Where is the UDL Love in the University Online Environment?

Where is the UDL Love in the University Online Environment?

Abstract

Universities serve more diverse students than ever before, including students who are first generation, from poverty, and students with learning disabilities. These institutions are also increasing the amount and types of digital learning environments students use. Meeting the needs of such a diverse group with changing resources is a dynamic problem. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework has the potential to support professors and course designers as they create academic events for this wide group of learners in every field of study. This presentation examines the core concepts of UDL and presents specific examples in digital university teaching constructs.

The Before Times

Presentations are not like articles. Presentations are a back and forth communication between the presenter and the participants. When I begin to tackle the challenge of changing communication mediums I try to remember what the presentation felt like in time it happened. When I think of this presentation on that October day at Royal Roads I remember the stunning location. We were on an upper floor in a light filled room with a view of the bay, I remember the smell of fall and salt water, I remember feeling excited and hopeful. There had already been so much learning, so much “UDLing”, so much hope to improve education for all learners at the conference. I remember giving this presentation to a small group. And they were amazing. It was one of those rare times when I felt we were in sync. Instead of one talk, and others listen, this time it felt more of a dance. We laughed, and shared, and learned, and felt inspired toward our cause.

It was October of 2019. Or as I now call it, the before times. It would be impossible for me to write about a presentation centered on online learning at the university level in 2019 without acknowledging what has happened since then. My work in Universal Design for Learning and online learning environments for post-secondary students used to be seen as niche. Just a few years ago I was having a conversation with the Dean of the school of education, and the Dean of graduate studies at my University. I was talking about the idea that every class at the University should be offered so students could take it both on line and off line at the same time. First, they looked at me as if I had three heads, then they laughed, and then they said it was too hard and no one could do that. Honestly, as a woman in academia, it’s just not that unusual to be dismissed. But in the post shutdown, not yet quite open, world of 2021, that dismissal sticks with me. And then of course, the world changed.

First, I would like to say thank you to the Coastal Salish Peoples for the use of the land we were on. I would also like to acknowledge the beautiful tributes to the First Peoples, and the way the University and the Coastal Salish Peoples worked together for the benefit of those at the conference. The first day of acknowledgement was beautiful, and something that influences me as I move forward with my work.

Now I would like to make the case for why I am someone you should listen to on the subject of UDL love in the online post-secondary educational environments. In 2007 my family moved to a new city and I needed a teaching job. As hard as it is to remember, at the time there was a teacher overflow in Spokane Washington. There were three Universities graduating teachers, and it was a nice place to live, so most stayed. Even with my twelve years of experience I was not the most popular teacher on the block. I expanded my search to try and think outside of my past experiences.

At the yearly teacher hiring event I showed up with an open mind, and a shiny packet of information about myself and my amazing experiences as a general and special education elementary teacher. One booth, the Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA), looked interesting. I began talking to them about what type of school this was, and where it was located. WAVA was a public, fully online elementary school, located all around the State of Washington. They were looking for people from the Spokane area to join, in particular special education teachers. The administrators and teachers at the booth were professional and nice. I applied.

Seven years later I stopped working at WAVA. By that time, I had earned a Ph.D. with an emphasis in special education, UDL, and online schooling. Working at WAVA in a fully online, public serving elementary school was a terrific experience and among the many lessons I learned was that even though I can’t conceive of it in the moment, many educational environments can be effective for learners.

Taking a break to get back to you, the audience, I would like to ask you three questions:

· What barrier did you lower today?

· How did you address variability today?

· What kind of learners do you want to help create?

While we cannot share our answers, as we did at Royal Roads, we can reflect on barriers, variability, and learning as we move through teaching and working in University settings. These are the building blocks of thinking with a UDL lens. Showing the “UDL” love to post-secondary students and learners.

Core Concepts of UDL in the University Setting

This conference article is created to take participants through examples of how the UDL framework and checkpoints influence specific practices in digital post-secondary digital and online settings. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) asks educational designers to shift this idea from architecture to education. Specifically, to ask the question: How do all educational environments, including online and digital spaces, become available to every human learner? It can be helpful to conceptualize this shift by looking at the goals, variability, and context. For example, the goals of the educational event, course, lesson, etc. should be defined and revisited to make sure educators are looking at the student’s mastery of a complex issue such as cultural competence and not only grading on the conventions of an essay.

Variability refers to the variations in how humans learn and process information. Neuroscience is continuing to demonstrate that the human brain learns differently from one person to another, more than previously conceptualized. One example can be illustrated by the differences in humans who have attentional challenges. Currently one in fifteen children, and one in 40 adults are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Intramural Research Program, 2016). That is a considerable amount of variability within any group of learners. A study of variability in cognition and the human brain is currently occurring in the Human Connectome Project. A study with the NIH using neuroimaging is demonstrating this variation (Glasser et al, 2016). When working on online or digital courses this is an important consideration. Such a variety of students takes online courses. The digital space, access to internet speeds, and the physical technology involved in online courses can compound the variations that learners will have in background knowledge.

