Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 3 - Criterion 4
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The third, Executive Function, allows us to take advantage of our environment and overcome short term reactions to reach our long term goals.
Criterion 4 of this guideline advocates that we enhance the learners’ capacity for
monitoring progress.
Feedback is
essential for learning, whether we are a student learning in a classroom or an
educator assessing their course.
Naturally, learners require a clear understanding of their progress, or
lack thereof. When assessments and feedback are not informative to the learner
or are not timely with the feedback, there is not sufficient time for learning
to take place. Students do not know what they need to do differently and do not have time to adapt. This lack of knowledge, may give the illusion
that students are careless or unmotivated, but it is a result of the learner
not having access to appropriate feedback and time to utilize it. This is in part, why Chickering and Gamson’s 4th Principle of Good
Practice in Undergraduate Education calls for prompt feedback.
Without the
communication, there is no learning. It is important to provide formative
feedback that allows learners to effectively monitor their progress guide their
own practices.
A few examples of techniques to meet this criterion include:
Promote self-monitoring and reflection. You can do this by asking reflective questions.
Show representations of progress. Often visual representations accompanying these markers assist students understanding.
Provide differentiated models of self-assessment strategies such as peer-reviews and self-tests
Ask learners to identify the type of feedback or advice they prefer.
Multiple examples of annotated work or
performance as exemplars or illustrations of what not to do.
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 3 - Criterion 3
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The third, Executive Function, allows us to take advantage of our environment and overcome short term reactions to reach our long term goals.
Criterion 3 of this guideline advocates that we facilitate information and resource
management.
Working
memory limits executive function. The
ability to access information during comprehension and problem-solving is
limited for all of us and it placesmore cognitive load for those new to
the information or those with certain cognitive disabilities. While chunking content can help, there are other ways we can
assist learning as well. Those new to
course material may be disorganized, absent minded, or appear unprepared. Whenever working memory is being taxed, and
naturally it is not a construct of the lesson itself, it is vital to offer a
variety of internal scaffolds and organizational aids to assist students in
organizing the information. These are
the exact same organization tools that executives use, so their adoption both
assists learning and develops tertiary skills that will further benefit the
learner.
Some things
you should consider when meeting this criterion are:
Supplying graphic organizers or templates for data collection and organizing information
Prompting for categorizing and systematizing the information
Providing checklists and guides for note-taking
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 3 - Criterion 2
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The third, Executive Function, allows us to take advantage of our environment and overcome short term reactions to reach our long term goals.
Criterion 2 of this guideline advocates that we support planning and strategy development.
After setting
a goal, skilled problem-solvers plan a strategy for reaching that goal. Adult
learners in new domains, or learners with factors that impede executive
functions in any domain, often skip strategic planning necessary to complete
tasks. Instead, they inefficiently jump
right to a trial and error phase. Offering a variety of options, such as
reflection points or graduated scaffolds that encourage implementing
strategies, greatly assists learners. It can also lead them on the path of
becoming talented mentors, when they share these strategies with others.
Some features
to promote this include:
Embedding prompts to reflect before acting
Requiring learners to demonstrate their understanding by showing and explaining their work.
Provide checklists and project planning templates for understanding the problem. This promotes setting up prioritization, sequences, and steps the learner can schedule and oversee the completion of difficult tasks
Embed coaches or mentors that discuss or encourage reflection of the process
Supply advice for the reduction of long-term goals into reachable short-term objectives. Even by structuring a course this way, students learn by example.
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 3 - Criterion 1
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The third, Executive Function, allows us to take advantage of our environment and overcome short term reactions to reach our long term goals.
Criterion 1 of this guideline advocates that we offer guidance for setting appropriate
goals.
Not all
learners will set appropriate goals in order to guide their work. When learners do not set the goals, it is not
productive in the long run to provide the goals for them. Instead, it is better to foster the development
of new strategies and skills that will benefit the learner in the long term.
Courses should inculcate effective goal setting by embedding graduated
scaffolds to assist learners in the skill of setting realistic personal goals.
When developing frameworks to accomplish this, it should:
Provide models or examples of the process of goal setting and its results
Provide guidelines and checklists for accurate goal setting
Supply prompts and guides to allow accurate estimates of required resources, effort and difficulty.
Clearly post goals and objectives to help guide the learner
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
When you are an ally, you are someone who promotes and
aspires to advance the culture of conclusion through intentional, positive and
conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole.You foster relationships based on trust and accountability
with marginalized individuals or groups.This requires that your effects not be self-defined and that your work
is recognized by those who you are seeking to ally with. One such way of doing accomplishing
this is to adopt inclusive teaching practices.
