Rethinking Engagement with Learning: Supporting Neurodiversity in Our Classrooms

If you walk into any classroom, you’ll probably notice students engaging in all kinds of ways. Some are scribbling notes. Others are listening. A few might be shifting in their seats, stretching, or reflecting quietly at their desks or laptops. None of these approaches are better or worse than others, they’re simply different strategies employed by students to support their own learning.

The concept of neurodiversity reminds us of this natural variation in how we manifest paying attention. Some students identify as neurodivergent, including autistic individuals and those with ADHD, dyslexia, and many other cognitive differences. Whether or not students have such a diagnosis, the variation in how human brains focus and engage can mean that some students encounter barriers in classrooms that weren't designed with this variation in mind.

As instructors, it’s easy to carry certain assumptions about participation: speaking up in class, taking notes a certain way, or always appearing focused and still. Without attention to neurodiversity, participation can unintentionally become a narrow measure that favors certain communication styles or ways of processing over others. Planning with neurodiversity in mind invites us to recognize that students engage and express understanding in many different ways. This might mean offering multiple options for participation, such as writing, visual work, spoken contributions, or recorded media. It could also involve creating varied ways to engage with course content, whether through discussion, quiet reflection, drawing, or movement. When we think more expansively about participation, we open more pathways for students to connect with learning in ways that feel meaningful and manageable for them.

That said, we want to be clear: the practices listed below are not a checklist of mandatory actions. Instructors are always balancing complex demands and working through pressures around teaching choices, with each course its own context. Our goal is to share a menu of ideas for instructors to consider and adapt. The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) remind us to anticipate learner variability, while also respecting the realities of our teaching environments.

Here are some prompts to help reimagine engagement and implement course-wide changes that help a variety of students:

• What does participation look like in your course? Could it be broader?
  Participation doesn’t have to mean speaking up in a large group. It might include contributing to a shared doc, responding in writing, drawing, using audio or video, or engaging through smaller or asynchronous conversations.
• How might students engage with course material in ways that reflect how they think and process? Offering multiple entry points (discussion, reflection, annotation, etc.) supports diverse processing styles.
• How might students reflect on how they learn and participate? Building in moments for self-reflection encourages students to explore what helps them engage, and what they might want to try differently moving forward.
• How might planning tools support students in sustaining their engagement? Providing structures like weekly checklists or visual calendars can help students anticipate deadlines and ease the mental load of keeping track.
• How might clarifying expectations support more meaningful participation? Examples, scaffolding steps, time estimates, and transparent grading rubrics can make participation more approachable. For more, explore TILT (Transparency in Learning and Teaching) framework.
• What kinds of flexibility feel sustainable for you and supportive for your students? Consider reasonable grace periods for deadlines or attendance, as shared in our Teaching Minute co-authored with the Disabled Student Union.

Rethinking engagement is ultimately about making space for more students to participate in ways that reflect how they learn, focus, and communicate. These practices can be applied across the course, not just for specific students, and help create learning environments that are more responsive and accessible to all. Just as importantly, they offer students opportunities to notice what supports their engagement, explore different ways of participating, and begin building the language to talk about what they need - especially as they move through future classrooms and professional environments that may not yet reflect the same flexibility.

Wishing you care as you continue rounding out the semester, and sending good vibes always,