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Project Background
The Accessible Teaching Toolkit began within the Teaching and Learning Subgroup of the Accessible Western Working Group and grew into a cross-campus collaboration. The Accessible Western Working Group was convened to advance accessibility at Western in response to the 185 recommendations developed by Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee for a proposed accessibility standard for postsecondary education.
The Committee’s Final Recommendations Report provides a comprehensive account of the accessibility barriers that can arise throughout postsecondary education, including barriers within teaching and learning and those affecting course materials, assessments, multimedia and other educational resources. Although the recommendations have not been adopted as regulatory requirements, they provide important guidance for proactively identifying, preventing and removing barriers.
The Accessible Teaching Toolkit was developed to support Western’s progress toward several recommendations in particular:
Together, these recommendations call on postsecondary institutions to equip educators with practical guidance, resources and training that support accessible teaching and the development of accessible learning materials. The toolkit translates this direction into practical, adaptable strategies intended to make accessible teaching easier to begin, strengthen, and sustain.