Blackboard Ally is a tool that can assist you on your path
to promote inclusive practices. This platform tool scans for inaccessible content
and offers advice for faculty on remedying inaccessible content. Besides contributing
to courses accessibility, the tools also promotes principles of Universal
Design for Learning, by offing students’ alternative formats to the content
within the course. Impressively, it does this while being architecturally agnostic,
i.e., Blackboard Ally works in D2L, Moodle. Canvas as well as Blackboard Learn.
Content is reviewed and a gauge illustrate how accessible it
is.Those with a low rating will appear
in red while highly accessible content will have a green color. Only faculty see this gauge and selecting it
will provide the specific issues, if any, with the content and solutions to fix
those issues. This can help guide
faculty through developing a perfectly accessible course.
Another feature of Blackboard Ally that helps promote inclusion
is that alternative content option it provides students.At a click of a button, students can have the
content presented to them in various modalities, including: Tagged PDF, Beeline
Reader, or MP3 Audio.This can not only
benefit students with disabilities, but all students can choose the modality
the best suits they way the need to learn.Likewise, Blackboard Ally can translate material in over 75
languages.This can be very helpful to
any student wishing assistance because English is not their first/preferred language.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 2 - Criterion 2
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The second, Expression and
Communication, focuses on how learners effectively communicate and express
their knowledge.
Criterion 2 of this guideline advocates that we use multiple tools for construction and
composition.
Avoid focusing too much on traditional tools while ignoring
current tools. Educational institutions
tend to favor traditional forms to composition, such as writing research papers,
while not staying current to contemporary trends in digital environments.
Restricting learners to ‘old school’ techniques does not prepare them for the
future, but instead restricts their learning and the range of teaching methods
that you can adopt. It also bars many
students from succeeding.
For example: Many
educational institutions have policies baring cell phones, however their narrow
conception of mobile devices does a disservice to students. For the most part a standard smartphone has
more computing power than the computers used to navigate the Apollo 8 mission
to the moon. The student’s device is
more of a microcomputer that can receive phone calls than a telephone. Moreover, smartphones are the primary means
of access for a disproportionately higher number of non-whites and lower income
Americans. Many students have to choose
between a smartphone or a laptop, and select the former for easier access,
better safety, and affordability. To
adopt policies that discriminate against mobile devices effectively targets
these groups. It also send the message
that the school would rather be antiquated than adopt new technology.
Professionals have to stay current with the tools of their
trade, and developing learning environments should prepare the learners instead
of provide a skill in an archaic behavior.
When developing a learning environment, be sure to consider:
Encourage mobile devices and non-traditional tools
Provide spellcheckers and grammar checkers
Encourage outline tools and concept mapping tools
Use web applications
Provide computer aided design and notation software
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
You are teaching an online course with synchronous sessions
and want it to be equitable. But what are the best practices for this style of
delivery?
Six tips for inclusive teaching in synchronous online courses.
1.Remember to consider
the digital divide. Access to technology varies greatly across race and
socio-economic groups.
For example: Bandwidth Distribution: Access to high-speed internet and personal
computers varies significantly when considering a family’s race.
To help level the playing field, remember to:
a.Refrain
from requiring the downloading of large files during the synchronous
session
b. Similarly,
when you have video content in your course, or in a session, make sure it is
streamed.
c.Allow students to download files in advance to
prepare for the session
2.Make
sharing your video optional unless it is absolutely necessary. Video
consumes resources. Resources that not everyone has. Merely using the video conferencing meeting
in MS Teams requires 4 Gig of RAM and video can draw even more memory. Meanwhile, many students have limited
financial resources and this will push many ‘affordable’ low-end machines to
their limits.
Respecting your students’ privacy and safety is another reason to keep video
optional. Sharing the video in the
session may reveal the student’s home location or aspects about them that they
need private for their safety.
Incidentally, they would never share this information if the course was
held in a classroom.
To illustrate, sometimes individuals seek safety from an estranged spouse or a stalker and sharing the local surroundings of where they live is an
unreasonable requirement that would never occur if the class occurred in a room
on campus. It behooves us to adopt a
teaching strategy that would subject someone to potentially jeopardizing
themselves or their family to get a grade.
Finally, we often forget about the student’s workspace and home life. Not every student has a pleasant place to
work in their home. Perhaps they would
rather not; show their communal kitchen which is the only place that they get
Wi-Fi signal, reveal they have to watch their kids who are in the background, or
show that their only access to internet outside of the college is in a local
coffee shop. Remembering their right to privacy affords everyone with self-respect.
