Accommodations and Modifications: Read All Before Requesting
If you are a student who has difficulty speaking up in class, or who wants extra help in English grammar and usage (including ESL/EFL), or who has a health consideration or atypical learning style that affects classwork, or involves any special concerns or needs in relation to or preceding readings, or who frequently has trouble with, or feels inadequately challenged by, classwork, or who is interested in investigating or applying to graduate school, or anything else that might benefit from an accommodation or modification, I can gladly customize my course to your needs or your style. You do not need to provide any documentation, nor any reason, for your request — tell me what you need, not why (see below for instructions) — but you must make your request within the first three weeks of class, and should do so as early as you can (I cannot enact any accommodation until after you’ve requested it, of course, and I cannot apply any accommodations retroactively).
I know that the process of making a request for accommodations and modifications is sometimes the worst time to have to read a bunch of fine print, as below — please trust me when I tell you that this page is actually the most streamlined, simple, one-stop solution I’ve been able to manage. One of the most significant hurdles to accommodation is administrative confusion and delay: read this page with care before making your request, so I can handle your arrangements with speed, efficiency, and humanity. If you do not follow the instructions below, I may not be able to offer you an accommodation or modification in my class.
Students with diverse learning styles, needs, and goals are very welcome in my courses. That’s not empty wordage: my courses (and the research material on which they are based) do best when a wide range of perspectives and modes of understanding are brought to bear on them. Muting or avoiding certain readers’ ways of learning or knowing tends to skew our understanding of early texts, often leading to anachronistically narrow interpretations. So: whoever you are, and whatever you bring to the table, we need you here.
ESL/EFL students in particular should take a look at, and feel free to request, any of the accommodations and modifications I offer below — many classes reserve accommodations like these for students with an Accessibility Services letter, but some may likely help you too, and I’ll extend them to you happily without any documentation necessary; no one requesting an accommodation in my class has to give any reasons, nor does anyone have to identify themselves in any particular way, to make a request — just tell me which modification you’d like (see below) and we’ll go from there. Know too that all of my classes deal with premodern forms of English, which means many readings were created prior to the rules of grammar, usage, or punctuation that so often frustrate ESL/EFL students — which means that being ESL/EFL can offer both unique frustrations and unique advantages in interpreting the texts. The best way to position yourself to use ESL/EFL advantages is to make a one-on-one Office Hours appointment with me early on, during which we can close read a class text together, and set in motion the conversations that will be most useful to you.
STEP ONE: CONSULT THE “MENU” OF AVAILABLE MODIFICATIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS
I try to build my courses with accessibility and flexibility already in mind. Students who usually request accommodations often find that my courses already have some of their usual accommodations built in (time-based readings, ample time on quizzes, all advance extension requests honoured, etc.): at your course homepage (see links in the menu bar above), please review the course policies and requirements most relevant to your accommodations to determine what it is you’d like to request from me, or whether you even need to request anything in this case. Once you’ve done that, consult this list, in order to identify what you might ask me for:
I can extend any written essay assignment into a conference-length paper, an especially useful modification for students interested in graduate school. In courses in which essays are usually graded by a TA, I will grade extended assignments myself (the availability of this modification may be limited in those cases). For your numerical grade on that assignment I’ll use the same standards I use for any undergraduate work, but I will provide feedback, commentary, and critique on that paper as though you are a graduate student.
I can offer alternative avenues for participation (click here to learn more) to anyone who may have difficulty speaking up in real-time discussion.
I can expand the limits on how many class sessions (not including TA-led tutorials) can be attended remotely (click here to learn more) for anyone who may have difficulty making it to our meetings in person. For my courses, all students are still required to attend class in real time — whether remotely or in person — during scheduled hours, with no exceptions, regardless of reason or documentation.
For classes with TA-led tutorials, as long is there is sufficient interest and a willing TA, I can locate one tutorial group’s meetings entirely online for the duration of term. This must be done well in advance of when classes begin, so if you are interested, get in contact well before the first day of class.
I already always make clear when an upcoming reading involves potentially disturbing material, as part of the required lectures that precede certain readings; if you need to skip any of those readings, alert me and I’ll give you an alternate comprehension question if need be; if you need to skip the subsequent discussion of those readings, you are welcome to use one of your allotted absences to miss that class, and should then contact me for an alternate CQ make-up
I can give early prompts for real-time comprehension questions (CQs). During the break halfway through the class session (or before class, for 50-minute sessions), you and I will step aside and I will whisper to you the CQ prompt I’m planning on using, so you can have extra time to think about it.
I can give extra time on real-time comprehension questions (CQs). You’ll notice that I never actually leave the classroom until two minutes after we have adjourned: if you arrange for this modification ahead of time, you can take that extra two minutes to keep working on your CQ (since I usually give 2-3 minutes on CQs, this will nearly double the usual time given).
Be sure to request a volunteer notetaker, if you have arranged for that accommodation with Accessibility Services (AS), through me, directly, in addition to your AS request. The usual AS recruiting process usually takes quite a while (if a notetaker appears at all), but I can approach the class directly and immediately (while still keeping your information private) — and, if need be, I can offer extra incentives to encourage volunteers. Know that I will encourage volunteer notetakers to share their notes with all students via Google Drive, so that students without documentation of need can also benefit from the notes. Remember, though, that I make audiorecordings of all of my class sessions, and I make those recordings, as well as slides, available to all students — and I allow students to use additional recording devices in my classes if they wish — so in this case you may not need a notetaker at all. And you may not want one: above all, before making arrangements for a notetaker, consult my guidelines for notetaking and retention in my classes (click here).
I allow extra time on tests or quizzes to anyone who asks for it, as long as you specify exactly what you need for each test or quiz on our course schedule, and as long as you make that request two weeks in advance. That said, I already build in 2x time for all my tests and quizzes — that is, I schedule twice the necessary/normative amount of time required for completion (except for ENG 330’s Middle English Comprehension Test, on which see below) — so that I can get the best work out of the students who would benefit from extra time, and can keep us all together in the classroom where possible. So be sure you need extra time before requesting it: you may be better off completing the test or quiz in the classroom so you can benefit from my being there to answer questions (and so you can hear questions other students ask). If you are sure you’ll do better taking tests and quizzes in the sequestered spaces provided by Accessibility Services, though, I encourage you to take advantage of those (but please keep me in the loop if you’re planning on taking a test or quiz in an alternate location).
For ENG 330’s Middle English Comprehension Test, which is a time-pressurized test, I do not schedule as ample a range of time for completion as I do with my other quizzes and tests — so I make special arrangements for this one. If you would benefit from extra time (and less pressure) for this test, and if you contact me within the first three weeks of class, I can arrange up to an hour of extra test-taking time for ENG 330 students, in my office, before or after the test (depending on your availability and on the availability of others who want to use this option). That way I’ll be there to answer questions as needed. If you are sure you’ll do better taking tests and quizzes in the sequestered spaces provided by Accessibility Services, though, I encourage you to take advantage of those (but please keep me in the loop if you’re planning on taking a test or quiz in an alternate location).
I already grant pre-arranged week-long extensions for any assignment that does not involve a live, real-time component. I will only grant those extensions if requested at least a week in advance, though. If you’d like to make your request at the beginning of term, or any time at least a week ahead of the deadline, feel free to do so — consult my policy on assignment extensions (click here) for more information.
I can offer priority scheduling on any assignment that involves a live, real-time component. Presentations in real time cannot be extended under any circumstances, but you can request ahead of time that you be given first choice for the time and date of your presentation (and can thus reserve the latest appointment available, if you wish).
You can do a real-time presentation remotely, if that would help. (For ENG 202, this modification is not available for the optional Embodied Track, and will depend on your TA’s access to classroom technology for the optional Discursive Track.)
I (or your TA) can be your substitute presenter, or read in your place, for a real-time assignment. You can also recruit a friend to read for you. You’ll need to provide me (or your TA) with a full script of what you want us to say in your place, which you’ve ensured ahead of time will fit within the time constraints of the assignment; if you ask for it, we can leave your name anonymous. (For ENG 202, this modification is not available for the optional Embodied Track.)
You may be able to replace certain real-time student presentations as pre-recorded videos. This will depend on the assignment; let me know which one you’d want to pre-record.
Nearly all of my course readings are available in electronic format, which should be compatible with magnification software. If anything proves incompatible, please let me know right away so I can try to fix the problem; for copyright reasons I still may require you to purchase a text even if I’m providing an electronic alternative. If a reading is not available in electronic format, but you need it magnified or modified, we can likely work it out — let me know.
Instead of dictation software, I can try to pair students who need dictation with a student volunteer reader. Many of the texts in my classes are in early English, which will overwhelm and confuse dictation software (and will overwhelm and confuse untrained readers) — but most of my classes will have at least one student eager to practice their skills at reading early English aloud. Let me know and I’ll try to recruit that student, offering extra training in early English pronunciation as an incentive. (This will not be as necessary in ENG 202, because I provide audio accompaniments for most of the early English readings there).
