Gaby Castañeda-Gleason (above) is an assistant professor of instruction in the Linguistics Department and one of the recipients of the office of Student Accessibility Services’ 2020-2021 Accessibility Ally Awards.
Gabriela Castañeda-Gleason, Assistant Professor of Instruction in Linguistics, received a 2020-21 Accessibility Ally Award from the Office of Sustainability Services.
According to her nominator, Castañeda-Gleason champions accessibility through her instruction in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) and other courses where she highlights accessibility and methods to help ensure her students learn how to appropriately accommodate different abilities in their teaching styles and practices. She is also receptive to changing her class structure to accommodate students with learning disabilities, including those who may not have registered with Student Accessibility Services.
One student who nominated Castañeda-Gleason mentioned her own struggles with ADHD to the professor and noted that as an English language instructor she would want to have recorded lessons for her students to assist those with shorter attention spans. Castaneda-Gleason was able to learn from that exchange and now posts the recording of each class for students to refer to.
“She has done the most for me with my accommodations, making my learning experience less stressed and more enjoyable,” said the nominating student. “She will even send emails to check in with me individually.”
“I was quite surprised that my students nominated me,” said Castañeda-Gleason. “I am honored and humbled. They have been fantastic navigating these difficult times. I am very proud of them. They have been so mature and flexible in this pandemic. They are amazing!”
Comments