3.Be
forgiving and flexible. IF the lockdown taught us anything as educators, it
is that anyone can have technical issues. Those less advantaged often have more
than their fair share of issues. Know
this in advance and be flexible. Try recording lectures sessions and offer the
transcript afterwards. Likewise,
consider access to used assets as well as an asynchronous option to assist
those who cannot contribute due to whatever issue they faced. These issues are, more often than not, out of
their control.
4.Use live
Captioning. Video conference technology has improved over the past few
years. Stop using the dinosaurs that lack this feature. Products like Zoom and MS Teams have live-captioning options.
Make sure to use the live auto-captioning and make your session accessible for
everyone. Besides helping the hearing impaired, the captioning helps everyone
when there are audio problems.
5.Avoid
Time Response questions. Revel in the silence. It allows others to think. Time responses favor
those with fast bandwidth and unfairly punish those with disabilities whose
assistive technology may inhibit their reaction/response time.
6.Ask –
Don’t Assume. Invite your students to contact you privately with any issues
that could impede their success. Also, anonymous polls can give you insight to
technical and bandwidth issue that students may face. Armed with this
knowledge, you can adapt your courses to be more accommodating on the fly.
Follow these tips and you may discover your more inclusive
course may have an uptick in student success.
How often do you hear from a student that they cannot hand
in an assignment because their computer crashed and they lost the file? Have you ever asked if they backed up the
file? Now, have you ever asked that of yourself
and your course work?
Backing up your course material offers many benefits
including allowing you to:
Add material in another Course in Blackboard
Copy your course into another school’s version of Blackboard
Move the content and course into another Learning Management System, such as Desire 2 Learn (D2L)
It is also best practice to back-up your data – be it on
your personal computer or your courses in an LMS.
You can choose to “archive’ your course, but this will
include all the student information and posts.
If you only want to have a copy of the content of your course to save
and take with you, you will need to export it and save the “package”. To do this:
Select Packages and Utilities on the menu
Select Export/Archive Course
Select the Export Package grey button.
Under “Select Course Material” choose “Select
All”
Naturally, if you want to save only a portion, you can select what you want.
But be sure to choose the “Include only the forum, with no starter posts” option for discussions
Select “Submit” (you are almost done)
Wait…. The LMS is working.
After a couple minutes (you may have to refresh the screen), you will see your file as a link on the Export/Archive Course
page. This will be a zip file
Select the Zip file and download it. This is the
Course Package.
Save the Course Package, the Zip File, in a
location that you can find. You may want
to rename the Course Package to something meaningful for you to understand.
That is it!
Please note: DO NOT UNZIP the file.
Unzipping the file may corrupt your package. Leave it untouched until you need it. Then move the content to another course or
LMS, such as D2L.
When you are ready to move the course into an LMS, you will
just go into that course, use the Import Tool, and select this Course Package.
Follow these easy steps and you will be able to move your course, content and all, to most every modern Learning Management System (Yes, that includes D2L).
"It is the little things that can make a major difference"
Often there are little changes in the way you teach or
organize your course that make big difference for promoting inclusiveness.This is particularly true in an online
environment where often students face challenges such as a digital divide. By
adopting a few heuristics to promote an understanding of diversity and equity,
you can help foster a more inclusive learning experience that will result in
higher student success rates.
The embedded webinar includes tips for making your courses more inclusive.It provides the following tips:
An Optional Session 0
Tips for Accommodating Multiple Learning Styles
Threaded Assignments and Scaffolds
The Value of Checklists
Multiple Representations of Content
Inclusive Reflection
Many of these can be an easy as adopting a different document
for organizing content or adding an element within the course design.Likewise, sometimes just being mindful of
vernacular and the fact that we do not all have the same shared experiences can
go a long way.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 2 - Criterion 3
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The second, Expression and
Communication, focuses on how learners effectively communicate and express
their knowledge.
Criterion 3 of this guideline advocates that we construct fluencies with graduated levels
of support for practice and performance.
We should promote the development of a variety of fluencies.
Learners will often need multiple scaffolds, at many different levels, to
accomplish this. To assist them as they practice and inculcate new skills and
knowledge, courses should offer alternatives that vary in the degree of
scaffolding that learners can select to support them. They should have the
freedom to select help when needed or to forgo. Likewise, many opportunities of
performance will assist learners in developing fluencies. Performance helps
learners because it allows them to synthesize their learning in ways relevant
to them personally. For these reasons, it is important to provide options that
build fluencies.
When constructing learning activities, consider:
Providing various models that demonstrate the same outcome through different approaches
Scaffolding activities and assistive structures such that learners can gradually remove the scaffolds as they gain fluency
Providing differentiated feedback that varies per learner. This is particularly easier when working online with personalized learning tools.