If an adjustment to the colour or size of my lecture slides would make it easier for you to view them, I can probably apply that change relatively easily. For instance, in one semester I had a photosensitive student who had trouble with the vibrance of the blues in my projections, so that semester I switched them out for amber. (I won’t simplify the slides’ content, though—click here to learn why).
I can also try to make adjustments to the lighting or other environmental aspects of our classroom. I am quite sensitive to classroom lighting myself; say the word and I’ll get in contact with administrators to see what can be done.
If you need breaks or otherwise may have to excuse yourself from the room temporarily during class, you need arrange no special accommodation: all of my students are adults and are certainly allowed to make their own decisions about whether they may need to step out of the room! If you leave for a long enough period of class that you have missed half of the material or more, I may record that class as an absence and/or require you to answer make-up questions for missed material later on.
If you benefit from engaging in a secondary activity during class (say, having a particular task to do with your hands, or having earbuds in to focus your attention), feel free to just go ahead and do it during class, as long as the activity is not disruptive, distracting, or disrespectful to other students or to me. If the activity might seem disrespectful without contextualizing explanation (say, earbuds in) but is not otherwise distracting or disruptive to anyone, then give me a heads-up so I know to expect it; but if it’s just a low-key hands-on craft or task that you can do without looking (knitting, crocheting, fidget spinners, and so forth) feel free to just do it as needed. Engagement and sustained attention (and usually active participation) are primary requirements for all my classes — any secondary activity you choose must enhance, and not interfere with, your ability to stay engaged and attentive. (Important exception: I do not and cannot under any circumstances allow students to use electronic devices for anything not directly related to class; I do not and cannot under any circumstances allow students to use phones at all in my classes, because these seriously distract me.)
One frequent request in my classes is that I speak more slowly: unfortunately, this is a very difficult accommodation for me to achieve — I come from a long line of fast-talkers. If you need me to slow down, I’ll try my best, but I’ll need you to remind me to slow down pretty frequently—meet with me privately and we’ll work out a subtle gesture or sign you can use to alert me to slow down. (Update as of fall term 2023: now some students are telling me that I speak too slowly? So… if you have any feedback at all on the tempo of my speech in classes, please just let me know, because I am baffled, and it would help.)
If you would benefit from an accommodation or modification not on this list or from an adjustment to any item on this list (except #1 and #2), ask — I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to grant your request, but I will likely be willing to try.
STEP TWO: REQUEST YOUR MODIFICATIONS OR ACCOMMODATIONS IN AN ITEMIZED, CLEAR EMAIL
As soon as possible — once you have reviewed the “menu” above — send me an email at sergi.utoronto@gmail.com in which you describe in clear, plain language, in an itemized list that refers directly to the numbered items above, precisely what accommodations you need for this class (do not send cut-and-paste descriptions that could be as easily applied to any other class). Keep your descriptions as short and straightforward as possible. If you are in a class with a TA, I’m still your primary contact for accommodations; once you and I work out a plan, I’ll take care of bringing your TA up to speed.
I cannot arrange accommodations or modifications requested later than the fourth week of class (third week for summer courses). (If an unforeseen need for accommodations or modifications should arise newly later in term, though, just email me to let me know you have an “unexpected circumstance” — you do not have to disclose what that circumstance is — and we will work something out.)
I do not need any context or reason for your request (tell me what you need, not why): only tell me the change you are requesting. Even if you have an accommodation letter that lists your usual requests (which I do not require), please write in the body of your email which of those requests apply to this class in particular, and how you’d like me to apply them. I never require proof or documentation of a student’s need for accommodation. I trust my students’ judgment about what will help them learn best; I trust my students to be ethical, according to their own sense of what is right, in making that judgment. And I am happy to grant accommodations to students regardless of whether they have administrative approval of their need for accommodations. If you believe that accommodations will help you, I will take your word for it.
From there, I will respond by email with a set of accommodations that I have customized to fit this course specifically, usually taken directly from the list below. If the versions I offer won’t work for you, or if you can think of a format that would work better, just ask.
Please ask for your accommodations and modifications proactively, speedily, greedily, and shamelessly! Skimping on accommodations or trying to minimize them (“I promised myself I wouldn’t ask for it this time unless I needed to!”) doesn’t help me and won’t help you — indeed, it is far better on my end to settle all accommodations early on, rather than trying to expand them later (that’s part of why I cannot arrange accommodations past a certain point in term, as specified above).