As we continue our efforts to make university classrooms more inclusive, we turn to faculty members who are actively mentoring and researching with neurodivergent students. Dr. Fabia Battistuzzi, an associate professor of biology and associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, recently shared her experiences mentoring neurodivergent students in STEM. Her insights provide valuable guidance for instructors seeking to create more accessible and supportive learning environments. Watch the whole story, and see how it fits into the Neurodiversity in the Classroom program.

Key Takeaways

Flexibility Opens Doors
Dr. Battistuzzi originally became interested in accessibility in STEM when a student who used a wheelchair and a service dog joined her research lab. Traditional wet labs posed challenges, but computational research offered an accessible and engaging alternative. This experience highlights the importance of reimagining opportunities—whether through alternative assignment formats, diverse research methods, or flexible participation options—to ensure all students can engage meaningfully.

Support Faculty to Support Students
Before mentoring a neurodivergent high school student through the NASA Neurodiversity Network, Fabia received training through the organization on how to work with neurodivergent students and their families. She emphasized how valuable it was to have guidance and a support network while navigating new mentorship strategies. For faculty, this reinforces the need for ongoing professional development and institutional resources that build confidence in working with diverse learners, such as the Neurodiversity in the Classroom program.

Structure and Transparency Reduce Friction
One of the biggest lessons from Fabia’s mentorship experience was the importance of structured communication. Setting consistent meeting times, using clear written expectations, and maintaining a single email thread for ongoing conversations helped create a stable environment for her student. Instructors can apply this strategy by providing written instructions, outlining clear deadlines, and using organized communication methods to support neurodivergent learners.

Meeting Students Where They Are 
Dr. Battistuzzi’s approach to mentoring involved listening to the student’s needs and aligning expectations accordingly. By allowing the student to have a say in shaping their research experience, she ensured greater engagement and motivation. This principle can be applied in any classroom: offer choices in assignments, check in with students regularly, and remain adaptable to different working styles.

Recognizing and Leveraging Strengths 
One of the most surprising discoveries in Fabia’s mentorship experience was the speed and focus with which her neurodivergent mentee completed a complex research project. While neurodivergent students may face challenges in some areas, they also bring unique strengths. By shifting the focus from deficits to abilities, instructors can create learning environments for all kinds of minds.

Conclusion: Embracing Neurodiversity in Higher Education 
Fabia’s experience underscores a key message: creating a learning environment conducive to neurodivergent students is not about having all the answers, but about being open to learning, adapting, and collaborating with students. Small changes in structure, communication, and mindset can make a significant difference in supporting neurodivergent learners.

Save and adapt a Google Doc version of this teaching tip.

About the Neurodiversity in the Classroom Program
This program offers learning activities that deepen our knowledge of the many ways the human mind works, understanding of neurodivergent learner experiences, and how to design inclusive learning environments accordingly. Online modules include events, podcasts, discussion boards, videos, panels, and more, which can be done at your own pace. Learn more about the program, and join the online course.

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

View all CETL Weekly Teaching Tips. 

Conventional wisdom is that new information is acquired while studying and then the extent to which the material has been successfully learned is assessed through testing. Typically, most individuals consider examinations neutral with respect to the actual learning process. Yet research has reported that tests themselves may be an important part of long-term retention of new information 

In one study, Karpicke and Roediger (2007) set up three different study conditions to determine what study behaviors result in the best retention of knowledge: reading or practice testing

• In CONDITION 1, students read blocks of information related to the test four times, waited five minutes, and then took a quiz.
• In CONDITION 2, students read blocks of information related to the test three times, took a practice test (receiving no feedback), waited five minutes, and then took a quiz.
• In CONDITION 3, students read blocks of information related to the test just once, took three different practice tests (receiving no feedback), waited five minutes, and then took a quiz.

While CONDITION 1 (the repeated reading condition) yielded better results on the quiz, those in CONDITION 3 (the repeated testing condition) scored significantly better one week later.

At that later time there was a significant reversal of three groups. Those who had repeated practice quizzes performed significantly better than the group who had more repeated study opportunities. Perhaps most interesting is that there was a very small (relatively speaking) decrease in performance over time for the group who had multiple testing opportunities (particularly as they received no feedback on the practice tests).

Several additional studies have confirmed the importance of repeated recall in solidifying information in long-term memory. Implications include the value of in-class practice quizzes in class, group discussions (additional recall), and students quizzing one another.

Practical Implications for the Classroom

The findings from this research invite us to rethink the traditional role of testing in the learning process. Rather than viewing quizzes and tests solely as a means of assessment,they can be powerful tools for reinforcing learning. 

• Incorporate Low-Stakes Practice Quizzes: Regular low-point or no-grade quizzes during class can stimulate recall and help students retain information more effectively over the long term.
• Facilitate Peer Quizzing: Encourage students to quiz one another. This not only makes the learning process more interactive but also promotes collaborative learning and the reinforcement of knowledge through discussion.
• Use Group Discussions for Recall: Structured group discussions that focus on recalling and explaining material can be highly beneficial. When students articulate their understanding and challenge each other’s interpretations, they engage in the kind of active retrieval practice that enhances memory retention.
• Combine Multiple Study Methods: While repeated reading or study sessions may boost short-term performance, integrating them with active recall practices such as practice testing can provide the best of both worlds. Encourage students to mix their study routines to include both review and active testing.
• Emphasize the Value of Students Testing Themselves: Inform students about the benefits of testing as a study strategy. When students understand that the act of recalling information can enhance their memory, they may be more motivated to incorporate self-testing into their study habits

Resources

Karpicke, J.D., & Roediger, H.L. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory and Language, 57, 151-162.

Adapted from a 2014 teaching tip by Todd Zakrajsek.

Save and adapt a Google Doc version of this teaching tip.

About the author

Todd D. Zakrajsek, PHD, is an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC - Chapel Hill and President of the International Teaching Learning Cooperative, which leads five annual Lilly Teaching Conferences. Todd’s recently co-authored books include Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors, 5th Edition (2023).; The New Science of Learning, 3rd ed (2022); Teaching for Learning, 2nd ed, (2021); Advancing Online Teaching (2021); and Dynamic Lecturing (2017).

Edited and designed by Christina Moore, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Oakland University. Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

View all CETL Weekly Teaching Tips. Follow these and more on Facebook.

As we embarked on creating a neurodiversity in the classroom program, we knew we needed to hear from the neurodivergent students in our classrooms, or those whose brains process the world differently than what is deemed “neurotypical” and may have ADHD, autism, or other conditions. Four students with different, majors, talents, and trajectories shared their stories and advice on how to support neurodivergent students. Listen to their stories to appreciate the fullness of their experiences. 

Key Points from Students

Neurodivergent students themselves are diverse in what helps and hinders their learning, yet some common themes emerged. 

Instructor approachability helps student persistence

Neurodivergent students can encounter life disruptions that swiftly and strongly affect their academic performance. One week they can be your star student; the next, subdued or completely absent. A discordant housing environment can derail a student’s sleep, as Hannah experienced, who has sound-processing sensitivity called misophonia. Multiple class timelines can go from manageable to stressful, as Marion experienced as a student with ADHD. Students consistently pointed to the importance of feeling they can talk to the instructor when issues arise, whether that is to explain what is happening or make a plan for getting back on track. Based on our communication and actions, students are considering whether they will be believed and affirmed when they talk with the professor.

Engagement and relevance make all the difference

As teachers we know learners come alive when their work is self-motivated and relevant to their lives. For students with ADHD like Tom and Marion, it is difficult on the verge of impossible to pay attention when “paying attention” only looks like sitting still and listening. On the other hand, when they are actively involved, whether in discussion with classmates, physically in motion, or given agency to drive their own learning, they excel. While intrinsic motivation goes along way, these students say even feeling connected to peers and having variety in class activities can help them persist through less motivating academic work.  

University supports and communities are crucial

For the pivotal role an instructor plays in a student’s success, students who engage with academic support services are set up that much more for success. Cameron pointed to DSS accommodations as key to his success in the classroom. As a member of the Honors College, Marion found that working with her Time Management Advisor set her up with the systems necessary to be involved in Student Congress and other university activities on top of classes. 

