Neuro-Inclusive Teaching and Learning Toolkit launched to support inclusive teaching across the University
The Inclusive by Design: Co-creating inclusive resources with Neurodivergent students LITE Fellowship finishes with the launch of the Neuro-Inclusive Teaching and Learning Toolkit.
This practical resource is designed to help staff create more inclusive learning environments for neurodivergent students and, ultimately, enhance learning experiences for all students.
The toolkit and research project, funded by Leeds Institute of Teaching Excellence (LITE) fellowship and led Dr Amelia Knowlson (School of Performance and Cultural Industries) and Dr Christopher Ostrowdun (School of Education), placed neurodivergent students at the centre of the resource development process.
Rather than creating resources for students, the project adopted a co-creation approach, working alongside neurodivergent students to explore their experiences of teaching, learning and belonging at university. Through a series of creative research activities, students were invited to map, visualise, discuss and model their experiences, needs while on campus.
The findings revealed that university spaces are experienced in diverse and highly individual ways, shaped by sensory interaction, information processing and social navigation. These insights became the foundation for the toolkit, which has been co-designed to help colleagues build more inclusive and equitable practices within informal and formal learning spaces.
Structured around four key themes, The Individual, Finding Their People, Neurodivergent Ways of Working and The Taught Environment, the toolkit provides evidence-informed guidance, activities and resources that can be embedded within everyday teaching, assessment and student support practices. The toolkit was tested over the course of a semester two in student-staff pairs with results being fed into further iterations. Additional funding was secured through LITE for the design company Buttercrumble to turn the toolkit into a professional outward-facing resources. The finalised toolkit can be found on OD&PLs Student Development: Inclusive Teaching pages or directly here.
The toolkit was officially launched at a celebration event held in Stage@Leeds on the Thursday 10th September. The event featured presentations on the co-creation journey, reflections from student and staff contributors, and discussions about the future of inclusive learning and teaching across the University.
The launch marked the culmination of a two-year collaborative journey and the beginning of a new phase focused on embedding the toolkit across the University. It is hoped that the resource will act as a catalyst for conversations, practice development and cultural change, supporting the University's wider ambitions around belonging, student success and inclusive education.
