Transcript Universal Design: It’s for EVERYONE

Universal Design: It’s for
EVERYONE
A presentation by Ann Keefer, PhD
Temple University
Institute on Disabilities
Brainstorm: Barriers to Leanring
• In small groups, let’s brainstorm some barriers
to learning faced by students at Millersville
University
• Appoint a note taker to record your findings
• Appoint a different person to report your
findings
• We will discuss the barriers you’ve identified
as a large group
What is Universal Design for Learning?
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a
research-based framework for designing
curricula that enable all individuals to gain
knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning.
• This is accomplished by simultaneously
providing rich supports for learning and
reducing barriers to the curriculum, while
maintaining high achievement standards for
all students. (www.cast.org)
Offer Multiple Means Of:
Representation
Expression
Engagement
UDL from ACCESS Colorado
• The following video comes from the ACCESS
Project at Colorado State University. As you
watch, notice the particular kinds of diverse
learners featured in this video, and the
multiple means of representation, expression
and engagement which the professors and
students discuss. Colorado State ACCESS
Project Video: Open Captioned
What are Your Goals?
As you design your syllabus and class
activities, ask:
• What do my students need to learn?
• What barriers to learning might students
have?
• Are there ways I can adapt activities,
classroom discussion or assignments while still
fulfilling the goals of the course?
Provide Supports
• Provide supports and scaffolding for your
lessons in the form of lecture notes, research
notes, and other materials to augment the
course texts
• Make digital copies of course texts available
whenever possible
• Use online discussion boards and blogs to
encourage engagement and expression
Specific Techniques
• The next few slides will list three specific
techniques which have been researched for
effectiveness by faculty at the University of
Hawai’i:
• Graphic Organizers
• The Pause Procedure
• Guided Notes
Graphic Organizers
• Graphic organizers can help you or your
students represent relationships between
elements in a text or in a concept
• A graphic organizer can be a mind map, a pie
chart, a Gantt chart, or even a family tree
• Graphic organizers will have a strong appeal to
visual learners
One Graphic Organizer
The Pause Procedure
• Every fifteen minutes, pause your lecture and ask
students to discuss the most recent content
between themselves to determine their level of
understanding.
• This technique is very low-tech and will focus and
refresh your students’ attention
• Take time during the pauses for student
questions or feedback.
• Let’s pause here to discuss what we’ve learned.
Guided Notes
• Guided notes are an outline of a lecture or
presentation which includes most of the lecture
but edits out key vocabulary or concepts.
• Students can follow the lecture, and fill in the
missing terms or content as you come to them in
your lecture.
• Guided notes make it easier to focus on the
lecture, and decrease the need for writing down
all of the details of a presentation.
Which Works Best?
• At the 2011 AUCD annual conference,
Professor Kelley Roberts of the University of
Hawai’i reported initial results of a study of
the three strategies
• She reported that of the three strategies,
guided notes had the greatest sustained
impact on student retention of course
materials
Other Techniques and Ideas
• Record your board by taking periodic digital
images of notes before you erase the board. Post
these photos to a shared online space.
• Allow students to give oral reports during office
hours to demonstrate mastery of new material.
• Ask students to submit YouTube videos, websites,
or their own videos which build on a class
concept or discussion
• Enable closed captions when you show a film or
web video to your students
Modeling Knowledge
• Can a concept be modeled in a physical way?
• If appropriate, ask students to complete a
timeline of important concepts – you could
provide a few key dates to start the timeline.
• Talk about your own information-gathering
techniques – make your process transparent
so students learn from your expertise.
Attitudinal Techniques
• Encourage students to contact you in a variety
of ways: office hours on campus, e-mail, a
discussion board
• Express interest in and awareness of diversity
in your classroom
• Include a statement on disability
accommodation on your syllabus
Case Studies: Student with a Disability
• Disabled Student
A student with a fine motor impairment is
required to draw an accurate diagram for an
astronomy class, from which she will take
measurements and make calculations. If the
diagram is inaccurate, the calculations will be
incorrect and the student will receive a low grade
for the assignment.
What could we do to improve this student’s
chances for success?
Case Study: Faculty with a Disability
• A faculty member has a significant physical
disability with increasing impairment due to age.
Her voice is weak and her speech is difficult to
understand. She knows a great deal about her
subject matter, but she cannot type, cannot move
independently around the classroom, and she is
occasionally unable to get to campus due to bad
weather or illness.
How can we help her continue to be an effective
teacher?
How to Contact Me
• Ann Keefer, PhD
• Project Coordinator and Adjunct Professor,
Temple University Institute on Disability
• 215 204 3861
• [email protected]