Category: UDL Universal Design for Learning

Interoception: A universal design approach

Interoception is an internal sensory system where you notice physical and emotional cues. Most people develop this system and gain awareness of their internal cues as they grow up. But not everyone does. Dr Emma Goodall’s workshop, Interoception: A universal design approach, enlightened us and linked it to universal design in learning (UDL).

Emma explained how poor awareness or misinterpretation of our internal body state, like feeling thirsty or hot, makes it difficult to regulate our emotions and behaviour. Then she took us through some interoception activities so that we were all able to notice our own bodies.

One of the slides showing atypical interoception and difficulty noticing body signals, and difficulty interpreting them.
One of Emma Goodall’s slides showing atypical interoception.

After understanding the theory and having a practice, we were able to consider interoception in our own lives and apply it in other settings. It is particularly useful for teachers of school children who have difficulty learning. Emma explained how students and teachers are more engaged at school and there are fewer suspensions and exclusions. 

Emma made the point that when children and young people have not yet developed interoception skills they will struggle with their emotions and with social interactions. Even just being around others may be difficult for them to manage. This will, of course, affect their ability to learn in and out of school.

Presentation slides and paper

The slides from Emma’s presentation give an overview of interoception and how it applies to children and young people. The title of her presentation is, Interoception as a universal design for learning strategy to support well-being and engagement in learning in education for all children and young people.

There is more in Emma’s published paper where she explains how educators, families and other professionals can implement interoception activities. Other contexts where it is useful is the justice system, mental health and aged care. 

Emma has more resources and information on the Positive Partnerships website. 

Post by Dr Emily Steel

UD, UDL, Accessibility and Ableism

A graphic showing a laptop with a green screen and several smart phones around it also with green screens. It is indicating that they are all connected.Access to information during the COVID-19 pandemic became even more problematic for some users as everything went online. So what can UD, UDL and Accessibility do to help to combat ableism?

An article by John L. O’Neill discusses Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Design. In this context, the concept of Inclusive Design has a focus on the digital world. He covers the history of each, much of which will be known to UD followers. O’Neill argues that all three can be combined in innovative ways to ensure access to information. This is logical because each has the same goal – inclusion. He uses a case study where he merges the UD principle of perceptible information, the tenet of multiple means of representation from UDL, and adaptive systems from Inclusive Design. This perspective is given the title of “Abilities Design”.

O’Neill claims ableism underpins barriers and that undoing ableism is not a form of charity. Legislation that requires access and accessibility does little to change ableist attitudes.

The title of the article is, Accessibility for All Abilities: How Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning, and Inclusive Design Combat Inaccessibility and Ableism. 

Editor’s Note: I am not sure that inventing another design category based on inclusion takes us any further forward. However, it is an example of how designers new to inclusive concepts can use existing frameworks to help their design process.

From the Abstract

Discussions about accessibility surged at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as people became more dependent on accessing information from the web. This article will explore different disability models to understand the oppression of people with disabilities. It will examine how the different principles and methods of Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning, and Inclusive Design can be combined in innovative ways to ensure that all citizens have access to information without barriers.

The real lives of online learners

Maslow's pyramid diagram of needs: at the bottom are physical needs, then safety and security, then love and belonging, rising to self esteem and at the pinnacle is self-actulisation.Online learning will continue to be an important way of teaching and studying. But little is understood about unintended consequences for some learners. Some will be left behind. Ready access to a computer or device and the internet is just the start.

Anxiety about home backgrounds can prevent learners from turning on the camera. Lack of good housing and adequate food can also be an issue. If education systems are to be truly inclusive, the real lives of learners need to be factored into learning processes. 

Understanding the value of diversity, equity and inclusion is important for upcoming generations who will be tomorrow’s decision-makers. This is a key point made in an article from Arizona State University. The article discusses the issues within the context of changes brought about by the pandemic. There are interesting ideas that incorporate the real lives of learners and the diverse issues they have.

Using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, they remind us that food and shelter are not a given for all learners. Providing a place to sleep and eat is one example of assisting learners to complete their courses. Other examples are included in the article. 

The title of the article is, Inclusive Campus Environments: An Untapped Resource for Fostering Learner Success  It is part of a series, Shaping the Futures of Learning in the Digital Age. 

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider new possibilities for higher education, where the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provide a framework for creating digital and physical environments that honor every learner’s unique lived experiences and support the expectations of learners for their individual life goals. Each learner brings their own unique lived experience; multi-level intersectionality; and cognitive and social learning variabilities to their educational journey.

Many of these present obstacles to their realizing successful learning outcomes. Understanding the lived experiences in the learner’s journey and creating environments that remove barriers to learning requires a deep understanding of inclusion, which is central to the framework of UDL. How can we create a campus that promotes a sense of belonging, community, and well-being — a campus that has the potential to increase the number of learners who persist to completion? It begins with honoring the uniqueness of every learner.

 

UDL: A practical guide

A row of female university graduates in gowns leap into the air with joy. The picture indicates their happiness in graduating. UDL a practical guide.There is a myriad of academic papers on the topic of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). So it’s good to get some practical assistance from practitioners. A UDL guide from Canada provides a great introduction for newcomers to the topic. The three key areas for designing learning are multiple means of:

    • engagement: the why of learning
    • representation: the what of learning
    • action and expression: the how of learning

The guide begins with a Quick Start, then looks at Opportunities and Challenges, User-Centred Design and Case Studies. It’s titled,  Universal Design for Learning: A Practical Guide.

The practical guide lives the message with easy to understand text and logical structure. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction: 

“Post-secondary instructors are facing more challenges nowadays because the student population is increasingly diverse. Students with diverse cultural backgrounds, skills, abilities, interests, experiences, and social-economic status require instructors to reflect on their teaching practices and adopt user-centred approaches for course design and delivery. But how do user-centred approaches look like in practice? And how can instructors deliver quality learning outcomes to maximum number of students? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a curriculum design, development, and delivery framework that could help answer these questions. 

UDL in Occupational Therapy Education

A young man with crutches walks through a door held open by a clinician.Occupational therapists work with just about every human condition you can think of. Their clientele is diverse, but are their professional teaching methods suited to a diverse population? This question is the subject of a new article from the United States.

The article reports on a survey of occupational therapy (OT) educators. They found that while most respondents knew about Universal Design for Learning (UDL), less than half could define it. 

The article discusses how the respondents fared with the three tenets of UDL: multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression. They found that OT assistant education used some UDL techniques such as games, feedback and incentives. These strategies were not evident at higher education levels. 

OT educators focus is on ensuring all content is delivered. That’s because the content covers such a broad spectrum and is subject to accreditation standards. However, the American Occupational Therapy Association has identified research priorities to find teaching methods that maximise learning for practitioners.

The authors sum up that with the recent pandemic the “need for a greater understanding and implementation of UDL tenets is more important than ever.” It will ensure today’s students become competent practitioners.

The title of the article is, Implementation of UDL in Occupational Therapy Education. It is open access.

Abstract: This exploratory research surveyed educators’ use of universal design for learning (UDL) in occupational therapy education. Most common methods of engagement were displaying enthusiasm, providing examples, and offering learner feedback; representation was primarily offered through class discussion, lab experiences, and images; methods of action or expression were most frequently class discussion, projects, practicums and tests. The type of program, years of educators’ clinical experience and faculty rank influenced some factors of UDL implementation. Further use of UDL principles that could facilitate improved learning outcomes of diverse learners within occupational therapy education is discussed.

A short article by Bethan Collins looks at both sides of UDL – for OTs and for clients.

Moves to online instruction: accessibility cheat sheet

A computer screen shows a man in a blue jacket standing in front of a blackboard.The sudden move to online instruction runs the risk of forgetting accessibility features. A cheat sheet on making a quick move to online instruction has some handy tips. Some are obvious, but of course, they are obvious once they are mentioned. Basics such as, make sure you don’t have a bright light behind you. But other tips are not so obvious for accessible online instruction:

– Don’t try to do anything you are not comfortable with
– Focus on the essential learning
– Keep lectures shorter
– Make documents accessible and caption videos
– Allow a range of assignment options
– Find ways to work out what works and what doesn’t
– Make expectations clear

This one pager has a brief explanation on each of the tips and should help give confidence to instructors making the change. Many tips are good for video meetings as well. The cheat sheet comes from Disability Compliance for Higher Education. 

 

UDL vs Special Ed: Is inclusive education achievable?

A boy wearing a grey hoodie is wearing glasses and holding a pencil. He is sitting at his desk in the classroom. Other children are in the background.There are two points of view about universal design in learning (UDL). Some say it is the way to go, but others say it is not in the best interests of children. An article in the Irish Times presents both views. The National Council for Special Education supports the inclusive approach and cites the model developed in New Brunswick, Canada. Learning together helps create an inclusive society – it’s not just about education itself. Segregated children become segregated adults. 

The general secretary of a Catholic schools association makes the case against inclusion and maintaining segregated learning situations. He points to some of the issues not addressed by proponents of the New Brunswick model. These appear to be more on the basis of a philosophy not being a teaching method.

The National Council for Special Education is looking at the issues closely. In their Policy Advice on Special Schools and Classes, they explain the background work they have done on this topic in preparation for their report to the UN in 2020. This is a good reference document for anyone wanting to know more about the UDL approach to school learning.

