U.S. Department of Education
Grant Performance Report (ED 524B)
Executive Summary
PR/Award #: P333A050032
Universal Design for Learning Project
Annual Report
10-1-06 through 4-15-07
Helping students with disabilities through effective faculty support and training is the main goal of the
Universal Design for Learning Disabilities Services Development Project. Renton Technical College
(RTC) in collaboration with Bates Technical College and the Institute for Extended Learning (I.E.L.) of
Spokane Community Colleges is continuing to develop our innovative Learning Assessment System
(LAS) based on the concepts of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
To create a learning-friendly environment, our partnership has been training instructors on the use of UDL
and learning strategies, including the use of multi-modal and assistive technologies. The primary means
of training has been through a Pilot Project where instructors have volunteered to try out and evaluate the
UDL techniques they have learned. Participation in the UDL Pilot has quickly grown approximately half
of the full time faculty at RTC and also includes many staff from a variety of departments! A total of 47
instructors from 27 programs are now involved in the Project at all three sites, learning to use UDL
and teaching strategies with students. 44 or 94% of these instructors have changed their teaching
formats.
The following chart depicts the project process:
UDL in the classroom for
all students
Wrap Around Services
Accommodations for few
More intensive
help for some
students
1st Tier
2nd Tier
3rd Tier
The Learning Assessment System (LAS) is a collaborative system developed by a Pilot Team of
instructors and counselors at Renton Technical College during the 2002/05 Department of Education
grant to help students with learning challenges. It includes three tiers of services.
Tier One: UDL is integrated into the classroom. Instructors use UDL principles to increase
accessibility of information in their classrooms and use at least one research-based learning strategy
shown to be helpful for student with disabilities. Many of these strategies involve the use of technology
to increase multi modal learning, however low-tech strategies are just as valuable and effective. The goal
of Tier 1 is to get effective learning strategies, many of which are commonly used as accommodations for
students with disabilities, into the classroom for student use right up front. This speeds up the process of
helping disabled students while at the same time helps all students, assists students who are not diagnosed
and also normalizes the use of strategies and assistive technologies, thereby reducing the stigma that some
disabled students report having felt in the K-12 system. In an analysis comparing completion rates of
students with disabilities prior to the start of the project (at RTC) and now, there has been a significant
improvement of completion rates in UDL classrooms. In 2001/02, completion rates for students with
disabilities was 65.2%. In 2005/06, completion rates for students with disabilities in UDL classrooms
had increased to 93 %.
% disabled students completing courses
in UDL classrooms
100
80
60
40
20
0
2001/02
2005/06
We have had a very positive response from students: in a survey of students in 193 students in UDL
Project classrooms, 98% reported that the UDL strategies being used positively affected their
abilities to learn.
The UDL project encourages instructors to find out their students learning styles (modality preference).
This both helps the instructor modify teaching formats to reach the various styles but also helps students
know their own learning strengths and take charge of their learning. The project has developed an
assessment tool, both paper and pencil and automated, that helps determine students learning barriers and
learning strengths and then gives individualized suggestions for help. During this reporting period, a total
of 313 students from 23 programs have taken the Student Self Assessment and been given strategies
for learning strengths and barriers through the Learning Assessment System webtool being
developed by the grant.
Each of the three partner sites has at least one Learning Disability specialist who works with undiagnosed
as well as diagnosed students, providing assessment, assistance and strategies. In addition, the LD
Specialists at the IEL provided 14 workshops to over 160 students on strategies for improving
reading, dealing with anxiety, improving organizing skills and more.
To help instructors and students access multi modal teaching and assistive technologies, the project team
has created a Lending Bank of assistive technologies for students and multi modal teaching technologies
for instructors. Technologies would be lent to students and instructors to “try before you buy”. This
approach has several benefits:
1. Students get their needs met for assistive technology much quicker than if the technology is purchased
on an individual basis.
2. Both instructors and students can try out several types of technology to find the one that works best
for their type of classroom and aptitude at no cost to them and within a very short period of time.
3. Experts in technologies are created and on hand available at all times.
4. It removes the “fear of commitment”—in other words, instructors or students having to spend large
amounts of their budget without a certain return on investment.
