With this new assignment, students are even better prepared to support people with autism
In this Educatips column, Child and Education Studies lecturers share their key insights about teaching. This month: Rachel Plak and Karlijn Pieterse wanted to better prepare students in the course Autism and Diagnostics for clinical practice. That's why they introduced a new type of assignment.
Time and time again, lecturers Rachel Plak and Karlijn Pieterse heard from students that the paper assignment for the Autism & Diagnostics course stood out from the rest of the curriculum. The ‘dry’ task felt out of place compared to the otherwise practice-oriented course, full of personal stories from people with autism and links to clinical practice.
Autism in practice
For example, students in the course visit one of the Leo Kanner Schools, which provide special education for students with autism. Earlier, Rachel Plak, together with expert-by-experience Jasper Wagteveld, developed the podcast episode ‘What is Autism?’ for the University of the Netherlands. This was followed, with the help of a Grassroots grant, by the podcast series ‘What is Autism?’, where people with autism from different backgrounds are given a voice. Partly due to this focus on practice, the course was nominated for the Inspiring Education Award in 2023. Now, together with her colleague Karlijn Pieterse, Plak wants to further develop and modernise the course, with the next project being: replacing the paper with a vodcast.
'In this course, we explore how society views autism'
Going deeper
‘In the Autism and Diagnostics course, we really go in-depth,’ says Plak. ‘How does society view autism? How is care for it organised? We invite students to critically examine these issues.’ Students take on the role of clinicians and deal with concrete cases. This is necessary preparation, as a few months later, they will enter clinical practice. ‘In the old paper assignment, students also advised on a case,’ says Karlijn Pieterse. ‘And we asked students to back that up with scientific literature. But we noticed that those recommendations weren’t always feasible or practical in real life.’
Great on paper
An example? Plak: ‘Imagine you recommend that a family takes several steps together in the morning. That might sound good on paper and could match what a child with autism needs. But the question is whether it is actually doable for a family in the morning when everyone has to get to school and work. It’s crucial to listen to the experiences of people with autism, otherwise, you can’t provide appropriate care.’
Multidisciplinary meetings
This new final assignment aligns better with the course's learning objectives: making students more aware of the experiences of people with autism, so they can later create well-considered advice and treatment plans. The idea: students simulate a multidisciplinary meeting in groups, similar to the ones they will have in practice. ‘This way, they can question each other: how do you view this as an educationalist, and you as a behavioural expert? In such a meeting, you come to a shared consensus.’
'In a multidisciplinary meeting, you come to a shared consensus''
Thinking more critically
This takes students a step further than in the old assignment. ‘There are different skills involved than in individually writing a paper,’ explains Plak. ‘For instance, students will also notice that others have consulted different sources to support their arguments.’ Pieterse adds: ‘You learn to think more critically and present your arguments clearly in discussions.’ Students record their discussion in the podcast studio at the faculty, and this recording is assessed according to a rubric, which also saves time for the lecturers.
Luxury
The paper assignment is being scrapped, ‘but only because we had the luxury to do so,’ says Plak. ‘Writing remains incredibly important, and we have a scientific degree programme here, so students must be able to write in a scientific manner. But that skill is so firmly anchored in other courses within the Pedagogical Sciences programme that we could make that choice.’ They also emphasise: in the vodcast assignment, students still do what they would in a writing assignment: refining their thoughts, presenting arguments, and backing them up with scientific literature.
Share your educatip?
Are you a lecturer at the Institute of Child and Education Studies and would you like to share how you teach? Or would you like to nominate an inspiring colleague for the next feature? Then email pedagogiek@FSW.leidenuniv.nl with the subject 'Educational Insight'.
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