Incidentally, UDL in higher education is taking off. To an outsider, it is not clear why schools are not following suit. Both institutions are obligated under the UN Convention to establish inclusive education. 

The Iris Times article is titled, Is Ireland at a Crossroads of Inclusive Education?  An article of the same name can be found on EBSCO Information Services by the Irish Association of Teachers in Special Education.

Not sure what UDL is about?  Have a look at CAST information – it is a leader in this field or go to their website for more. There are related posts on UDL in the UD for Learning section on the left hand menu of this site.

 

Videoconferencing: Zoom in to hear

Nine people are shown on a computer monitor.Online communication is great for staying connected, but it is not kind to people with hearing loss. A great blog post gives some excellent tips that everyone should consider when using Zoom. You just don’t know who in your group is finding it difficult to hear.

There are two main issues: One is clarity of speech due to inadequate microphone, sitting too far away from the screen, background noise and/or the echo from the room (like the bathroom sound). The other is the delay between sound and vision so lip reading is impossible. And of course, talking across each other because of the transmission delay.

The blog post, Making the Most of Zoom, explains how the features can be used to best advantage for everyone to hear what’s going on. For example – how to change the video layout so that the active speaker is the largest view to make lip reading easier. Using the chat facility, lighting, muting when not speaking, and using the wave-hand function to get heard in turn. While this is focused on Zoom, many of the tips can be applied to other online apps and programs. There are links in the article to other resources and Zoom information.

You might also be interested in The Conversation article, How to help students with hearing impairment as courses move online. 

Thinking UDL for all learning situations

Adults seated at tables in a classroom setting looking forward to the instructor at the front of the roomWhether doing on-the-job training or giving a seminar presentation, we should all think about utilising the principles of universal design. Universal design for learning (UDL) isn’t just for schools and universities. The aim is to get the message across as clearly as possible – but our audiences are diverse. A resource that has a set of universally designed slides as well as the academic version in a paper is a refreshing change. The link to the resource begins with the slides about universal design and applying it to learning. Showing an example of a wordy slide and how to turn it into a slide with just key take home messages is very useful for anyone that makes presentations.

The academic paper covers the basic ground of UDL, which is familiar territory to experienced practitioners. The focus is on including people with disability rather than creating separate material. However, there will always be some people who will need separate or additional learning material. As with universal design in the built environment, all learners benefit regardless of the learning context. Good for anyone new to the topic.

The title of the academic article is, “Tips for Creating Inclusive and Accessible Instruction for Adult Learners: An Overview of Accessibility and Universal Design Methods for Adult Education Practitioners”.

Cartoon drawing shows a person shovelling snow from steps next to a ramp. The text says, clearing the path for people with "special needs" clears the path for everyone.Editor’s comment: I look forward to the day when all presenters take the time to create slides for learners instead of slides for their own teaching benefit. I shake my head when a speakers says of a slide, “oh I guess people can’t see that” and then goes on to explain it. They lose me at that point.

Creating videos for learning

A woman is fixing a camera to a tripod. Creating videos for learning.Many teachers and instructors are making their own videos for their learners. With today’s technology it’s becoming easier. But how to make the videos universally designed for online learning? A paper from Ireland gives really practical advice from preparing videos to editing for universal design. It lists step by step activities for planning and preparation, script writing, filming and a detailed section on equipment. The key concepts for editing are also included.

Captioning used to be very expensive when done by outside contractors, but YouTube and Google have improved their technology and made it possible for do-it-yourself captioning. This is a big step forward and really no excuse for not doing it. We know that captioning helps many people to better understand content regardless of their level of hearing. It’s also handy when you can’t have the sound on or if it’s not in your first language.

In summary, videos allow educators to engage with students and prepare learners for practical sessions. Inaccurate or poorly designed videos can confuse and cause disengagement. Educators often lack time as well as training, but with the practical advice in this article, they can improve and thereby save time in the long run.

The title of the article is, Practical Recommendations on the Production of Video Teaching Resources.  

Hearing loss makes it harder to remember

Shari Eberts explains in her blog article how people with hearing loss use most of their brain capacity to interpret sounds. Consequently there’s not much left over for remembering. This is particularly the case where there is a lot of background noise. In information situations, such as fire training, this is an important factor. EAdults seated at tables in a classroom setting looking forward to the instructor at the front of the roomveryone will need to remember what to do. In learning situations it’s also a significant consideration. 

This finding supports the case for instant captioning of live events and closed captioning in pre-filmed situations. The title of the blog article is, Does Hearing Loss Make it Harder to Remember Things?