Context in an educational frame indicates the content or curricula, the delivery of the content, and the assessment process. Or, the educational event as presented in an online course where students learn and educators teach. Within the digital world this context can be quite varied. A learning management system like Canvas or Blackboard is the context as is a social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. YouTube can be a context or place where learning takes place as well as digital games. Context also includes subject matter and the content of curricula. Co-occurring with all of these systems is the preferences of students to learn and perform better in one context verses another. For example, learners may learn best about the effects of laws in post-colonial countries by playing a digital game in groups, while they may understand the history of the country by reading first person accounts and discussing this in a closed Facebook group. Context is rich, varied, and unique to the specific goals of learning (Burgstahler & Cory, 2013; Coy, Marino, & Serianni, 2014).

UDL in Post-Secondary Settings

UDL is a relatively new educational focus (Meyer, 2005). There is still ongoing debate on how to conceptualize what UDL should look like in practice (King-Sears, 2009). While definitions for UDL exist within the literature (Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, 2005; Meyer & Rose, 2005) and United States federal educational guidelines, including the Higher Education Act of 2008 (U.S. Department of Education, 2008), and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2012), the focus continues by researchers to illustrate what educational actions constitute UDL with teachers and students (Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose & Jackson, 2002). UDL in action, and the data needed to confirm positive educational benefits for a variety of students is promising (Katz and Sokal, 2016), and yet to define the framework in action is an ongoing quest.

An early study of UDL in Higher Education conducted in a course at Harvard taught by David Rose is a self-study titled Universal Design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their application (Rose, Harbour, Johnston, Daley, & Arbanell, 2006). The word “reflections” in the title points toward the prime focus of designing learning within the newer context of online courses and programs. Rose et al. made several small changes at first to increase student engagement while keeping the course goals the same. One was to have students share class notes taken during lectures with the entire class. This one change let to some substantial barrier breakers. One, students who needed special note takers did not need this accommodation anymore since note distribution became part of everyone’s experiences. Another barrier that was removed was to reduce anxiety for students to understand their own thinking. With everyone eventually sharing their notes, students could see the variety of ways each learner decided what was significant.

Success in online:

It’s interesting and worthwhile to think about what exposure to online learning takes place before students enter postsecondary settings. While online opportunities are increasing for younger students, the reasons for high school students accessing online courses are interesting. Picciano, Seaman, Shea, & Swan (2012) founds the results of a survey with high school and school district administrators choosing options for the importance of online options in the following areas:

1. Provide courses that otherwise were not available (79%).

2. Permit students who failed a course to take it again – credit recovery (73%).

3. Provide additional Advanced Placement Courses (61%).

4. Provide for the needs of specific students (60%).

None of these areas allow for the view that online learning is an integral part of all student’s high school experiences. Online experiences are seen as additional, or special for some, not all, students.

A systematic review of online learning in higher education by Broadbent and Poon (2015) looked at self-regulated learning strategies (SLR) used by students. Online students are perceived to need more self-directed learning strategies to achieve more independence (Serdyukov & Hill, 2013). The regulatory process that encompass those skills is referred to as self-regulated learning (Zimmerman, 2008). This meta-analysis by Broadbent and Poon found that SLR strategies of “time management, metacognition, critical thinking, and effort regulation were found to have significant positive correlations with academic success in online settings” (p. 13).

Rao (2019) identified some common barriers to learning for many students in higher education learning environments: Excessive reliance on text and ambiguity around expectations. While these common barriers were focused on face to face learning experiences, the toll of these barriers in online environments is compounded. Many course designers, faculty and instructors, use a heavy reliance on text to deliver content to students. Another consideration around text, is that students are expected to read and make meaning out of text using digital content.

Engagement in online learning is as important as engagement in face to face learning, and UDL can help point the way. Within the framework of UDL there are principles, guidelines, and checkpoints. These are not meant to be a checklist, or a prescriptive way of teaching, however there is much to be learned while conceptualizing online environments where students need to be engaged and self-directed. One of the three primary principles of UDL is to provide multiple options for engagement when designing the learning environment (CAST, 2019).

Faculty are experts in their subject matter and want their students to be engaged, or involved in the content they are presenting. This is especially evident in higher education faculty who have worked for years to master content, and in most cases are intensely passionate about their subject matter. University faculty can be intensely motivated to create experiences for their students where these learners really learn the content.

Engagement in Design

The next part of this article will focus on engagement using UDL as a framework for course designers to ask questions and be guided into creating an online experience that has the potential to enable significant learning in digital courses. Focusing on engagement in online post-secondary course design highlights important steps University lecturers and instructors can take to focus instructional design to benefit student success.

Recruiting Interest

To spark excitement and curiosity for learning (CAST, 2019) can be seen as a responsibility for both the learner (student) and the designer (instructor). A lot of barriers can develop around this concept on online environments. Below are some examples instructors can ask to help guide their course development:

· Are my learners already familiar with some of the core concepts in this course?

· Is the subject matter traditionally seen as anxiety producing for students?

· When designing the course am I allowing for students to form their own questions?

