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Students come to courses from many different starting points. Not all support needs are visible, and students do not always know in advance what kind of support would help them to learn. For some, university studies may also be the first stage at which earlier ways of studying are no longer working and the need for support becomes visible. 

Inclusive teaching means above all clear, proactive and flexible teaching practices. Just a few basic practices go a long way. They support individual students, but often also make the course more functional and accessible for everyone.
 

Key practices

The following practices support a diverse range of learners and make the course run more smoothly for everyone:

1. Make it easy to ask for support: At the beginning of the course, explain how students can ask for clarification, request individual study arrangements, or give feedback on unclear areas. For example, include clear instructions on your introductory slides or MyCourses page, specifying whether you prefer students to contact you about individual arrangements via email or during your office hours.
2. Provide a clear overview of the course: Clearly publish the schedule, learning objectives, assignments, deadlines, and grading criteria. Seeing the big picture helps students plan and manage their workload.
3. Give clear and consistent instructions: Explain what needs to be done, by when, in what format and how the work will be assessed. Keep the instructions the same across different channels.
4. Share key information in advance: When possible, share materials, assignment briefs or the outline of the teaching session beforehand. Getting information in advance helps students prepare and also enables them to identify and communicate any accessibility needs to the teacher.
5. Make participation predictable: At the beginning of the teaching session, explain what will be done and how to participate. Give students time to think and, where possible, offer different ways to participate.
6. Consider workload and build in flexibility: Set the workload realistically, break large assignments into smaller stages and explain what is essential. Offer flexibility when the learning objectives allow it.

Tips for inclusive teaching

Once the key practices are in place, you can strengthen inclusion in different aspects of the course. You can read the sections in order or go directly to the theme that is relevant for you at the moment.

• Design the course for a diverse group of students
• Make the course structure visible
• Diversify materials and assessment
• Build clear and safer interaction
• Take overall load into account on the course and in teaching situations
• Make materials, the course page and teaching situations accessible
• Gather feedback and share information about support services

Design your course for a diverse group of students

• Build flexibility into your course: Assume that the group will include students with diverse learning and health-related needs, and address this proactively in the course structure, schedules, materials, and assessment. Examples of flexibility include breaking assignments down into stages, offering submission windows, sharing materials in advance, providing lecture recordings, or offering alternative assessment methods, provided they align with the learning outcomes.
• Addressing past support needs: Recurring questions, difficulties in making progress, and areas of confusion often signal aspects of the course that need clarification. Can you identify any such areas from previous course runs, and can you build more support into them? For instance, more detailed instructions, supporting materials, transparent grading criteria, a more flexible submission deadline, or templates can help make things much clearer.
• Individual study arrangements: Be prepared that, despite proactive accessibility measures, some students will still require more personalized support. At the start of the course, inform students of their right to individual study arrangements and provide clear instructions on how they can contact you about them. Encourage all students to experiment with study techniques that work best for them.

Make the course structure visible

• Key information: Publish the course schedule, learning objectives, assessment criteria, assignments, and practicalities in advance. A visual timeline can also help students better grasp the course as a whole.
• Course page: Create a consistent structure on your MyCourses page, name sections and files clearly, and introduce the layout of the site to the students at the beginning of the course. You can also support students' progress by using the Activity completion tool.
• Instructions: Keep your instructions consistent across all channels, including MyCourses, announcements, and course slides.

Diversify materials and assessment

• Use a variety of ways to present information on the course: Offer learning materials in different formats so that students can acquire knowledge in the way that suits them best (for example, by reading, listening, or watching). In addition to spoken lectures, use clear lecture slides, glossaries, scientific articles, images and diagrams with captions, step-by-step demonstrations, real-world examples, instructional videos, or podcasts, depending on the course objectives and student needs. Pay close attention to the accessibility of your materials.
• Assessment methods: Where possible, offer alternative ways for students to demonstrate their learning, provided that the learning outcomes allow for it. When planning assessment, consider combining formative (continuous) and summative (end-of-course) assessment and balancing their respective weight. Could students demonstrate some of their competence during the course, for example through smaller assignments? Options for demonstrating learning include multiple-choice exams, written assignments, video/audio recordings, oral presentations, poster exhibitions, visual presentations, or project/group work (completed individually, in pairs, or in groups).
• Focus of assessment: Design the assessment to measure the actual learning outcomes of the course, rather than unnecessarily testing things like speed, presentation skills, language proficiency, or technical skills (unless these are specific learning objectives).
• Individual support: Take individual study arrangements into account in both assignments and exams. Consider whether these accommodations could be built directly into the tasks for all students beforehand. Examples of individual study arrangements include extra time, a quiet exam space, receiving lecture materials in advance, or alternative completion methods. Individual study arrangements should not be seen as a reason to stop aiming for the set learning outcomes. Instead, they are a way of supporting the student in attaining the learning outcomes.
• Feedback: Support the learning process with timely feedback (ideally before the final submission). Utilize light self-assessment (for example, against a rubric) and peer feedback with clear, guided questions.

Build clear and safer interaction

• Safer space: Discuss the principles of a safer space on your course and agree together that maintaining respectful interaction is also the students' responsibility—whether in face-to-face sessions, group work, or online environments.
• Diverse ways to participate: Offer alternative ways to participate during teaching sessions by using active learning methods and tools. These can include thumbs-up or hand-raising votes, pair or small-group discussions, multiple-choice questions on Mentimeter, chat options on Presemo, or asynchronous online activities.
• Instructions: Structure interactive and collaborative tasks so that they are predictable. Provide instructions both verbally and in writing.
• Thinking time: Give students time to think when you ask questions, or before expecting them to start discussing in pairs or groups.
• Group cohesion: Facilitate opportunities for students to get to know one another, for example, through brief introductions or warm-up questions before they start working together. For some students, it can be highly beneficial to work with the same, permanent partner or group throughout the entire course.
• Group work: Provide clear guidance for the different stages of group work. You can support teamwork by utilizing tools from the Teamwork First Aid Kit. Monitor how the groups are working and intervene if you notice any exclusionary practices.

Consider workload and strain during the course and in teaching sessions

• Workload planning: Use the workload calculator to ensure the course workload is realistic, and distribute it evenly across the teaching period.
• Scaffolding / Breaking down tasks: Break assignments down into clear stages and offer support and feedback at different phases of the learning process.
• Preparation: Make learning materials available in advance. This helps students prepare and also enables them to identify and communicate any accessibility needs to the teacher.
• Pacing: Plan regular breaks during teaching sessions, keep the pace calm, and ensure the structure is predictable.
• Freedom of movement: Allow students to move around or leave the teaching space during overwhelming or stressful moments. Students can also book a quiet room for resting or group work using the Aalto Space app.
• Sensitivity: Be aware that belonging to various minority groups can increase a student's cognitive and emotional load (e.g., minority stress). Practice sensitivity in your language, interaction, and course content.

Make materials, the course page, and teaching sessions accessible

• A functional course page: Keep your MyCourses page clear and uncluttered: place key information on the front page, divide content into logical sections, use descriptive headings and file names, and avoid large walls of text.
• Comprehensibility: Ensure that learning materials and assignments are clear. For example, break assignment instructions down into steps, clarify submission guidelines, explain the assessment criteria, and provide supporting templates and extra materials.
• Ensure the accessibility of materials and assignments: Prefer publishing content directly on MyCourses pages rather than using file attachments. Make your presentation slides visually accessible (check contrast, font size, and readability), and verify the accessibility of files before publishing them.
• Audio and narration: Always use a microphone (this supports the ). Read the essential content of your slides aloud, repeat questions from the audience before answering them, and avoid speaking with your back to the room.
• Physical accessibility: Inform students that they can check accessible routes using the Aalto Space app, and that special or ergonomic furniture can be requested in advance from Lobby Services through the teacher. Most teaching facilities are accessible.
• Use of space: Keep the pathways and aisles in the teaching space clear. Verbally let students know that they are welcome to move around or leave the room if they experience sensory or cognitive overload. When necessary, ask the group about adjusting the lighting.
• Emergency evacuation: Lobby Services can assist in identifying accessible evacuation routes if you have a student with a mobility impairment on your course. 

Gather feedback and share information on support services

• Feedback channels: Provide a low-threshold feedback channel and ask students for feedback on accessibility both during and at the end of the course.
• Wellbeing services: Inform students about the Starting Point of Wellbeing services.
• Support for teachers: Seek support from your school's Learning Services (LES) or via MyTeachingSupport when encountering challenging situations in your teaching.