Student Centered Teaching Through
Universal Instructional Design
UD: Historical Context
• Stems from legislation for individuals with
disabilities
• Emerged from the need to have environments that
enhanced people’s ability to function well
• Access features are built in, not added as an
afterthought
• Looks beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of
the law emphasizing social justice and systemic
change in attitudes and behaviors
• Puts high value on both diversity and inclusiveness
Ron Mace: Father of “Universal Design”
• Architectural term
coined by Ron Mace
“Universal design is the
design of products and
environments to be
usable by all people, to
the greatest extent
possible, without the
need for adaptation or
specialized design”
The Center for Universal Design North
Carolina State University
Examples of Universal Design
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Curb cuts on sidewalks
Screens in public places
Automatic electronic doors
Closed captioning on TV
Wheelchair ramps to building entrances
Tool grips that can be used by left-handed or righthanded individuals
• Universal symbols that communicate function
(restroom signage)
Universal Design in Education
• Is an approach to designing course
instruction, materials, and content to
benefit people of all learning styles
without adaptation or retrofitting
• Provides equal access to learning, not
simply equal access to information
(From Fast Facts for Faculty Ohio State University)
UID principles can be applied to:
• Design of curriculum, instruction and
assessment
• Design of specific instructional materials
• Design of facilities (buildings,
classrooms)
• Design of strategies (lectures, classroom
discussion, group work, web based
instruction, labs, field work and
demonstrations)
UID is important because:
Learners have
• diverse backgrounds
• diverse strengths
• diverse challenges
• individual learning preferences
1-2 with visual/
organizational
learning
disabilities
1-2 with
visual or
hearing
impairments
4 with auditory
learning
disabilities
50
Postsecondary
students
1 with
lower
ability
4 with different
cultural
background
1-3 with
medical
conditions
1-3 with
mobility
limitations
5-8 who are
underprepared
2-4 with
mental
health issues
2-4 with
attention
deficits
Universal Instructional Design
• Universal - Not a single, “one-size-fits-all”
solution but rather the focus is on flexible
approaches that can be customized and
adjusted for individual needs
• Instructional - Maintains academic rigor
even while offering options and alternatives
for delivery of the curriculum
• Design - Planned, purposeful, deliberate
approach to optimizing all of the resources
to serve the students and instructors alike
Universal Instructional Design
1.
Create a welcoming classroom
2.
Determine the essential components of the course
3.
Communicate clear expectations
4.
Provide constructive feedback
5.
Explore the use of natural supports for learning, including
technology, to enhance opportunities for all learners
6.
Design teaching methods that consider diverse learning styles,
abilities, ways of knowing and previous experience and background
knowledge
7.
Create multiple ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge
8.
Promote interaction among and between faculty and students
Principle 1
Create A Welcoming Environment
Principle 1
Create a Welcoming Environment
Students, from all backgrounds, find this course a safe & fair
learning environment because …
• physical environment is accessible & comfortable
• faculty promote and respect diversity
• faculty establish ground rules to honor all students
• students have an effective orientation to the course
• faculty design an inclusive syllabus
• faculty get to know students
Principle 1
Creating an Accessible Environment
• Can every student get into the classroom?
• Can every student navigate the room?
• Does everyone have a choice of where to
sit?
• Can everyone see and hear the instructor?
• Are the accessibility features on the AV
equipment on?
Principle 1
Create a Welcoming Environment
Possible Goals for the First Day of Class
• Motivating students regarding course
outcomes
• Framing the course content
• Establishing expectations for workload
• Assessing students Informally
• Creating a comfortable class climate
• Engaging with course content
• Informing on essential administrative and
immediate Student Tasks
Principle 1
Create a Welcoming Environment
Strategies
• Design inclusive syllabus
• "Any students with a need for reasonable
accommodations are encouraged to discuss this
with me after class or during office hours.