· Am I providing narratives to help students see themselves as participants in this course?

· Have I asked students to generate their own questions around core concepts?

· Can I use specific student experiences to encourage excitement in course goals and content?

· Have I communicated the larger course goals for students in a way that may allow for individual excitement?

· During the course am I providing a clear picture for students to see the usefulness of content in their future academic life?

By creating a digital space for learners to be curious and excited about the content instructors can find ways to minimize threats and distractions (CAST, 2019). In using discussion boards students can be assigned responsibilities that can rotate. Belin (2019) proposes these ideas: One student facilitates the discussion, another student summarizes the main points, and another student poses counter arguments. Attending to what is often termed Social Emotional Learning within educational events fosters academic learning (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg, 2004). Attending the learners' need to have their excitement and curiosity gain a place at the table during content acquisition reduces barriers to learning in online courses.

Sustaining Effort and Persistence

Tackles challenges with focus and determination (CAST, 2019). Providing a design frame that encourages students to be successful in an online course often means designing entry points in the course that are varied. Below are some questions instructors can ask themselves to see if they are addressing the barriers of effort and persistence in both the asynchronous, and synchronous aspects of the course experience.

· Is the entire design of the course clear from the beginning?

· Does the student understand how much time is required each week to be successful in the course?

· Is there a predictable and easy way to ask for and receive help?

· Are complex concepts offered as building blocks?

· Are tasks learners might define as boring eliminated or reduced?

· Are there built in rewards for creative thinking and sustained involvement?

Students need to understand how a course works. From the basics of where to begin, to how and when instructors will give individualized feedback, learners take their cues from the design of the course, so the clearer the better. Having the overall scope and sequence displayed in more than one way can help achieve this goal. For example, using a calendar so students can plan their time can help students stay persistent over the semester. In addition, creating a graphic organizer of how the goals of the course, the content of the course, and the assessments of the course support each other will allow students to see the connections and encourage them to focus on what is important.

Self-regulation

Harness the power of emotions and motivation in learning (CAST, 2019). As can likely be seen, these guidelines in the UDL framework can have some overlap. For example, emotions and motivation are certainly involved in the domains of student persisting in difficult or dull tasks. The idea behind this checkpoint is to explicitly address self-regulation within the course goals and tasks. Below are some questions instructors can ask themselves as they review and continue to build their online course.

· Have I provided an example of what a successful student looks like in this course?

· Have I connected the new learning with previous learning or knowledge students possess?

· Are there different modalities for students to learn new information, such as text, video, or speech?

· Is there more than one way for students to demonstrate their knowledge?

· Has the concept that failure toward a goal is a normal and encouraged part of building new knowledge been introduced?

· Have I provided examples of my own journey of failures toward successes?

These are the three guidelines of UDL under the principle of engagement: recruiting interest, sustaining effort and persistence, and self-regulation. Barriers to learning common to online courses were examined and possible solutions were proposed through both questions’ instructors can ask, and specific examples of strategies in online courses. Another look at barriers through specific UDL framework checkpoints is represented in the following table. Checkpoints are another step in the UDL framework. The first column points out a potential barrier, the second column describes the specific UDL checkpoint, and the third column explains how the barrier was reduced in practice. These specific examples come directly from courses taught in the University setting. All of these courses were taught in the education department, and to students ranging from undergraduate to doctoral level. Research into student response and student achievement is ongoing, as are many direct applications designed of the UDL framework.

Potential barriers in online courses, and UDL focused solutions

All the Voices in the Room

The phrase “until learning has no limits” is on the CAST website, and in their media offerings. The limits learning currently encounters in University settings often rests with the students. Some of whom bring a lot of academic success with them, and some for whom the academy is always a significant struggle. When reaching a course however, instructors want all of the students to learn, and learn rigorous content. In order for this to occur all of the students, all of the voices in the room need to be heard. In a UDL framework inspired course many more students would receive higher grades, because many more students would reach the goals of the course. There is no lowering of expectations, or rigor. There is the increased potential to reach all of the voices in the room, face-to-face or digital. Part of UDL address the responsibility of the educational environment to build expert learners. It is an ongoing puzzle to look at how much responsibility colleges and universities need to undertake of the particular work. Many people teaching in post-secondary institutions believe that students get to college in part because they are expert learners. The reality is, this is not true. The proliferation of programs aimed to shore up student’s skills is a testament to this.

Another way to conceptualize this is to understand that the self-regulation skills that got students to college may not be the skills that allow for success once arrived. Especially if universities are hoping to create independent thinkers that can work through complex subject matter. “Doing the reading” is a very small part of success in the post-secondary setting. Understanding when, where, and how to do the reading, and how to apply this reading, and how to read when students don’t know how to talk to professors during office hours because they are first generation to college, is not a skill many students have without support. Building in these key skills and strategies to post-secondary courses, especially online courses, is a way to build success. This success will give the student more of a chance to earn that A in every course, it will also give the student a better base for success in college and university life. We want our students to earn that A, because we want every voice in the room to be heard.

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