UDL Workshop Summary

What is UDL?

Image of the UDL Guidelines. Link to web version.
UDL Guidelines. Click the image to view an interactive version.

“Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. ”1 

UDL has its beginning in the universal design architectural movement which came out of “barrier free” movement. The term universal design was coined by Ronald Mace (North Carolina State University) in the 1960’s. Some examples of universal design are:

  • Smooth, ground level entrances without stairs
  • Lever handles for opening doors rather than twisting knobs

Universal Design for Learning was created by David H. Rose, Ed.D. of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in the 1990’s. UDL, based on research in neuroscience,  uses three principles. These principles are to provide: 2

  1. Multiple means of representation
  2. Multiple means of action and expression
  3. Multiple means of engagement

The three UDL principles are based on three learning networks. The three networks are recognition, strategic, and affective.

  1. The recognition network deals with, “how we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read.”
  2. The strategic network deals with how we plan and perform tasks,” and “how we organize and express our ideas.”
  3. The affective network deals with how, “learners get engaged and stay motivated.”

There are other uses of universal design in teaching and learning:

  • UD for Instruction (UDforI)
  • UD of Instruction (UDI)

While similar, they are not the same as universal design for learning. UDL is distinctly focused on the student experience and attending to  varied ways students may approach a learning experience.

Two common ideas and terms withing the UDL framework are the ‘myth of the average‘ or ‘learner variability.’ These terms point to the idea that students vary (in strengths, background, experience, perspective, and many more)  from context to context, and from day to day.

Some examples of variability are:

  • background knowledge
  • gender
  • socio-economic status
  • culture
  • non-native language learners
  • learning exceptions: physical disability, mental illness, anxiety

UDL is meant to address this variability by providing as many on-ramps to the course material as possible, and as many means for the students to demonstrate what they have learned. You may be saying, “Well isn’t this just differentiated instruction?” One analogy in, Design & Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using UDL3, by Loui Lord Nelson, compares differentiated instruction to creating single meals for each student while UDL is a buffet. The buffet allows each person to choose those things that the like and that work best for them.

Here is a link to the guidelines. The way that this chart is organized is by principle. Under each principle are three guidelines. Each guideline then has a few supporting checkpoints. Each of the checkpoints in this chart are linked to further explanation. The three levels on the left-hand side, access, build, and internalize, speak to increasing levels of engagement of students with the learning materials. The checkpoints are what we  use to identify the specific strategies we will employ as we design a specific learning experience. I have attached PDF copies in the “resources” section of the guidelines and the graphic organizer to this post.

Let’s dig a little deeper into the checkpoints to see how we might apply them. Some examples are below.

  • 1 – Provide options for perception.
    • The mighty PDF. Quite ubiquitous in the higher-ed environment and at the core and inaccessible file. The PDF file format is technically an image. Even though we can see text, there isn’t any underlying text that may be manipulated. Optical character recognition, or OCR, is the process of identifying or extrapolating the text within an image.  Adobe Acrobat Pro is one example of software that can do this for PDF documents. Once this process has been completed other options for interacting with the document become available. Such affordances are:
      • having the document read aloud – providing another mode of interaction. Toward this end there are programs, web tools, and mobile apps that can help facilitate this.
      • searching the text – making the document a study/research tool.
      • Redeeming time – the ability for a student to listen to the document on a mobile device allows the student to listen when they have time e.g. student athlete traveling to/from and event.
  • 3.3 – Guide information processing and visualization.
    • Mind mapping or concept mapping provides a way for the student to organize information and make connections between the ideas.
  • 5.1 – Use multiple media for communication.
    • Providing the student audio or video feedback allows tone and non-verbal cues to be communicated. Making this an option for students can provide assistance to those students who are better explaining ideas verbally than in writing.
  • 5.2 – Use multiple tools for construction and composition.
    • Allowing students to create a podcast as an option to writing a research paper gives the students a creative alternative.
  • 6.1 – Guide appropriate goal setting.
    • Providing time estimates for readings/materials supports the student in managing their own work, planning and prioritizing for when works best for them.
  • 6.3 – Facilitate managing information and resources.
    • Chunking, or breaking a larger task or piece of information supports the student in managing the task and/or understanding the larger idea.
  • 6.4 – Enhance capacity for monitoring progress.
    • Helping students to see their progress in a course can allow them to better assess their work and the learning they are doing. Course completion tracking in Moodle is a tool that could be leveraged to support this.
  • 7.1 – Optimize individual choice and autonomy.
    • Providing alternative formats of course materials and providing options for assignments and activities support this checkpoint. Other strategies that may do so also are creation of class norms, collaborative assessment/rubric design in which the instructor and class work together to create the assessment or rubric.
  • 7.2 – Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity.
    • Whose voices are represented? Are the materials relevant to all the learners? How can they made to be relevant?
  • 8.1 – Heighten salience of goals and objectives.
    • The more an instructor can deliberately share of the “why” of the task/assignment/activity/process, the better the students will understand the importance of the said task/assignment/activity/process, and most importantly be more engaged and motivated in the learning process.
  • 8.3 – Foster collaboration and community.
    • Shared class notes are a way to foster collaboration and to support students who may not be as strong in this area.
  • 8.4 – Increase mastery-oriented feedback.
    • Providing learners feedback that a particular response is correct or incorrect really only provides limited information. Creating feedback that guides a student toward discovering the correct answer supports this checkpoint. Utilizing Moodle quiz feedback and the  question bank are examples of a tool that an instructor might use.
  • 9.3 – Develop self-assessment and reflection.
    • Including metacognitive prompts – “What worked?,” “What didn’t?,” “Why?,” “What would help you learn?” – Can support the student in taking control of their learning, knowing themselves better and provide them the means to identify and search after those things that help them the best/most.

Some things to keep in mind or questions to ask as you consider adapting a learning experience within the UDL framework:

  • What does this design change require? Technology? Time? Funds?
  • What are challenges against this design change?
  • How easily could this change be implemented in a course?
  • How might you assess the impact of the change?

Take-Away’s

The hour for the workshop went by very quickly. Everyone was able to get something out of the time together. One common thread was appreciation for the analogy of UDL being a “buffet” – providing options for the students to choose what they like and works best for them, versus differentiated instruction where you are making separate meals to fit each student. Others from the workshop voiced appreciation for the time and space to talk with peers about what colleagues are doing and realizing that they are dealing with a lot of the same issues.

This workshop was a great experience for me as a facilitator and I look forward to discussing these ideas further and working with instructors to implement these and other strategies into the teaching and learning experience.

Resources

Web

Books

References

  1. udloncampus.cast.org
  2. Burgstahler, Sheryl, Universal Design in Higher Education: from Principles to Practice, 2015.
  3. Lord Nelson, Loui, Design & Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using UDL,” by Loui Lord Nelson