Students know their strengths, but can feel defined by their struggles 

All of these students considered themselves academically strong students, especially when they had the means to navigate barriers (meds, accommodations, understanding from instructors and classmates). Yet many students felt defined by the shortcomings of their neurodivergence, even if they were mostly in the past. While Marion felt that college was a more positive academic experience than high school, she warned that many neurodivergent students come to OU feeling defined by past negative experiences. She encouraged instructors to assure students that their past does not define them, and they can always have a new start in our classes. 

Knowing your students is ongoing: practice humility and adaptability

Tom, an OU alum who is now a graduate student in Educational Sciences, warns that there is no one checklist of inclusive practices that will work for everyone; furthermore, “being inclusive to one neurodivergent person can be the opposite [for another]” what has been called “access friction.” This complexity requires us to make students partners in our efforts to make the classroom inclusive, acknowledging where we fall short of our goals but continue to adapt to the students in our classes on any given day. 

Save and adapt a Google Doc version of this teaching tip.

About the Neurodiversity in the Classroom Program

This program offers learning activities that deepen our knowledge of the many ways the human mind works, understanding of neurodivergent learner experiences, and how to design inclusive learning environments accordingly. Online modules include events, podcasts, discussion boards, videos, panels, and more, which can be done at your own pace. Learn more about the program, and join the online course.

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

View all CETL Weekly Teaching Tips.

Many of us began last semester thinking about how to develop course policies about when students can and cannot use AI on assignments, activities, and exams. I suggested that everyone needs to talk to their students about AI - especially if your policy is that you don’t want to authorize any AI assistance - so that we can help students develop critical literacy skills and appropriate use.

Since last semester, there have been some updates to best practices regarding class AI use and course policies, as well as some alarming new research that shows students just don’t understand what we mean when we say “your own work” or use terms like “academic honesty” or “academic integrity.” As Bowen and Watson write in Teaching with AI, “What we call cheating, businesses see as innovation” (5). Why wouldn’t we reuse material or automate tasks if it saves time and money? We often take for granted that students understand why asking them to do something the long way is useful for them.

Many of us have talked a lot in the last two years about helping students develop enough AI literacy to recognize that a large language model isn’t the same thing as a search engine. Since last semester, though, Google’s AI overview in searches, which was previously on a slow rollout, has become ubiquitous. In December, OpenAI offered demonstrations of its new real-time search capabilities within ChatGPT. Telling students who aren’t versed in the nuances of these technologies that using generative AI and searching the web aren’t the same thing is bound to confuse them.

This semester, I recommend a few amendments to the policies many of us developed last semester:

Start at ground zero when talking about academic honesty

Instead of just a punitive statement that says academic misconduct is bad and will be referred to the Dean of Students for a hearing, spend a few sentences in your syllabus - and more time in class, preferably before the first assignment is due - explaining what academic honesty is. What does plagiarism mean? Why do professors consider plagiarism bad, when copying what has already worked in the past is usually the best practice outside of school? You might ask the students to answer these questions themselves before you offer your own answers. These questions might be so facile that we never thought to talk about them with students, but talking through these ideas is important to help students make sense of our courses, assignments, and practices that may not align with customs in their current or future jobs.

My new paragraph on academic honesty explains that 

“your own work” means the assignment “was written by you alone, without AI assistance unless expressly authorized by me and without consulting any websites other than our course Moodle page and readings unless expressly indicated in the assignment.” 

I also explain when students are allowed to collaborate and brainstorm with each other and when they’re not. OU Libraries offers an Academic Integrity in Research & Writing Microcourse to build literacy around academic honesty.

Name specific AI tools and uses in your AI policy

One of the new best practices is to name which tools are authorized and not, and under which circumstances. My updated AI policy says, “You’re allowed to use Grammarly and spellcheck/grammar check functions in Google Docs and Microsoft Word to proofread your spelling and grammar after your work is written.” I also describe when using rephrasing suggestions from sources like Grammarly borders on murky (with encouragement for students to use the Writing Center instead and a reminder that they pay for it!). I also warn students, 

“There are also numerous custom GPTs that you can use – or develop on your own – to help ChatGPT write more closely to your own voice. These tools are incredibly time-saving for things like writing blanket emails or completing tedious work. They are not useful for you to demonstrate your success with our course learning outcomes.” 

Explain how AI use does or doesn’t connect to course learning outcomes

I try to remind students of the course learning outcomes frequently, so they understand where AI might interfere with their ability to meet these outcomes and where it might help them. For instance, students in one of my courses will give presentations at the end of the semester. I explain that use of generative AI might be helpful for these presentations, not in content but in form: 

“For any multimedia project in this course, you are encouraged to go nuts with image- and video-generators. You can create videos, images, comics, video games, and audio to supplement the research and writing you have performed by yourself. Have fun! This isn’t unauthorized aid because ‘making beautiful presentations’ isn’t a course learning outcome.”

If you’re not teaching a course focused on generative AI, you might also explain to students that because AI literacy isn’t a course learning outcome, you don’t have time to teach them appropriate or inappropriate use or good AI skills. This can help explain why you’ve instituted a very strong anti-AI use policy.

Talk about the double whammy of detection tools and humanization tools

Students who have used generative AI to complete assignments in the past have most likely also used a humanization tool to skirt detection. Although we’ll never be able to persuade every student not to cheat, we can explain why cheating is lousy. In my updated policy, I acknowledge that faculty sometimes rely on detection tools that give false positives but note that humanization tools are often just as flawed. I remind students that detection and humanization tools are often owned by the very same companies who make exaggerated promises to both faculty and students because what they really care about is making money, and I warn them not to pay for humanization - or use a free humanization tool, which works even worse. By acknowledging the existence of these tools, I hope to cultivate an atmosphere in which students see our relationship as less adversarial. We’re a team, navigating this new moment together.

Discuss how new technologies require evolving pedagogies

Students today likely know that generative AI for the public is new, but they might not understand how new or what consequences “new” has on teaching and learning. In my updated policy, I give a brief background: 

“Generative artificial intelligence only became available to the public in November 2022. That’s not a lot of time for faculty to understand its many capabilities and limitations, redesign their assignments, and learn how to teach students about and with it. It’s also not a lot of time for students to develop AI literacy.” 

The end of my AI policy similarly reminds students that we are just at the start of the AI moment, which means academia is still figuring out how to navigate use of these tools. I remind my students that they often use generative AI for terrible purposes (like creating a research bibliography – it sucks at that) and that faculty are often terrified of ANY use, when some uses can actually be helpful. I remind students that I’m happy to talk through appropriate or inappropriate use if they have questions. By focusing on teaching as an evolving practice, I hope to help them understand why policies might fluctuate from course to course and why faculty can’t just reinvent themselves, their courses, and their assignments.

Conclusion

We might fear that students know more about generative AI than we do. They may have found detailed videos on social media explaining how to use generative AI to complete their homework without getting caught. But I also recently overheard a few students discussing how terrified they are of generative AI’s rapid spread. They were worried about automation replacing their jobs, and, like us, worried that they and their classmates aren’t going to actually learn anything in college if they rely too much on AI. 

We won’t be able to stop students from using generative AI in ways we don’t authorize, and we won’t be able to catch every use for sanctions. The best practice we can undertake is to talk to students. Hear their concerns and be inspired by their innovative uses. Work together to develop policies for class use or prohibition that are as meaningful to the students as they are to you.

References

Bowen, José Antonio and C. Edward Watson. Teaching with AI. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2023

Kies, Bridget. “Have You Talked to Your Students about AI?”, CETL Teaching Tip, Sept. 5, 2024.

Venkatachary, Srinivasan. “AI Overviews in Search Are Coming to More Places Around the World,” Google Blog, Oct. 28, 2024. 

OpenAI. “Search - 12 Days of OpenAI: Day 8.” YouTube, Dec. 16, 2024. 

Save and adapt a Google Doc version of this teaching tip.

About the Author

Bridget Kies is Associate Professor of Film Studies and Production at OU and CETL’s faculty fellow for AI and teaching. She is the co-author of the article “From Attributions to Algorithm: Teaching AI and Copyright in Media Studies” for the journal Teaching Media and is currently writing a book about teaching about AI in film and media studies for Routledge.

Others may share and adapt under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC.

View all CETL Weekly Teaching Tips. Follow these and more on Facebook and LinkedIn.