Accessibility and Colour Blindness

Colour blindness has been more relevant to me this year more than previous years on account of having a colour blind student.

While it certainly doesn't make life easier for an Art & Design & Interactive Media student it doesn't make it impossible to work in the design industry either. I did know of a former product designer, who was colour blind, who had a successful career in industry and in teaching.

Even so, as a teacher, it is helpful to have some understanding of colour blindness so I know what to expect, and can help the student develop strategies to cope with areas of difficulty.

One resource I found recently is a website called Vischeck. Vischeck provides colour blindness simulation tools, including an image previewer, a website previewer and a Photoshop filter. The site also gives information about a Daltonization algorithm for correcting images for colour blind people. All fascinating stuff.

I downloaded the Photoshop filter and installed it for Photoshop and Fireworks. It works fine in both.

I wondered how the normal visible spectrum would look to a colour blind person, and so I used the Photoshop filter to adjust a bog standard colour wheel. The results were truly astonishing:

I just cannot imagine a world so radically different to the one I see now.

Now I know why my student picked a muted grey/green instead of a vibrant green to represent grass in a client visual. To them they looked the same.

This insight into how colour blind people actually see the world is probably the most valuable outcome of this find. Meanwhile the Photoshop filter will allow me to demonstrate it to other people, and to gauge usability of my own designs.

Procrastination and Task Avoidance

Related to my recent ponderings on student motivation is procrastination. This being the most obvious side effect of reduced motivation (students delaying working). I did write an assignment a few months ago on "Managing behaviour in the classroom" and procrastination was the behaviour I focused on at that time. I did plently of research but one source in particular I found especially insightful (Take a peek online here).

One of the findings indicated that procrastinators "are frequently unsure of their ability to complete a task. Consequently they delay starting the task in Question." It goes on to say:

At the heart of such irrational fear for procrastinators is an inappropriate concept of what constitutes an adequately accomplished task. Failure is inevitable; standards are simply too high. To circumvent the emotional consequence of this failure, procrastinators delay beginning a task until it cannot be completed satisfactorily. The payoff for the procrastinator is that his or her avoidant behaviour furnishes a convenient excuse for the inevitable failure caused by this avoidance. A task done poorly by the procrastinator can be blamed on time limitation or even laziness, rather than inability. In this manner, procrastination serves as an ego defensive function, not unlike that postulated in psychoanalytic theory. Furthermore, its occurrence is perpetuated because of this reason, despite the anxiety it seems to create in the frantic last-minute efforts of the procrastinator. (Ferrari et al.)

If you saw yourself in that passage, you wouldn't be the only one. What I find interesting is that yet agin we see a link to prospect theory. This time it is loss of self-image that is being protected. You might say that procrastinators work hard at procrastinating in the sense of putting up with the anxiety - but the payoff is worth it, because they don't have to face up to being unable - they can always blame the procrastination for any underperformance or failure.

From the student's point of view however, teachers can take action to eliminate this reason for procrastinating. At the heart of this passage is the idea that students have "an inappropriate concept of what constitutes an adequately accomplished task". As a teacher then, I need to ensure my students have a correct concept of what is adequate. There are several things I can do to help bring this about:

• At the beginning of any task or assignment, present a good example of a task or assignment completed. Talk the students through it.
• Provide more information about what the students are to achieve.
• Ask questions to determine understanding - specifically target known procrastinators.
• Regularly tutorial students to monitor progress, ask direct questions to find out actual attainment, do not be hazed.

This is often easier said than done. Past educational (or home) experiences have taught some students that being wrong is to be a failure, therefore they try to haze their teachers rather than use them to correct their understanding. This takes time to correct, but until it is corrected to a sufficient degree, students "hide" from their teachers, pretending they understand when deep down they still have "an inappropriate concept of what constitutes an adequately accomplished task" and are subconsciously planning to procrastinate.

What is really key, is that students do understand what they need to do, and feel that they can do it.

I have found that the cognitivist approach works best in these situations. My students are far too clever to be fooled by mere positive talking, and the stick and carrot approach only works if students are earning the carrots they get (which can sometimes mean all they get is stick - so it only serves to reinforce their belief in their own failure). What I do instead, by way of using the cognitivist approach, is to tell them about Ferrari et al, explain the motivations for procrastinating, and explain the solution. Empower (how I hate that word) them to regulate their own behaviour, by helping them to recognise the stimulating factors.

It will probably take longer to see change this way but I am more convinced that the change will be real. Students who change from the inside (motivated by their own understanding) are surely better off than those who change on the surface only, while all their doubts and fears remain, and which will resume control again as soon as the student is out of your influence.

