Artifact 3: Equity and Inclusion - Learning Design Considerations for All

The third artifact which I would like to introduce the work I completed for MDDE690 – Post Covid K-12 Online and Blended Teaching and Learning.  While the title of the course indicates that the topic of study could be anything related to ‘post-covid’, MDDE690 is designed as an independent study course, thus providing a significant amount of freedom into how learning would occur.  Through consultation with my professor,  I ultimately decided to focus on a newly discovered interest of mine - Universal Design for Learning (UDL), particularly against the backdrop of the 'post-covid' world.

Why UDL?

While some student colleagues of mine may have entered the course with a topic already in mind, this was not the case for me as I found myself spending a great deal of time trying to come up with a suitable topic. I had never taken an independent study course previously so I saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself as a student and essentially become an ‘expert’ on something specific.

Over the first few weeks of the course, I took my time deciding exactly what my topic of study would be.  Before landing on UDL as my topic of choice, I found my mind consistently going between two main ideas:

1. distance education in a post covid world and its intersection with women (feminism); and
2. distance education in a post covid world and children with disabilities. 

In some ways, I found it hard to choose between these two topic ideas because they both held significance to me;  on the one hand I was still on maternity leave and so I was drawn to the first idea largely as a continuation of my studies in MDDE651 a couple of terms earlier (1.5; 1.12).  On the other hand, however, my daughter had recently been diagnosed as having unilateral hearing which, naturally, had my mind jumping to conclusions about what her educational journey would look like (1.5; 1.13).   

It would be nothing short of accurate to say that I had settled so deeply (and comfortably) into the role of ‘mom’ that I was (clearly) struggling with the notion of returning to the working world, but at the same time these were very real intersecting thoughts and concerns I found myself contemplating repeatedly. Ultimately, I recognized that to tackle both of these ideas would be beyond the scope of what I could accomplish in just one term of study – at least to be able to do it any justice – so I made the decision to focus primarily on the value that distance education education can provide for children with disabilities (1.3; 1.5).

With a somewhat defined focal area for my research, I began to draw upon my Boolean search operators once again in the quest to locate resources which would aid my study.  I used keywords such as “accessibility”, “disability”, “pedagogy”, and “instructional design” (to name a few) in combination with keywords such as “distance education” and “online learning” to generate helpful search results.  I can’t recall exactly what combination of keywords I used which resulted in my initial discovery of universal design for learning but as soon as I stumbled upon it, I knew I wanted to know more. I began incorporating the term “UDL” (in both it’s expanded and abbreviated form) into my research and this resulted in an information rich variety of resources, several of which would ultimately form the foundation of my studies on this topic for the remainder of the course (1.4; 5.5).

Solving for ‘X’

From the moment I became introduced to the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as an instructional design framework, I have felt a strong identification with it because it encapsulates much of what I (personally) have always viewed as being ‘wrong’ with the traditional mode of teaching.  The learner-centric approach to the teaching/learning context which embodies UDL resonates with me on a very personal level as I reflect back to my own experiences as a student in the traditional education system.  At the risk of sounding exaggerative, I can’t help but feel that my own learning (and likely that of many others) was negatively impacted by the seeming inability and/or unwillingness of [my] teachers to go beyond the ‘what’ of learning and explain the ‘how’ and the ‘why’, nor were there very many attempts to provide differentiated instruction so that I could potentially grasp concepts which were more challenging to me.  To put it simply, there were certain subjects (i.e.: mathematics, science) which I struggled with a great deal in my education because for some reason, I could just never fully grasp a lot of the concepts which were taught, in addition to the fact there was often little to no explanation as to how those concepts were related to the real world and so they forever remained abstract to me (1.1; 1.2).  Of course (now), with my adult brain, I have the ability to ask better questions and to think more abstractly, though I still can’t say whether learning how to ‘solve for X’, for example, has provided me with any advantages.  As I became more entrenched in my understanding of UDL, however, my reminiscent questions of “was it me or was it my teacher?” transitioned to assertive statements of “it was (mostly) my teacher”.  Personally, what I love most about UDL is that it provides an avenue for re-imagining a teaching/learning context where student success is bolstered by pedagogical approach and learning activity design considerations which cater to the needs of a diverse learning audience versus a one-size-fits-all approach (2.7; 2.1). 

