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Supporting Students with Disabilities

The Network continues to work to support students with disabilities. Within MSOR Connections, the Network runs a regular feature to update the community on the latest disability issues. A mini-project commissioned in 2004/2005 at Loughborough University to trial and evaluate a screener tool to identify students who may be dyscalculic, has recently completed. The Network also continues to support the activities of the Dyslexia and Dyscalculia Interest Group (DDIG) at Loughborough University.

In April 2008, the Maths,Stats & OR Network published a report on accessibility issues: "Accessibility Issues - Working Towards Improving Accessibility Of Activities (Events, Print And Electronic Publications Etc). . This report is not intended to be prescriptive and will evolve over time. It provides an overview and links to resources that will provide a useful starting point for anyone would like to improve accessibility of events, print and electronic publications. We welcome ongoing input from the mathematics, statistics and operational research (MSOR) community to help improve and develop accessibility in the MSOR disciplines. If you have experience of accessibility issues and would like to help contribute to the development of this report, please email info[at]mathstore.ac.uk. To download the report goto:

[Word .doc Version: Accessibility Issues - Working Towards Improving Accessibility Of Activities (Events, Print And Electronic Publications Etc)]

[PDF Version: Accessibility Issues - Working Towards Improving Accessibility Of Activities (Events, Print And Electronic Publications Etc)]

The MSOR Network also supports the "Accessing MSOR" working group (AccessMSOR WG). This group, chaired by Peter Rowlett, aims to bring together expertise and interest in issues surrounding supporting students with disabilities in maths, stats and OR.

JISC TechDis

The JISC TechDis Service aims to be the leading educational advisory service, working across the UK, in the fields of accessibility and inclusion.

The increasing diversity of the higher education student body means that staff involved in teaching and supporting learning are having to develop a growing repertoire of techniques to ensure their practice is as inclusive as possible. JISC TechDis provides advice and guidance for teaching practitioners, library staff, staff developers and more, to raise the level of inclusivity in mainstream practice, as well as working with senior managers and policy makers to ensure that national and institutional systems support inclusive approaches. This leaflet introduces some of the resources currently provided by JISC TechDis in pursuit of these aims.

Related TechDis links:

JISC TechDis - More info

JISC TechDis: Informing Policy, Improving Practice leaflet (2009) [HTML version]
JISC TechDis: Informing Policy, Improving Practice leaflet (2009) [PDF version]

Articles on disability related issues from the MSOR Connections newsletter

Accessibility of mathematical resources: the technology gap - by Emma Cliffe (MSOR Connections Nov 2009 Vol 9 No 4)

Visual impairment in MSOR - by Emma Jane Rowlett and Peter James Rowlett (MSOR Connections Nov 2009 Vol 9 No 4)
AccessMSOR: report on inaugural meeting - by Emma Rowlett, Peter James Rowlett and Robert Surowiec (MSOR Connections Nov 2008 Vol 8 No 4)

Overview of the provision of mathematics support to students in a University College - by Sarah Parsons (MSOR Connections May 2008 Vol 8 No 2)

No cost technologies to support teaching and learning in the MSOR disciplines - by Simon Ball (MSOR Connections May 2008 Vol 8 No 2)

Accessibility in MSOR: one student’s personal experience - by Emma Jane Rowlett (MSOR Connections Feb 2008 Vol 8 No 1)

Emma Rowlett’s “Accessing Mathematics” blog - by Peter James Rowlett and Emma Rowlett (MSOR Connections Nov 2007 Vol 7 No 4)

Dyscalculia and dyslexia in higher education – “Pathways to Progress”: Report on DDIG event held 27 March 2007 at Loughborough University - by Clare Trott (MSOR Connections Nov 2007 Vol 7 No 4)

The Heat is on! - by Anne Dickinson and Sidney Tyrrell (MSOR Connections Aug 2007 Vol 7 No 3)

Obtaining Braille mathematical documents - by Michael Whapples (MSOR Connections Aug 2007 Vol 7 No 3)

Mathematical equations in Braille - by Steve Maddox (MSOR Connections May 2007 Vol 7 No 2)

Making Mathematics Teaching Inclusive – Access for Disabled Students to Symbolic Languages in Electronic Media - by Martyn Cooper (MSOR Connections Nov 2006 Vol 6 No 4)

Introducing the Supporting Students with Disabilities Series: Disability Legislation Update - by Emma Jane Wright and Peter James Rowlett (MSOR Connections Nov 2006 Vol 6 No 4)

“Forging The Future”. Dyscalculia and Dyslexia in Higher Education - by Clare Trott (MSOR Connections Aug 2006 Vol 6 No 3)

A Personal Perspective...Technology for Teaching and Learning Mathematics - by Emma L. Whittick (MSOR Connections Aug 2006 Vol 6 No 3)

DDA Update: Two useful spreadsheets to help a blind student access statistics tables - by Sidney Tyrrell (MSOR Connections Aug 2006 Vol 6 No 3)

DDA Update...ALERT - by Barbara Newland (MSOR Connections Feb 2006 Vol 6 No 1)

New Year ‘resolutions’ - is your font size too small? A report on the first TechDis HE Conference, Leeds, October 2005 - by Sidney Tyrrell (MSOR Connections Feb 2006 Vol 6 No 1)

Project Update - Widening the Use of DyscalculiUM: A First-line Screening Test for Dyscalculia in Higher Education - by Nigel Beacham and Clare Trott (MSOR Connections Feb 2006 Vol 6 No 1)

Creating Accessible Web Forms - by Peter James Rowlett and Emma Jane Wright (MSOR Connections Nov 2005 Vol 5 No 4)

Accessible Learning Objects, an update - by Sidney Tyrrell (MSOR Connections Aug 2005 Vol 5 No 3)

DDA update...ALERT case study - by Victoria Boyd, Juliette Pavey and Barbara Newland (MSOR Connections May 2005 Vol 5 No 2)

DDA Update - Sector Checklist from the National Disability Team (NDT) - (MSOR Connections Feb 2005 Vol 5 No 1)

DDA update...ALERT: Accessibility in Learning Environments and Related Technologies - by Barbara Newland (MSOR Connections Aug 2004 Vol 4 No 3)

Have you seen this…? Mathplayer and the Design Science Accessibility Project - by Peter James Rowlett (MSOR Connections May 2004 Vol 4 No 2)

Accessible Learning Objects...or what does a National Teaching Fellow hope to do? - by Sidney Tyrrell (MSOR Connections Feb 2004 Vol 4 No 1)

Mathematics Support for Dyslexic Students - by Clare Trott (MSOR Connections Nov 2003 Vol 3 No 4)

DDA update - Tactile Graphics for Blind Students - by Sarah Morley Wilkins (MSOR Connections Nov 2003 Vol 3 No 4)

DDA update: Bringing together Mathematics support and dyslexia support tutors...and Techshare 2003: 20-21 Nov 2003 - (MSOR Connections Aug 2003 Vol 3 No 3)

Maths Support for an Engineering with Dyslexia - by Clare Trott (MSOR Connections May 2003 Vol 3 No 2)

Have you seen this? SENDA 2001 and DDA 1995 Legislation Checklist - by Robert Surowiec (MSOR Connections Nov 2002 Vol 2 No 4)

Overcoming the Barriers - by Karen Ford (MSOR Connections Nov 2002 Vol 2 No 4)

Accessing Maths and Stats By Other Means - by E.A. Draffan (MSOR Connections Aug 2001 Vol 1 No 3)

MSOR Network funded projects on disability related issues

Accessibility in MSOR: LaTeX and Braille
(Started: May 2007)
Project Leader: Peter Rowlett (Nottingham Trent University)


Other disability related resources of interest to MSOR - to be added shortly.

MSOR and disability resource list - to be added shortly.

[Further information and details of resources to support students with disabilities will be added to these pages. If you are aware of any resources that should be added to these pages, please email info[at]mathstore.ac.uk.]: