Mathematical subjects have specific accessibility challenges. There are technical and pedagogic barriers formed by the modes of communication traditionally used in mathematics.

The Mathematics Resources Centre (MASH) is helping to develop and disseminate processes to improve access to mathematical subjects for disabled students.

Most recent and useful

In the current phase of the project we are focusing on working together to disseminate practice. The most recent and useful resources are:

Getting started with accessible maths presented at Sustaining Accessibility in Mathematics
Beyond alt text: Creating explorable objects in place of images in digital resources. presented at CETL MSOR 2022
Accessible maths e-resources – where do you start? and Teaching and Learning Mathematics Online (TALMO) 2020
ClavertonDown: This is built on top of Bookdown, RMarkdown, KnitR and Pandoc and can be used by the average maths lecturer. The aim is to create a method aimed at lecturers creating alternative formats, rather than writers writing books. We aim for it to be usable in both pure and applied mathematical settings.

For those at Bath

If you are at Bath then you can get help and support from a variety of places:

Centre for Learning and Teaching pages on writing accessible technical content including contact information
Staff TEL Community of Practice Team
Bookdown usergroup (RMarkdown and ClavertonDown welcome)
MASH drop-ins (student queries will take priority)
mash-access@bath.ac.uk can provide advice and, if your department has agreed funding, assistance in producing accessible formats of mathematical or statistical learning materials

Groups and collaboration

Jisc Accessibility Community maths working group
sigma Network Accessibility Special Interest Group which subsumed AccessMSORWG, a network of people with specific interest in mathematics accessibility, was established in the early phase and has now been subsumed by the sigma Network Accessibility Special Interest Group.
Crowdsourcing of captions for mathcentre videos

Early exploration

The Higher Education Academy Mathematics, Statistics & Operational Research (MSOR) Network (now closed) and the Higher Education (HE) STEM Programme including the Mathematical Sciences HE Curriculum Innovation Project provided funding to develop and report on the following.

MSOR Access Working Group (AccessMSORWG)

Cliffe, E. & Rowlett, P. eds., 2012. Good Practice on Inclusive Curricula in the Mathematical Sciences, National HE STEM Programme: Mathematical Sciences HE Curriculum Innovation Project.

Methods to produce flexible and accessible learning resources in mathematics

A lecturer's guide to methods to produce flexible and accessible learning resources in mathematics.

Cliffe, E. & White, J., 2012. Methods to Produce Flexible and Accessible Learning Resources in Mathematics. In Student-centred Approaches in Mathematics. National HE STEM Programme: Mathematical Sciences HE Curriculum Innovation Project, pp. 35–43.
This evolved into MathAltNotes. We still use this for 'heavy-duty' transformations of LaTeX into alternative formats but it really needs to be driven by those who wrote it.

Mathematics Group Work and Asperger Syndrome Working Group

Cliffe, E. & Bradshaw, N.-A., 2012. Autism Spectrum Disorders and Group Work in Mathematics. In Student-centred Approaches in Mathematics. National HE STEM Programme: Mathematical Sciences HE Curriculum Innovation Project, pp. 45–47.

An event on transition to HE for students with visual impairment (VI) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This event brought together: higher education students and staff with VI alongside staff with experience of working with students with VI, teachers and representatives from Sensory Support Services, the RNIB and JISC TechDis.

Transition to higher education for students with visual impairments in STEM subjects is a report produced as an outcome of a Disability Practitioner Event: Are we doing it right?. The report is available in:

Further exploratory workshops

Mar 2013: HEA funded AccessMSORWG Mathematical Study Without Pen and Paper: Experiences, Impacts and Options
Jan 2013: HESTEM funded workshop Accessible learning resources in mathematics
Sep 2012: HESTEM funded workshop Transition to HE: Exploring barriers to STEM for students with visual impairments
May 2012: HESTEM funded workshop Mathematics group work and Asperger syndrome 2
Mar 2012: HESTEM funded workshop Mathematics group work and Asperger syndrome 1
Jan 2012: MSOR funded AccessMSORWG Accessibility Group Workshop - 'The Wider Picture'
Feb 2011: MSOR/HESTEM funded AccessMSORWG Maths, Stats and OR Accessibility Workshop

Publications

Mathematics instructors’ awareness of accessibility barriers for disabled students, Emma Cliffe, Ciarán Mac an Bhaird, Eabhnat Ní Fhloinn, Clare Trott, Oct. 2019. Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: An International Journal of the IMA
Communication of the practicalities of accessible learning environments in mathematics to lecturers: Cliffe, E., 2015, Creating an accessible learning environment: Anticipating and resolving practical barriers. In Transitions in Undergraduate Mathematics Education Edited by Michael Grove, Tony Croft, Joe Kyle & Duncan Lawson, pp. 227-244.

Older slides and talks from workshops

Mathematics accessibility

This project aims to improve knowledge of how to meet the needs of disabled students studying subjects containing substantial quantities of mathematics.

Project status

Duration