‘difference that needs acknowledgment’. Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

8. CASE STUDY 1 Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

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11. Workflow of research Case study Research proposal Ethics approval Focus groups Production of blog Use by students Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

12. The Dissertation Week 7 Proposal presentation Weeks 1 – 4 Find supervisor Ethics approval Dissertation 10,000 words Week 22 Hand in Week 17 Poster presentation PDP CV & exit strategy Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

13. Staff development Special interest & motivation Regular supervisor meetings Dissertation student Computer- based assessment Literal interpretation Meetings include LSA Allocate supervisor Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

14. DISCUSSION OF THE USE OF BLOGGING FOR LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

15. Weigel (2002) states that deep learning stems from the formulation of ‘conditionalised knowledge, metacognition and communities of enquiry’ (communities of practice). Dialogue Lecturer blog account Student blog account Dialogue VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) dissertation proposal VLE page blog addresses Student blog account Dialogue Student blog account Community of practice Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

16. Customisation Reflection on set e-tivities Links Student blog Personality Repository of work CV and self promotion Communities Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

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20. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE We want the students to: ‘Negotiate the meaning of their practice’ (Wenger, 1998). Form a true ‘community of practice’ where students show interest and comment on each others’ blog, cite references where pertinent information can be found about each other’s dissertation areas, and therefore build friendship and trust. Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman

21. Credits Beardon, L., 2007. Is autism a disorder?, [Online] Sheffield Hallam University. Available at: http://www.shu.ac.uk/education/theautismcentre/papers.html [Accessed 24 April 2009]. Weigel, Van B., 2002. Deeper learning for a digital age: technology’s untapped Potential to Enrich Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Wenger, E., 1998. Communities of practice: learning, meaning and identity, learning in doing: social, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (c) Anglia Ruskin University, 2009 Dr Bill Scaife & Jo Bowman