Providing multiple examples to demonstrate original solutions to authentic problems.
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
There are two types of biases: explicit and implicit. Explicit
bias is the bias you are aware of and implicit bias is unconscious bias. First
coined in 1995, implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that
affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner (Greenwald
& Banaji, 1995).
If you are convinced that you do not have implicit bias –
you wouldn’t know it – it is unconscious. In fact, this aspect makes it so
difficult to self-identify. Implicit bias may run counter to your deeply held
beliefs without you realizing it. It is quite possible that your explicit
biases run contrary to your implicit biases, and you would not be aware of it.
How does this happen?
There are two types of thinking (quick instinctive and
slow/methodical) The former may help us identify patterns more quickly or even
protect us from potential threats that may have helped us survive thousands of
years ago, however it is still fallible.It can also lead to many results that are dangerous and harmful (Kahneman
(2011)).
How can implicit bias be harmful?
Because it is unconscious, it can permeate all aspects of
our society. This impedes notions of fairness or impartiality that will help
promote the best people for jobs.
Studies have revealed that Implicit bias exists in our
healthcare, legal system, workplace and everyday life.Implicit bias in healthcare in the US
contributes to women and racial minorities experiencing:
less accurate diagnoses,
curtailed treatment options,
less pain management, and
worse clinical outcomes
Moreover, the same implicit bias affects communication,
collaboration, performance reviews, as well as promotions.
Implicit bias can show up in areas that you wouldn’t expect.
As it is undetected, it can undermine the success of
institutions as well as being injurious to individuals. By unfairly biasing our
choices, we are promoting unjust behavior that can impede success, such as in
the sciences, because the best person for the job was not actually selected due
to favoritism based on arbitrary qualities.
Research shows that when presented with identical resumes,
various biases occur when changing one variable that is not relevant for
selecting a job.Having an ‘ethnic’
sounding name, or one that is more associated with a minority, will
significantly decrease the chances of being selected to a position. (Klein,
Rose & Waters, 2021) Even more surprising, is that when shown pictures revealing
relative heights, the taller candidate will be greatly advantaged.This advantage is so significant and
consistent, that those under the average height are speculated to make more than
$2000 less a year for every inch below average (Wang et al., 2020). Similar
biases have been recorded for applicants BMI. Thus, many individuals are being
denied equal opportunity while others are afforded positions that they may not
even be as qualified for. Further, their promotion is heavily influenced by
what Rawls’ (1971) would call “morally arbitrary properties”.
Luckily, there is hope.
Orchestras used to be mostly composed of male musicians,
even though admittance should be based on musical skill.When auditions started using blind-review for
musicians, there was a significant increase in female musicians being selected.
A simple way to overcome this implicit bias was to add a curtain between the
judges and the applicant.Does this
solve all problems of implicit bias? No. However, it shows that we can
sometimes modify the process to help correct unfairness and minimally promote
impartiality.
The first step in battling implicit bias is recognizing that
it exists and you also have implicit biases.Only then can we take steps to identify what they may be and how we can
help ensure that these do not unfairly influence important decisions. While
this is not easy, it is critical for promoting a more just and effective
society where we can be better healthcare workers, police officers, teachers,
as well as better people.
References
Bertrand, M., et al. (2005), Implicit Discrimination, 95
American Economic Review 94.
Chapman, E. N., Kaatz, A., & Carnes, M. (2013).
Physicians and implicit bias: how doctors may unwittingly perpetuate health
care disparities. Journal of general internal medicine, 28(11), 1504-1510.
Charlesworth, T. E., & Banaji, M. R. (2019). Patterns of
implicit and explicit attitudes: I. Long-term change and stability from 2007 to
2016. Psychological science, 30(2), 174-192.
Glaser, J & E Knowles Implicit Motivation to Control
Prejudice, 44 Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 164 (2008).
Goldin, C. & C Rouse. 2000. "Orchestrating
Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female
Musicians." American Economic Review, 90 (4): 715-741.
Green. A. et al. (2007), Implicit Bias Among Physicians and
Its Prediction of Thrombolysis Decisions for Black and White Patients, 22
Journal of General Internal Medicine 1231.
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit
social cognition: attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological
review, 102(1), 4.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L.
(1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: the implicit
association test. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74(6),
1464.
Greenwald, A. G., & Krieger, L. H. (2006). Implicit
bias: Scientific foundations. California Law Review, 94(4),
945-967.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow.
Macmillan.
Wigboldus, D. H., Sherman, J. W., Franzese, H. L., & A.V.
Knippenberg (2004). