UDL for course design

UDL for Course Design

The course outline provides students with a first look into what to expect from your course. Thus, it is an opportunity for you to set your class climate, discuss your learning and teaching philosophy, identify learning expectations and discuss options and accessibility. 

  • Provide multiple means of engagement: Begin by outlining the learning goals and objectives, the relevance of the content and any opportunities for choice within the course.
  • Provide multiple means of action and expression: Based on the learning objectives, explain how the course will be organised (for example, by weeks, modules or chapters). Communicate regular routines to establish expectations, outline the timing and format of assessments and offer resources for the management of information.
  • Provide multiple means of representation: Be explicit about the ways students can access content (for example, textbook, slides, course website, videos) and where to find background information. Provide multiple examples.
Source: ENACT, 2019

UDL for assessments

To check if your assessments align with UDL principles, read each tip and ask yourself the associated questions.

Align assessment to learning goals

  • Are my learning outcomes clear?
  • Does my assessment measure the intended learning goals, or are there additional components also being measured?

Offer authentic learning opportunities for assessment
Authentic learning opportunities help learners transfer knowledge and understand the what, how and why of their learning.

  • How do my assessments engage learners in understanding the relevance of the content?
  • Am I providing opportunities for learners to apply acquired knowledge to new situations and through authentic experiences?

Assess engagement
Engagement is essential to the learning process and can support students’ metacognition.

  • How am I assessing student engagement?
  • What strategies or supports have helped students to persist through a challenge and engage in the learning?

Include frequent formative assessments
Ongoing and frequent formative assessments provide ways to measure students’ progress towards the learning objectives. Examples include exit tickets, polls and response cards.

  • How can I use information from formative assessments to guide my teaching?
  • If students are not achieving the learning outcomes, how will I redesign my instruction?

Eliminate unnecessary barriers in assessments
Remove any barriers that are not connected to intended learning goals.

  • What learning objectives is the assessment measuring?
  • Is anything preventing learners from showing what they know in my assessment?

Support learner variability through flexible assessments
Consider the three UDL principles (engagement; representation; and action and expression) when designing assessments.

  • Is it possible to include a choice of assessments for how my students can show what they learned, or a choice of how they engage with the assessment process?
  • How do these flexible options still support the measurement of the learning objectives?

Use rubrics to clarify expectations
Clear communication of expectations through a rubric allows for consistent measurement of the intended goals.

  • Is the rubric aligned to the intended skills or knowledge?
  • Have components not tied to the learning objectives been removed from my rubric?

Involve learners in their learning progress through assessment data
Communicate with students about their progress through formative assessment data, mastery-oriented feedback and guidance for possible adjustments or new strategies that may support the intended skill.

  • Have I offered timely goal-related feedback?
  • Have I shared options and strategies to help students build the skills necessary to achieve the learning outcomes?

Reflect on summative assessments for future course design

  • What kinds of summative assessments am I using to measure learning outcomes? Do they contain barriers to accessibility?
  • What are the summative assessments measuring and how can they be used to inform future course design?

Build communities of practice

  • How do I collaborate with others to design effective instruction and materials to support the learning objectives as measured through my assessments?
  • How do I adjust my course after evaluating assessment results/data?
Source: CAST (2015)

UDL for lesson planning

Engagement
1.    Begin each lesson by clarifying:

  • What are the students going to learn?
  • Why is it important?

2.  Provide detailed instructions for your students to follow before, during or after class. Write these clearly as steps; for example:

     Step 1: Complete pre-reading listed on Leganto     
     Step 2: Watch lecture video
     Step 3: Listen to podcast
     Step 4: Complete post-reading
     Step 5: Complete "check your knowledge quiz"

Representation
3.    Deliver content in creative ways (beyond PowerPoint), but be sure to keep things brief and to the point. For example:

  • TED talks
  • Videos
  • Audio or eBooks
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Interactive websites
  • Virtual labs, tours or demonstrations

Action and expression
4.    Encourage students to collaborate with their peers via small-group discussions.
5.    Offer an interactive learning task, such as a short quiz, survey or poll, to assist students in recalling foundational information.
6.    Provide an alternative activity such as a real-world example or case study to engage and focus students.

Source: Prof Terry Cumming (Profiles: Research, Education)