Intrinsic Motivational Growth and the End of Term

Perhaps like me you have witnessed the increasing business of your students as the end of the academic year approached. Perhaps also like me you saw motivation to work increase beyond your wildest dreams, soaring to heights you thought the students could never attain. Perhaps like me then you also experienced the disappointment that such motivation was saved up until the very last minute.

From my point of view it is disappointing when such strategies effectively relegate the students to grades below their capability. I have given the problem much thought and yesterday began to see a connection I had not seen before.

My Hypothesis

Once again Prospect Theory may have a connection. Prospect Theory basically says that people are more likely to take action to avoid a loss, than they are to take action to recieve a gain.

I beleive this principle is in action within many of our students. My hypothesis is as follows:

Typically intrinsic motivation drops after the first few weeks on the course. They are more familiar with the territory, they have made friends and might therefore have more distractions. The novelty has worn off and other life factors are impacting academic success. They are beginning to "chill out" too much and there is a sense that there is plenty of time. This is the part we teachers all hate, and we have to keep finding ways to get our students to value their education. In more extreme circumstances students refuse to work, have tantrums etc.

Then as the end of the year approaches, the mindset begins to change. Suddenly, in spite of their previous performance (or lack of it), they have decided that they do want their qualification after all - it would be such a waste of time to spend a year at college and come away with nothing!

And there we find the connection. After all the weeks and months have passed, almost regardless of the type of student, each one of them feels they have now made an investment of time and effort.

From the teachers perspective it might not have been enough time or effort, but from the student's point of view the investment has been made. With this new perspective the student looks at the approaching end of year, looks at their grades, their pile of unfinished work, and suddenly wants to get it done.

Prospect Theory says students are more likely to take action to avoid a loss, than they are to take action to recieve a gain. Because students now feel they have made an investment they now have something to lose. They feel it likely that they might lose their invesment and so are more likely to take action to avoid the loss.

And there you have it. My hypothesis in a nutshell. Take a peek below and you can see it in a diagram too.

Even more amusing, if you let it happen, is the students who continue to come in to college even after the end of term. Grasping with both hands their "last chance saloon". Students with appalling attendance records during term time somehow find the motivation to come into college during their holiday. An incredible increase in motivation. Wow.

Of course this is just my theory, I am happy to discuss its potential flaws. We mustn't also forget the other extrinsic factors like fear of parents, fear of not going to uni etc... or are they intrinsic too?

I think my next student study will be based around this. Perhaps prospect theory comes into it, no doubt other factors, but I want to know what the factors are. Then I can start introducing them earlier in the year to bring about this marvelous motivational change sooner.

Half a Brain, and Attention Deficit

One "diagnostic" test I have had the opportunitiy to do with several groups of my students is the Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) self report scale (ASRS) from the World Health Organisation (Sample here). This does not diagnose the disorder, only a Doctor can do that, but has been proved to be reliable at predicting probability.

Along with all the usual numeracy and literacy diagnostics I find this one helpful for finding out which students are most likely to struggle with concentration, and seek out distractions.

The test is originally designed to indicate probability of someone having ADD. Actually, I don't use it for this, though interesting. I use it mainly because in answering the questions on the test I find out some interesting things like:

• Which learners will find it hard starting a piece of work.
• Which learners will find it hard finishing a piece of work.
• Which learners tend to procrastinate.
• Which learners are disorganised.

Knowing all these things can be really helpful as you try to get each learner to reach their potential. The test reveals these things simply in the questions it asks. Answers are given as 'never', 'rarely', 'sometimes', 'often', 'very often'.

• How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?
• How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?
• How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?
• When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started?
• How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time?
• How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?

These questions reveal quite a bit about my learners inner workings that is really helpful.

In pondering Attention Deficit, I have wondered to what degree this is actually a 'condition' for my learners, and to what degree they simply never learned to concentrate properly.

A large proportion of my students insist that listening to music helps them to concentrate. I disagree. Logically, if half your brain is being used up with music, only half is available for doing the work. OK, there may be left brain right brain issues here, fine, I welcome your insight. In favour of my view I cite the animation director of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' whose mentor ain his early days advocated turning the music off - and when he did, his animation imediately improved.

Why? Because in the words of his mentor he wasn't "clever enough to think of two things at once".

So where does that leave our students? Because they have never learned to focus on one thing, they find it boring, the trade off is to listen to music and only work on part efficiency. Half a brain.