Students must be registered with Disability
Services to receive accommodations.“
• Establish ground rules to honor all students
• Acknowledge diversity of students
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Creating a Welcoming Environment
• Mini-Biography Card
• Debunking Math Myths
• Syllabus Revisions
Principle 2
Determine Essential Components
of a Course
Principle 2
Essential Course Components
• What are the outcomes
• skills
• knowledge
• attitudes
all students must demonstrate with or without
using accommodations
• Differentiate what is “essential” knowledge for a
course vs. what the professor would “prefer” a
student to know
Principle 2
Essential Course Components
In determining essential components of a
course, consider:
• College standards and requirements
• Departmental standards and requirements
• Course description
• Learning objectives/outcomes
• External licensing requirements
Principle 2
Essential Course Components
• Purpose of the course – in lecture or syllabus
• “Frame the course” – The five essential
questions this course will answer are…
• Use a graphic flow chart or concept map of the
course to explain how the course fits in with the
program or major
• Outcomes required of all students
• What must all students know and be able to do
by the conclusion of the course?
• Why must students be able to do or know it?
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Essential Course Components
Principle 3
Communicate Clear Expectations
Principle 3
Communicate Clear Expectations
• What the students will be expected to learn
• What the students will be expected to do
• How the students will be evaluated
• What resources are available to students
Principle 3
Communicate Clear Expectations
Syllabus elements
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Introductory information
Contact information
Essential components and course prerequisites
Course goals and learning objectives
Textbooks and readings
Course calendar or listing of topics
Additional materials required
Grading procedures
Course policies
Helpful tips or strategies
Disability statement
Principle 3
Communicate Clear Expectations
Strategies
• Organization
• Organize materials, including course management
sites, in a way that makes them easy to navigate
• Provide consistent procedures for assignments,
quizzes, etc.
• Review important course information to
enhance understanding
• Review syllabus at the start of class and again a
week later
• Explain and discuss rules more than once
Principle 3
Communicate Clear Expectations
Strategies
• Quality work
• Provide examples of good quality papers and
projects
• Post the examples online
• Grading
• Use rubrics to communicate how performance
translates to grade
• Provide a chart for students to use to track their
own grades
• Return graded items in a timely manner
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Communicating Clear Expectations
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Student Friendly Language
Table of Contents with Simplified Language
Friendlier Format
Visual Icons
Color coded assignments with pie chart of
grading percentages
• Assignments in calendar format
• Interactive elements within syllabus
• Highlighters distributed for syllabus review
Principle 4
Provide Constructive Feedback
Principle 4
Provide Constructive Feedback
• Provide feedback that is:
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specific
relevant
timely
frequent
accurate
offers a mix of positive and corrective
feedback
Principle 4
Provide Constructive Feedback
• Provide feedback at regular intervals regarding:
• In-class assignments
• Short-term assignments
• Long-term assignments
• Group work
• Class participation
• Tests/evaluations
Principle 4
Provide Constructive Feedback
Strategies
• Use rubrics to communicate how students’
performance translates to their grade
• Structure long-term assignments providing students
with the option of turning in sections and/or early
drafts for constructive feedback
• Provide feedback that includes an explanation for
both correct and incorrect answers
• Include suggestions for improvement
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Providing Constructive Feedback
• Progress reports
• Remediate multiple choice sections on
exams
• Homework checklist/chart for recording
grades
• Review assignments/provide feedback
• Contract
Principle 5
Explore Use of Natural Supports
for Learning, Including
Technology, to Enhance
Opportunities for all Learners
Principle 5
Using Natural Supports
• Non-accommodation based strategies
that are built into the course to benefit all
students
• Usually leads to better outcomes for
students
Principle 5
Using Natural Supports for Learning
• Deliver content in a variety of ways:
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Lectures
Discussion
Group work
Hands on activities
Internet based strategies
Educational software
Fieldwork
Use media in lectures – diagrams, charts,
illustrations, videos, etc.
Use captioning in videos
Consider “podcasting” lectures
Principle 5
Using Natural Supports
Strategies
• Provide multiple means of access to
class lecture (Power Point, word doc,)
posted on BlackBoard
• Allows all students to independently adapt
materials to meet their needs (large print,
print notes, preview lecture material, text to
speech)
• Post instructions to access free
assistive technology (Readplease, etc.)
