Manual



Eastern Institute of technology

Disability Support Services

Guidelines for Notetakers

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

SKILLS 3

¬ LISTENING COMPREHENSION 3

¬ Legible handwriting 3

¬ Good grammar and spelling 3

¬ Personalising information for students 3

¬ Organising notes in a structured, easy-to-understand and accessible format 3

¬ Empathy for individuals with disabilities and impairments 3

¬ Problem-solving skills 3

¬ Reliability and punctuality 3

¬ Ability to accept feedback to improve notetaking skills 4

¬ Ability to accept direction 4

Meeting the student 4

THE FIRST LECTURE 4

TECHNIQUES FOR EFFECTIVE NOTETAKING 4

¬ TRAINING 4

¬ Preparation 4

¬ Layout and Structure 4

¬ Listening 5

¬ Emphasis 5

¬ Examples 5

¬ References 5

¬ Abbreviations and symbols 5

¬ Handouts 5

¬ Diagrams 5

Resources 5

¬ STATIONERY 5

¬ Adaptive Technology 5

Students with special requirements 6

BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED 6

Deaf and hearing-impaired 6

Students with learning impairments 6

Students in wheelchairs 6

More than one student in a classroom 6

Responsibilities 6

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES 6

Student responsibilities 7

Troubleshooting 7

¬ DO YOU HAVE TO SIT WITH THE STUDENT? 7

¬ Who do the notes belong to? Can other students borrow or copy the notes you take? 7

¬ What happens if you don’t like your student or they don’t like you? 8

¬ Do you give the student your home phone number? 8

¬ What happens when you turn up and the student is not there or the class has been cancelled? 8

Adaptive Equipment Available at EIT 9

Funding Agencies 10

Workbridge (Hawke’s Bay) 10

Enable NZ 10

Introduction

EIT has three goals in providing notetaking services to students:

➢ The primary goal is to overcome disadvantages students experience in their study as a result of impairment/s.

➢ To provide a supportive environment that gives students with disabilities and impairments opportunities to achieve their maximum academic and personal potential.

➢ To promote the inclusion of students with disabilities and impairments in all aspects of academic life.

Notetakers are provided to students who are unable to take notes for themselves. This manual is provided as a guideline on working with the student, how to take effective notes, the responsibilities of students and notetakers, and some troubleshooting for common problems. If you have anything you would like to see added to this manual or have some point you would like to clarify or discuss, please contact Disability Liaison.

Skills

➢ Listening comprehension: the ability to tell the difference between relevant and irrelevant facts and information.

➢ Legible handwriting. For students who have learning disabilities or visual impairments, printing is often easier than cursive writing for them to read. You can use cursive writing for students with physical impairments such as OOS. Some students will need their notes in alternative formats (electronic, typed, etc). Please contact Disability Liaison to arrange this.

➢ Good grammar and spelling. Some classes have a high amount of technical terms, industry jargon and scientific names. Dictionaries can be your friend!

➢ Personalising information for students. Most of the students you will work with have some specialised requirement for their notes. Example: visually impaired students may need notes that are written over 3-4 lines on the page in bold marker pen. Students with a learning disability may need their notes typed so that they can use a text-to-voice software package to hear them being read. Discuss the notetaking requirements with the student and feel free to make recommendations to the Disability Services Team.

➢ Organising notes in a structured, easy-to-understand and accessible format.

➢ Empathy for individuals with disabilities and impairments.

➢ Problem-solving skills.

➢ Reliability and punctuality.

➢ Ability to accept feedback to improve notetaking skills.

➢ Ability to accept direction.

Meeting the student

Normally, you will meet the student 5 - 10 minutes before their first class. This time can be used to discuss the student’s notetaking requirements, how notes are to be collected and how they would like to interact with you in the classroom. If you are unable to meet the student before the first class, please make some time to meet with them afterwards.

NOTE: Some students will not want their peers knowing that they have a notetaker. In this situation, you will be advised to go to class, take the notes, and deliver the notes to Disability Liaison or email them directly to the student.

The first lecture

IMPORTANT: Please introduce yourself to the tutor at the beginning of the first lecture. Let them know that you are there to take notes for a student and discuss with them future provision of handouts and overheads during or at the beginning of each class.

During the first lecture the student is expected to provide you with a copy of the course outline and assessment dates. If the student is likely to require alternative exam arrangements, please advise them to contact Disability Liaison.

Techniques for effective notetaking

➢ Training. Training will be provided at the beginning of each semester for notetakers and disability support staff. One-to-one training can be organised by contacting the Disability Liaison Office.

➢ Preparation. Arrive 5 minutes before the start of each class. Collect stationery from the student. Pick up handouts or overheads from the tutor.

➢ Layout and Structure.

• At the top of each page, put the date, course code/paper name and page number. This will help the student keep their notes organised.

• Leave a good margin on the left hand side for making notes, writing references, and putting in comments.

• Leave a line in between each point (double spacing) – WHITE SPACE is important.

• Use headings and bullet points and emphasise important information.

• Use one side of the paper only – this improves presentation and clarity.

➢ Listening. To be an effective notetaker, you need to be able to listen and store information as you write. Not everything we hear in a lecture is important. Attempt to get down main points, themes and ideas. Listen for verbal cues:

• Example: Let me illustrate by ….

• Test info: You will need to know this for the test/exam…

• Subsidiary point: As a consequence…

• Definition: This term means…

• Evidence: We know/prove this by…

• Summary: To summarise… In overview…

➢ Emphasis. Use a different colour (red for test/exam information, due dates, definitions, etc), underline, use a highlighter or draw cloud bubbles to emphasise important points.

➢ Examples. Include examples whenever possible as they help the student retain facts and understand concepts.

➢ References. Always write down full references (Author, Year, Title and Publisher. Information on APA format is available from the Library desk). Ask the tutor to give you a full reference if necessary.

➢ Abbreviations and symbols. Avoid using abbreviations if you can. If abbreviations have to be used, provide a key.

➢ Handouts. Arrange with the tutor to receive handouts and overheads at the beginning of each class. NOTE: Not all tutors will provide these.

➢ Diagrams.

Resources

➢ Stationery. The student is responsible for supplying all stationery requirements necessary for taking their notes. Should the student forget, there is stationery available in the Disability Office.

➢ Adaptive Technology. There is a wide range of adaptive equipment available on campus to students to assist them with their studies.

Please see the Appendix 1 for a list of funding agencies and personal Adaptive Technology equipment and software packages available for students.

Students with special requirements

Blind and visually impaired. Students with visual impairments need high-contrast notes. Black marker pens may be used or notes can be enlarged or transcribed and emailed.

Deaf and hearing-impaired. Deaf students may have a communicator as well as a notetaker. Comprehensive notes need to be taken for hearing-impaired or deaf students as they often cannot follow the verbal content of a lecture. When communicating with a deaf or hearing-impaired student:

• To get the student’s attention: touch the student on the arm or shoulder.

• Always face the student when speaking to help them with lip reading.

• When a communicator is being used, always face the student and not the communicator.

• Use a notepad to write notes for quick communication.

Students with learning impairments. Students with learning disabilities often have low literacy. Notes for these students need to contain the simplest possible language without “talking down” to them. Provide a glossary of technical terms and definitions. If necessary, convert concepts into diagrams and flow charts. Some students with specific learning disabilities will be using text-to-voice software to “hear” their notes and will need their notes typed (contact the Disability Liaison to arrange this).

Students in wheelchairs. Students in wheelchairs may sometimes need assistance with access: opening spring doors, pushing lift buttons, getting things in and out of their bags, reaching things on high shelves, etc. Always ask your student what assistance they require – NEVER ASSUME.

More than one student in a classroom. When you are supporting more than one student in a class, the notes are to be photocopied or typed and emailed to the students. Photocopying needs to be done using the STUDENT’s photocopy card.

Responsibilities

Student Responsibilities.

➢ Course Outline. On the first day the student will get a course outline. Ensure that the student provides you with a copy of their course outline and dates of assessments.

➢ Attendance. The student needs to attend all of the lectures/tutorials/laboratories/

sessions that you attend. Notes can only be taken for an absent student if prior arrangements have been made.

➢ Absence. If the student is not able to attend a session, they need to contact Disability Liaison.

If the student misses more than two sessions in a row and has not contacted Disability Liaison, a medical certificate may be required.

If the student is frequently absent from classes without contact, inform the Disability Liaison Office. Notetaking services may be removed.

➢ Stationery. The student will need to provide you with any stationery necessary for your notes. This includes pens, pencils, coloured pencils, paper, highlighters, correction fluid, etc.

➢ Collection of Notes. The student is responsible for arranging with you how the notes are collected. Notes may be given to the student immediately after class (handwritten) or you can type them/arrange to have them typed and email them to the student. Contact Disability Liaison if the student has special requirements for their notes (e.g. alternate format such as transcription onto tape).

Student responsibilities.

➢ Attendance. You are expected to attend all of the student’s lectures/tutorials/

laboratories/sessions. If you are not able to make a session, please contact Disability Liaison. Every effort will be made to find a reliever.

➢ Notes. You are expected to produce a legible set of notes that is a fair and unbiased transcript of each session attended and that is useful to the student. Please ask for student feedback and check that the student is happy with your notes or if they want them changed in any way.

➢ Participation. You are asked to not participate in class unless it is a specific requirement of the course. You are also not to act as an advocate – if the student requires advocacy services please contact Disability Liaison.

➢ Confidentiality. Under the Privacy Act, you are expected to treat any information about the student as strictly confidential. Refer all queries for confidential information to the student or Disability Liaison.

Troubleshooting

➢ Do you have to sit with the student?

This is negotiated with the student. Usually the student will sit with you but there will be some occasions when a student will want to sit with their friends or will not want their peers to know that they have a notetaker.

➢ Who do the notes belong to? Can other students borrow or copy the notes you take?

The notes belong to the student/s you are supporting. If any other student in the class asks to borrow or copy the notes in any way, refer them to the student or Disability Liaison.

➢ What happens if you don’t like your student or they don’t like you?

Personality clashes happen! If you do not get on with your student, contact Disability Liaison. Likewise, if the student does not get on well with you they may request a new notetaker.

➢ Do you give the student your home phone number?

This is strictly personal preference for each notetaker. It can be handy if you are typing notes for a student or will be giving them additional study support (arranged with Disability Liaison).

➢ What happens when you turn up and the student is not there or the class has been cancelled?

Notify Disability Liaison. If the class has been cancelled and you have not been notified, you are entitled to claim on your timesheet for the time. If your student is not there, wait for 10 minutes into the lecture and then leave. Check with Disability Liaison to see if notification of absence has been made.

Adaptive Equipment Available at EIT

Vision

➢ CCTV magnifier for textbooks and printed pages (Library)

Hearing

➢ Personal FM Hearing Systems

➢ Dictaphones (with and without headsets)

Learning

➢ Dictaphones

➢ Electronic Dictionary/Spell Checker

➢ Pocket dictionaries

Ergo Furniture

➢ Ergonomic keyboards

➢ Ergo mouse and mousepads

➢ Gel wrist rests

➢ Arm rests (attachable to desks)

➢ Anti-glare screens

➢ Alphasmart (portable) keyboards

➢ Height adjustable desks

➢ Ergo chairs

➢ Foot rests

➢ Document stands

Funding Agencies

Workbridge (Hawke’s Bay)

Phone: 974 5610

Fax: 835 8995

Web: workbridge.co.nz

Enable NZ

Enable New Zealand - Head Office

Email: enable@enable.co.nz

General Enquiries - Call Free 0800 36 22 53

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