7: Pedagogy of the Pause — with Emily Nusbaum

In this episode, core Disability Studies instructor Emily Nusbaum shares how she builds collective access into her courses—from day one. Instead of treating accommodations as individual, private transactions, Emily invites her students to co-design access practices together: shared note-taking, flexible ways to participate, an open Zoom room, and an access statement that frames support as everyone’s responsibility.Through stories from her classroom—students using wheelchairs and service animals, a learner attending from a grandparent’s apartment while caregiving, and a student who says they finally felt cared for—Emily shows how small shifts can transform the culture of a course. We talk about why slowing down isn’t a weakness, how “participation points” can reinforce ableism, and why accessibility is fundamentally relational, not just procedural.This episode offers concrete, realistic starting points for instructors who want to move beyond compliance toward a culture of collective access and disability justice in their teaching.In this episode, we explore:What collective access means in a university classroomPractices that help students feel genuinely “cared for”Rethinking participation, engagement, and assessmentUsing shared note-taking, open Zoom rooms, and access statementsWhy accessibility is a relational practice, not just a checklistResources:Sample access statement from Emily’s syllabusReview transcripts on our show webpage.Share your feedback with us at [email protected] Space is brought to you by Research Teaching, and Learning (RTL) in UC Berkeley's Division of Undergraduate Education.