• Consider a book selection that includes
an electronic version
Principle 5
Using Natural Supports in Lectures
• Repeat comments made and questions asked by other
students before responding
• “Chunk” information — grouping words, ideas, concepts
and thoughts together to make comprehension easier
•
Use “Pause Procedure” – short periodic break that allows
students to reflect, review or discuss content and can be
beneficial for retention and comprehension of material
• Provide Advance Organizers —assist with organizing
thoughts and presenting material in an organized manner
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Using Natural Supports
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Reorganize BlackBoard
YouTube videos
Narrated PowerPoint slides
Web animations
Read all quizzes aloud
Flash cards for important terms
Principle 6
Design Teaching Methods that
Consider Diverse Learning Styles,
Abilities, Ways of Knowing,
Previous Experiences and
Background Knowledge
Principle 6
Design Teaching Methods
• Use Multiple Means of Representation
• present ideas in multiple ways
• use multimodal instructional strategies to meet a variety of
learner preferences
• Learning style assessment and activities
• Use Multiple Means of Expression
• provide students with multiple ways to express their
comprehension of topics
• Use Multiple Means of Engagement
• tap into students’ interests
• challenge them appropriately
• motivate them to learn
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Designing Teaching Methods
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Learning Styles Assessment
Provide models for assignments
Video Clips of business presentations
AV texts for student comprehension
Reading texts for auditory learners
Projects assigned based on learning style
Provide written text of film narration to
support student comprehension
Principle 7
Create Multiple Ways for
Students to Demonstrate Their
Knowledge
Principle 7
Demonstrate Knowledge
Using different methods of assessment
• allows students to capitalize on their
strengths
• allows students to utilize background
experiences
• may produce less anxiety for the student
• provides opportunity to try something new
• should continue to reflect essential course
components/outcomes
Principle 7
Demonstrate Knowledge
Strategies
• Use a variety of graded assessments (papers,
shorter quizzes, presentations)
• Use multiple formats on exams: essay, short
answer, objective
• Allow students to choose between equally
weighted sections
• Exam has 2 essays, multiple choice, and short
answer questions from which students choose
a specified number of sections to complete
Principle 7
Demonstrate Knowledge
Strategies
• Provide choices in graded assignments
• final exam or final paper
• Provide choices for demonstrating knowledge
• writing a paper
• presenting a speech
• conducting a multimedia project
• Consider administration circumstances
• timed/untimed
• individual/group administration
• in-class/take home
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Ways to Demonstrate Knowledge
• Portfolio Assessment
• Offer assessment online or in hard copy
• Read all quizzes aloud
• Reformat examinations
• Remediate multiple choice section on
exams
Principle 8
Promote Interaction Between
Faculty and Students
Principle 8
Promote Interaction
• Use instructional environment to promote
interaction and communication between
students, and between students & faculty
• Offer an opportunity for student consultation with
faculty
• Allow for the development of relationships
Principle 8
Promote Interaction
Strategies
• Foster student-to-student interaction
• chat rooms, discussion groups, email, study groups
• Plan classroom activities that encourage cooperative
interactions between students
• Foster faculty-to-student interaction
• learning names and information about students’ learning
needs, interests & out of class experiences
• discuss your personal experiences, as appropriate, i.e. in
college, feeling overwhelmed, study mistakes
ACeS Faculty Strategies:
Promoting Interaction
• Base Groups
• Mini-Biography Card
Implementing Universal
Instructional Design in the
Classroom
Implementing UID In The Classroom
Please reflect on the UID strategies we have
discussed in this training.
• What principles are you already using?
• What principles might you apply in your
classroom?
• What challenges might you face when
incorporating UID principles?
Universal Instructional Design
Can Help You…
• be mindful about removing barriers to
learning
• meet the needs of diverse learners
• reduce the need for individual
accommodations
Using Universal Instructional Design
• Start with something small
• Don’t be afraid to experiment
• There is no magic formula—consider
student needs
• UID can’t solve every
instructional/curricular issue
• UID is measured on a continuum