Universal Design for Learning

Students have different reasons for pursuing a degree.  Your students will be motivated and inspired by different things, and they will find connection to the material in different ways. Designing for multiple means of engagement means providing students with many different ways to engage with your course’s content and feel connected to the class. 

Considerations:

• How do students find a sense of belonging in the class?

• How can students connect with others?

• How might students experience joy or a sense of play?

• What opportunities are there to experience empathy?

Possible Ways to  Address:

• Vary activities and sources of information.

• Examine bias in the classroom and your expectations.

• Provide opportunities for creativity and curiosity.

• Co-create classroom agreements with students.

• Allow students opportunities to connect with each other.

Especially when working with adult learners, it is important to provide choice and autonomy, while considering the relevance and value of the material for students. The updated UDL 3.0 guidelines include a call to nurture joy and play for students (CAST, 2024).

Each student comes to Antioch with a unique set of intersectionalities, skills, abilities, and experiences that influence  how confident they are in expressing their ideas and knowledge in various ways. To be truly accessible, we want to be sure that course content, assignments, and discussions represent diverse identities, that we deeply consider the perspectives and perceptions of people, cultures, and languages, and we are intentionally not only recognizing, but valuing,  multiple ways of knowing and making meaning.

The new CAST guidelines ask that instructors consider if:

• students are able to customize the display of information to suit their needs

• students have ways to access the information for the class through means that go beyond just text and image (videos, audio files, live conversations)

• students can connect prior knowledge to new learning

• students can transfer their learning to new contexts

• instructors highlight patterns, big ideas, and relationships as connected to learning gorals

• instructors address linguistic biases and honor wide varieties of forms of language

Every learner approaches their learning according to their backgrounds, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses. There is no singular or magical assignment that will be perfect for all learners to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they've gained through a course. To add accessibility to your courses, you can ensure that students have a variety of ways to show their learning across a course.

The new CAST guidelines ask that instructors consider if:

• students can use a variety of tools to access the information, with a focus on physical accessibility and alternative ways to respond or interact in class

• their syllabus allows for tools and technologies that enhance access to learning

• students have the opportunity to use multimedia to communicate how they have achieved an objective, outcome, or goal

• students have the opportunity to digital tools to enhance their communication & expression

Definition of UDL

List of Universal Design ideas for teaching (Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education by Jay Timothy Dolmage)

Resources for accessibility (a wealth of links and Open Access Resources)
www.beyondaccommodation.wordpress.com

UDL in Higher Education 

UDL was an offshoot of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and IDEA. It was initially applied to K-12 education, but has been expanding into higher education also.  The ADA became law in 1990 as a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all facilities, public or private, that are open to the public. IDEA has gone through several re-authorizations and is also intended to guarantee that students with disabilities receive the full benefit of a Free and Appropriate Public Education. As teachers began to understand that their classrooms were going to include, and be accountable for, students with different abilities and learning styles, UDL was born, and soon migrated to higher education. 

For general information about UDL visit OCALI’s website or CAST’s website.

For specific information about UDL visit CAST’s higher education website.

CAST Frequently Asked Questions visit Frequently Asked Questions about UDL

Podcast (40 minutes long) that gives background on UDL

UDL in Practice

 Think about your assignments - Have you considered UDL Guidelines in writing this assignment? 

Thomas J. Tobin, & Kirsten T. Behling. (2018). Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone : Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education: Vol. First edition. West Virginia University Press.

Executive Functioning in Online Classes (CAST)

Supporting Executive functioning in Online classes (video link)

Face to Face

Hybrid or synchronous through Zoom or other conferencing:

Web Conferencing Resources (CAST)

Assessment of Learning in UDL (Useful tips for assessing student learning)

Resource for developing UDL-compliant syllabi:

This is a section of the UDL on Campus website that speaks specifically about developing accessible syllabi. 

UDL 3.0 - 2024 Updates to the UDL Guidelines

The video linked here introduces the 2024 updates to the UDL Guidelines. The UDL Guidelines are continuously developed based on new research and feedback from practitioners. This new update addresses barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion.  

Antioch Resources

UDL Section and Course Accessibility Section on Antioch DSS Faculty Resource LibGuide Site. 

Other resources for UDL from Bonnie Powers and the UDL Google Group:

Antioch UDL Sakai Site - https://sakai.antioch.edu/portal/site/UDL/tool/ed85c473-0e9f-41c9-9bd0-1b6063d4c607

Antioch also has a UDL Google Group for people who want to share and receive resources and conversation on UDL: au-udl-group@antioch.edu

If anyone wants to join they can email Bonnie Powers at  bpowers@antioch.edu. There are currently 53 members of the group.

Here is a AU-AT Wakelet Collection of resources on Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning

Here is an assortment of UDL books, articles, and other resources you might find interesting:

• Cracks in the Foundation: The Past and Future of the UDL Guidelines (UDL Center Blog) 

• Webinar Chat Doc: Mission Accomplice: Practicing Antiracism with UDL

• UDL Guidelines (CAST)

• Quantum 10 Equity in Education (10 Frameworks, theories and practices that promote equity in education) (Quantum 10)

  • Short UDL-specific video (Quantum 10)

• Universally Designing in Universal Chaos (Faculty Focus)

• Creating Inclusive Learning Opportunities in Higher Education: A Universal Design Toolkit (PDF). (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology)

• Remote or Not, UDL Lessons Still Apply (Kim Schiefelbein, Novak Education)

Books:

• Addy, T., Dube, D., Mitchell, K., & SoRelle, M. What inclusive instructors do: Principles and practices for excellence in college teaching. (Ebook version) 

• Burgstahler, Sheryl, and Cory, Rebecca. (2008) Universal design in higher education: from principles to practice. (Ebook version)

• Fitzgerald, A. (2020). Antiracism and universal design for learning. (In print at Bookshop.org) 

• Thomas J. Tobin, & Kirsten T. Behling. (2018). Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone : Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education: Vol. First edition. West Virginia University Press.

• Zaloudek, J., Chandler, R., Carlson, K., Howarton, R. (eds.). (2018). Universal design for learning: Teaching to all college students. Available as a print book only.