Glossary

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IDEA(also: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)

A United States federal law enacted in 1990 (reauthorized in 2004) that guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. IDEA requires schools to develop Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)…

IEP(also: Individualized Education Program, Individualized Education Plan)

A legally mandated written plan in the United States, developed annually by a team including parents, teachers, and specialists, that sets out the specific educational goals, services, accommodations, and assistive technologies required for a student aged 3–21 with a qualifying…

Immersive Storytelling(also: Interactive Narrative, VR Storytelling)

A narrative approach that places users inside a story environment, allowing them to experience and interact with the narrative through spatial presence, sensory engagement, and active participation. In therapeutic and accessibility contexts, immersive storytelling can scaffold…

Impostor Syndrome(also: Impostor Phenomenon, Impostorism)

A psychological pattern in which individuals doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as fraudulent despite evidence of competence. For people with disabilities, impostor syndrome is often intensified by ableist institutional structures: accommodations may be…

Incidental Learning(also: Observational Learning, Informal Learning)

Knowledge and skills acquired without deliberate instruction, typically through casual observation of the environment and other people. An estimated 80% of early childhood learning occurs incidentally through vision — watching how others make sandwiches, navigate social…

Inclusive Education(also: Inclusive Schooling, Mainstreaming)

An educational approach where students with disabilities learn alongside their non-disabled peers in mainstream classrooms, with appropriate supports, accommodations, and modifications to curriculum and instruction. Inclusive education contrasts with segregated schooling in…

Inclusive Employability(also: Inclusive Employment Practices, Disability-Inclusive Employment)

An approach to employment preparation, recruitment, and workplace practices that intentionally addresses the barriers faced by people from equity groups, including people with disabilities, in accessing and succeeding in employment. Inclusive employability goes beyond simply…

Inclusive Learning(also: Inclusive Education Design, Accessible Learning)

An educational approach that ensures all learners, including those with disabilities, can fully participate in and benefit from learning activities and materials. Inclusive learning involves designing curricula, content, and delivery methods that accommodate diverse abilities,…

Inclusive pedagogy(also: Inclusive teaching, Inclusive educational practice)

Teaching approaches and practices designed to ensure all students — including those with disabilities — can meaningfully participate in and benefit from educational experiences. Inclusive pedagogy goes beyond providing individual accommodations to reshape the learning…

Independent Living Skills(also: Daily Living Skills, ILS)

The practical skills needed to manage everyday tasks and routines autonomously, including personal hygiene, food preparation, household chores, money management, and time management. For people with disabilities, developing independent living skills is a core component of…

Individualized Education Plan(also: IEP, Individualized Education Program)

A legally binding document in the United States that outlines the special education services, accommodations, and goals for a student with a disability. IEPs are developed collaboratively by educators, parents, and specialists, and are mandated under the Individuals with…

Individualized Education Program(also: IEP, Individualized Education Plan)

An Individualized Education Program (IEP) is a legally binding document in the United States that outlines the specialized instruction, services, accommodations, and goals for a student with a disability who qualifies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).…

Informal Learning(also: Informal Education, Free-Choice Learning)

Learning that occurs outside formal educational settings, driven by curiosity, personal interest, and voluntary engagement rather than structured curricula and assessments. Science museums, workshops, community programs, and hands-on activities are key venues for informal…

Institutional Ableism(also: Systemic Ableism, Structural Ableism)

Prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities that is embedded in the policies, practices, norms, and culture of organizations and institutions, rather than manifesting solely through individual attitudes. In higher education, institutional ableism appears in…

Institutional Barriers(also: Organizational Barriers, Systemic Barriers)

Obstacles to accessibility, technology adoption, or inclusion that arise from organizational policies, practices, norms, and cultures rather than from individual limitations or technology design. In schools for the blind, institutional barriers include management resistance to…

Instructional Technology(also: Educational Technology, EdTech)

Digital technologies intentionally designed and used for teaching and learning purposes, including learning management systems (Google Classroom, Canvas), educational software (Khan Academy, MyMathLab), student response systems (Kahoot), digital textbooks, and assessment…

Intelligent Tutoring System(also: ITS, AI Tutor)

An AI-powered educational system that provides personalized instruction, feedback, and scaffolding adapted to individual learners' needs, knowledge levels, and learning patterns. Modern intelligent tutoring systems increasingly use generative AI and large language models to…

Interactive 3D Printed Model(also: I3M, Interactive Tactile Model)

A 3D printed physical object augmented with technology that provides audio or other non-visual feedback when users touch or interact with specific areas. These models combine the tangible spatial information of a physical replica with digital annotations, typically using…

Intrinsic Cognitive Load(also: Intrinsic Load)

One of three types of cognitive load identified by cognitive load theory, referring to the inherent difficulty of the material being learned based on its complexity and the learner’s prior knowledge. Intrinsic cognitive load is determined by the number of elements that must be…

Intrinsic Complexity(also: Intrinsic Cognitive Load)

In Cognitive Load Theory, intrinsic complexity refers to the inherent difficulty of understanding and processing the content or material itself, as opposed to extraneous complexity which arises from how the material is presented or accessed. In accessibility contexts,…

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