Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education

by Thomas J. Tobin and Kirsten T. Behling (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2018)

The "Plus One" Question

Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone argues that higher education should embrace Universal Design for Learning (UDL) because our goal is removing barriers to learning. Faculty who see disability as a "special need" or accessibility as a compliance chore are often stymied by the work of retrofitting a traditional course. The book's overarching message: "UDL is a way of thinking about creating the interactions that we have with our learners so that they do not have to ask for special treatment, regardless of the types of barriers they may face - time, connectivity or disability." In practice, the authors ask us to pose a "plus one" question. For a reading assignment, is there one more way to share information? For a quiz, is there one more way students can demonstrate their skills?

When Format Is the Message

A caveat is offered: sometimes "the format is the message itself." The authors use a mathematical graphing example to illustrate cases where "format is a part of the assignment that is assessed."

Learning on a Phone

Mobile phones are the surprise stars of this book. The authors describe students whose phone is their only internet connection. In fact, a student without a laptop has been a concern in one of my online classes this fall. Rather than imagining students taking a whole college course on their phone, the authors suggest "snack-sized" learning opportunities that work well on small devices. The "plus one" question offers a manageable way forward: rather than retrofitting a whole course at once, an instructor can add one more path at a time, and a phone-friendly "snack" is one such path, aimed at exactly the students who need it.

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