Promoting Inclusive Teaching and Learning Environments Using MaRILU®: An Automated Digital System to Accommodate Laboratory Adjustments – The UK Experience

Kauser, Sobia, Walker, Stuart A., Chikwa, Gladson ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8707-8147 and Canet-Perez, Juanvi (2025) Promoting Inclusive Teaching and Learning Environments Using MaRILU®: An Automated Digital System to Accommodate Laboratory Adjustments – The UK Experience. In: Innovations in Pedagogical Practice and Curriculum Development in Higher Education: Contemporary Global Perspectives. Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 205-221.

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Abstract

Higher education (HE) institutions worldwide are expected to cater for every student's needs by embracing inclusive teaching and learning practices including the designing of inclusive learning environments. In the UK, implementation of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995), Part 4 of the Special Education Needs and Disability Act (2001) and the Equality Act (2010) gave universities a strong push to avoid discriminatory practices and placed a legal obligation on universities for its enactment. As a result of this, Learner Support Profiles (LSP) or their equivalent were introduced in all universities to ensure inclusive practices through the provision of reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities. A lot of emphasis has been placed on making reasonable adjustments for disabled students in teaching and assessment strategies in non-laboratory settings. The provision of appropriate support in the laboratory environment for disabled students has been overlooked. This chapter explores the design and development of a managing risk for impaired laboratory users (MaRILU®) system. This system facilitates the identification, assessment and accommodation of reasonable adjustments in the laboratory learning environment. It demonstrates how the co-creation of support systems enables learners to feel as valued partners in the learning process, increasing their sense of belonging on the course and university. To our knowledge, we are the first institution in the UK to have implemented a digital system to accommodate reasonable adjustments in the laboratory environment. The MaRILU® system can be a catalyst for change that helps institutions provide consistent and equitable support for disabled students in laboratory settings.