Student requests – better the devil you know?
As we discovered in our recent survey of disability support professionals, 58.8% of respondents listed ‘student requests’ as a major factor influencing their choice of note taking provisions.
This seems natural enough. Why wouldn’t you listen to what students want?
Assuming that most are familiar with peer notes from K-12 and want this accommodation, and this is an option you offer, it’s especially easy to sign off.
However, our survey also identified that 66% of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement ‘peer notes improve student independence’.
And given that improving independence is a natural way to combat learned helplessness, it’s probably safe to say that student requests won’t always represent the best route to achieving this.
It’s likely that requested accommodations represent the ‘devil you know’ – a kind of crutch to lean against in the face of new challenges.
But what’s the alternative?