Academic spaces tend to rely on visuality, both for on-campus teaching and for virtual learning spaces. Ontario is the province with the most vision loss in Canada (Gordon, 2021). It is good contextual and inclusive teaching and learning practice to avoid visual bias and to be inclusive in the way we teach and share information. Visual bias refers to the tendency to prioritize visual information over other sensory ways of gaining information. Visual bias could potentially exclude individuals who cannot engage using visual senses.
This resource highlights some key considerations to support accessible pedagogy when it comes to the use of visuals. Some information and resources alongside prompting questions for reflection are provided.
We have a tendency to use visually loaded words in our teaching spaces that make assumptions about those who are sharing the spaces with us. This could be during class time or even during a presentation at a conference or webinar. We often will default to talking about visuals on a slide by saying “as you can see on this graph, etc” which makes the assumption that everyone engaging with this work can see what is being shared on the slide. The following are points you can consider in your teaching and facilitation to make spaces more inclusive and less visually biased.
- Describe images out loud that you are sharing on a slide deck or as a resource.
- When introducing yourself, also give a quick visual description of yourself indicating only what you are comfortable sharing that could be important in context. For example, I have salt and pepper mid-length hair, I am wearing a blue shirt, and have dark rimmed glasses.
- When speaking as part of a group, on a panel, or during a presentation for example, say your name first before speaking so that folk do not have to try to remember the sound of your voice to know who is speaking.
- Be aware of guidance that you are providing that is directionally assumptive or assumes that one knows where they are in relation to the rest of the space. For example, the door is to the left of the desk, which also assumes that the person would know where the desk is first in space.
This resource from the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) helps support the strategies mentioned for non-visually biased teaching and information sharing.
Course assessments may require reflection in relation to visual bias. In some disciplines and contexts the essential learning requirements would support assessment that is only visually based, however, in most cases it is important to try to avoid visually biased questions or assuming that the learners all have a certain type of vision to answer the question. There are tools that can support the Zooming in on images or making images clearer through colour choices with good contrast. However, that does not remove visuality as a possible barrier or intentional need to complete an assessment.
Here are some questions to support reflection on your assessment design in a more sensory inclusive way.
Questions to ask:
- Does the ability to answer a question on a test, in class, or for an assessment require seeing an image, chart, or graph?
- Can the question only be asked through reference to an image and not by describing the image?
- Would creating an accurate alt-text for the image give the student the answer to the question you are asking?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions you may have a visually biased assessment.
This resource from NWEA can support thinking around science or mathematical questions that tend to use more visuals.
The Educational Developer team at CPI is here to support your assessment and course design to avoid visual barriers and support essential learning requirements and skills. Please reach out at [email protected]