“Around one in five people are neurodivergent” (Neurodiversityhub, 2025)
In considering the subject for my Action Research Project, I was inspired by the struggles identified by several of my students. I am teaching cohorts which include students with both hearing and visual impairment, dyslexia, anxiety, ADHD, narcolepsy and many for whom English is a second language. Having recently lived through the realisation of an ADHD diagnosis with my own daughter (at the age of 27), I have been prompted to question everything about the way in which we teach such diverse cohorts of students. These lived experiences have inspired my research, with the aim of ensuring that every student has the best possible experience in the context of mine and my colleagues teaching practice.
I began to address one of these issues by including automated captioning in all of my lecture and seminar content, which actually led to a much broader impact than I was anticipating. Originally, I implemented this to help a deaf student, when her BSL interpreters were not in attendance. However, feedback from some of the international students, for whom English is a second language, indicated that the captions had helped them too, making it possible to read along as well as listen to the content.
Having realised that making a small change could create a fundamentally important impact, I was able to share the outcome with many of my fellow lecturers, creating a ripple effect across the course, for the benefit of as many students as possible. Having discovered the positive power of making one small change, I was inspired to look at other ideas that would be relatively easy to implement, and could have a wide ranging impact, turning my attention from sound to vision.
We use on screen visual presentations for most content, and I was struck by the fact that, in the context of a creative arts university, we are encouraged, as tutors, to use a black and white template for teaching materials. Obviously, this is tweaked and adapted to suit the style and content of each individual lecturer, but the default is still black type on a white background. Why is this, if it is not necessarily the best method of visual communication for learning amongst diverse groups of students?
Beginning my research I came across the work of Helen Irlen, founder of the Irlen Method, which was developed to “use colored overlays and filters to improve the brain’s ability to process visual information” (Irlen, 2025). Irlen Syndrome is often misdiagnosed as dyslexia or other learning disabilities such as ADD or ADHD. The Irlen Method implementation of coloured overlays and filters has the potential to normalise the brains ability to process written information, and has been shown to improve the following:
- Print clarity & stability
- Comprehension
- Reading speed
- Reduced eye strain and fatigue
- Headaches and migraines
- Light sensitivity
Other published work around the use of colour in reading & learning materials includes Arnold J. Wilkins book, Reading Through Colour, in which he states that “people who suffer visual stress may have poor assimilation of reading content. They may tire quickly and the quality of their work may deteriorate rapidly. Concentration may be poor and attention span short”.
Professor Wilkins has also contributed to research carried out at Cambridge University.
“Our research has shown an immediate and significant increase in reading speed using colored overlays.” (Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge University )
On undertaking the initial research and reading, I became convinced that by making small changes to the ways that we present content in the classroom, we could potentially make significant improvements to the lived experience of all students.