The Lending Bank concept has been highly successful at RTC in encouraging both instructors and
students to use assistive technologies to overcome learning barriers. Over 95 students have been trained
on assistive technologies during this report period. We anticipate that all sites will experience an
increase in use of technologies as the project unfolds.
Tier Two: Students who are referred to Student Services get more intensive help. In this, students with
learning challenges, learning disabilities and other disabilities are given more intensive help from the
project team including more thorough assessment, counseling, and specific assistive technologies and/or
strategies. Students with suspected learning disabilities are assessed and diagnosed. At Renton Technical
College, a team of comprised of the Director of Student Services, the Success Center coordinator, the
Disabled Student Services Counselor, LD Specialist and the UDL Project Coordinator meet on a weekly
basis to determine how to best help the Second Tier students who are referred or independently seek
services. The UDL Project Coordinator and AT Specialist often meet with the student and instructor in
the classroom to determine which tools might be most helpful. 31 students with LD who were given
intensive assistance through team approach were tracked. Of the students who had completed or
dropped, 71 % completed with a positive outcome and the retention rate for these students was
84%. One of the intensive services offered may be Peer Tutoring. At RTC, we are training Peer Tutors
on Assistive Technology and other learning strategies. During this reporting period, 3 of the 4 new
Peer Tutors identified were successfully trained, meeting our goal of 75%.
Tier Three: Accommodations. Aside from the typical accommodation structure of the Disabled
Student Services office, the project brings a mix of other resources to the table for students with
disabilities at all three sites. These include support for assessment and diagnosis of learning disabilities,
technical and financial resources for assistive technology, faculty and staff training and more. The AT
Lending Bank is a helpful resource to the Disabled Student Services Office, allowing students to try out
technologies with no financial risk. In addition, UDL in the classroom creates a more friendly and
accessible environment for students with disabilities. An analysis done by our independent evaluator,
Applied Inference, showed that prior to the start of the grant, less than 1 percent of our student body
disclosed a disability. In 2004/06, the number had increased to 5 percent. We believe this is due to
the many successes of our project.
5. Percentage of students with documented disabilities
during the "pre" and "post" period
Percentage of students
documented
7%
6%
6%
5%
5%
5%
4%
Students with documented disability
4%
Students with documented LD
3%
2%
1%
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
1%1%
1%1%
2%
2%
1%
0%
01-02 Q1 01-02 Q2 01-02 Q3 01-02 Q4 05-06 Q1 05-06 Q2 05-06 Q3 05-06 Q4
Time period
The foundation of this project is based training faculty and staff about UDL, learning strategies, multi
modal teaching, assistive technology, disabilities, brain research and more. The more fluent instructors
become with this information, the more accessible classrooms become! It is not uncommon now for
instructors to make accommodation recommendations to the Disabled Student Services counselor
or LD Specialist based on what has worked for the student in the classroom already! Because most
of the instructors involved at all three partner sites teach in block classes, meaning that students are in
class for up to 6 hours per day with the same one or two instructors, it is very difficult to hold workshops
or formal trainings during the work day. Training faculty requires a great deal of creativity. At Renton
Technical College and Bates Technical College, training is primarily done through an instructional
development office. All three sites have comprehensive (but optional) faculty/staff training in the Fall. In
addition, the project offers short workshops, “bite-sized” trainings at department meetings and sends out
articles and e-information such as the monthly Faculty Focus at RTC which contains articles and
websites. 187 instructors from all three sites have participated in at least 3 hours of training on
UDL, disability issues, brain based teaching strategies or other targeted subjects during this
reporting period.
Our project continues to attract the attention of other colleges across the state of Washington! Part of the
efforts to expand knowledge of UDL has been RTC’s creation of an online UDL course for instructors,
taught by instructors who have been trained at the CAST academy. The course was beta tested in January
2007 and is now open to the public. A total of 17 instructors and 4 staff have taken the class so far. In
addition, staff and instructors participating in the Project have been invited to give presentations or have
hosted trainings for several other institutions, including training other community and technical colleges,
the TESOL 2007 conference. Information regarding the Learning Assessment webtool and other features
of the UDL project have been shared nationally via the internet. In the upcoming year, the partnership
will be expanding to 6 other sites in Washington State. Work is already underway to select the sites.