Introducing UDL

The first assignment for this course led me to create an overview presentation of UDL, including the educational theories and influences which have helped to shape it.  To convey my information effectively I prepared my presentation with the assumption that my audience had no prior knowledge or understanding of UDL, so I chose to begin by touching on some of the advances in technology which have led to an increase in popularity for online learning (4.2; 5.9).  I discussed how flexibility in terms of access, timing, place, space, cost and content have improved the overall learning experience for many.  However, given that the intention of the course was to focus on a topic in the post-covid world, I chose to introduce my topic against the backdrop of the pandemic, mainly the challenges faced by K-12 educators as they grappled with the switch to online learning in what is commonly referred to as ‘Emergency Remote Teaching’, the shortfalls which resulted from the rapidity of that switch, and the dangers of reverting back to traditional modes of instruction (5.7; 5.9).  As shown in the slide below, here is where I introduced UDL as an instructional framework which takes learner variability, inclusiveness, and learner excellence into account, thereby making it the ultimate distance education teaching/learning solution (4.9; 5.9).

Theoretical Underpinnings

As I mentioned earlier, UDL as an instructional design framework resonated with me almost immediately and I believe part of that is because it is largely rooted in both Piaget’s cognitive and Vygotsky’s social constructivism, while also drawing upon the importance of Bruner’s scaffolding technique, all of which lend to a teaching/learning context that is focused on the individual needs of the learner (2.3).  Drawing upon these theoretical influences as well as the UDL guidelines available on the CAST website, I looked for ways in which UDL could be specifically applied in a digital learning environment by examining it further through the lens of digital accessibility.  While I could have focused solely on UDL as an instructional framework, I thought it was important to tie in the relationship with digital accessibility considerations to maximize the usefulness of my research.

In my first UDL assignment, one of the main resources I found myself (often) referring to was that of the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) website (www.cast.org), as it contains an implementation matrix which provides guidance on how to stimulate the three networks of the learning brain - affective, recognition, and strategic - to best to ensure the teaching/learning context is accessible to a diverse learning audience.  As I embarked on assignment two, I incorporated the knowledge I had gained through my research on assignment one to guide me in my quest to learn about the various educational technologies, methods, tools and software available which could be used to stimulate the three different networks of the learning brain (1.5; 1.10).  For example, I had learned through assignment 1 that the representation principle of the UDL framework is associated with the recognition network of the learning brain, and that it calls upon the need for educators to ensure instruction is perceivable and comprehensible to a diverse learning audience.  And, for example, while catering to the representation principle of the UDL framework can benefit all learners, it is of particular importance for learners who have learning and/or sensory disabilities.  This caused me to think about the ways in which my daughter whom was diagnosed with unilateral hearing very shortly after she was born might benefit from the representation considerations of UDL (1.12).  With this perspective in mind, I proceeded to look for ways in which existing technology could be utilized to stimulate the recognition network of the learning brain (e.g.: the option to turn closed captioning on/off during pre-recorded lecture-style videos)  as well as what educational technologies might exist which could either augment or compensate for a student's disability.  One example of this would include the use of screen-reading software designed to assist blind or visually impaired individuals by converting all of the text, symbols, buttons, and images on a digital screen into speech format which is then read aloud.  To ensure the software is properly able to decipher the various elements of a screen, it is important for the educator to have certain screen-design considerations in mind, including but not limited to the proper use of heading structure to organize large bodies of text and to facilitate simplified navigation; incorporating alternative text for all images on screen using a meaningful description and avoiding the use of unnecessary images and/or images which are difficult to accurately capture using alternative text descriptions; the incorporation of skip-navigation buttons to promote ease of navigation between between key areas of a website; and capitalizing the first letter of every word within a hashtag so that the screen-reading software is able to appropriately decipher it as intended (1.12; 6.1).   

Prior to beginning my exploration of Universal Design for Learning, I have always believed there was something inherently "wrong" with the way in which instruction is given in the traditional K-12 setting.  Throughout my research on UDL, digital accessibility and the various educational technologies which exist to support the diverse needs of learners, I found myself feeling inspired to know more but also determined to contribute to the tides of change in this area, in the hopes that the needs of all learners are taken into consideration and afforded the ability to flourish.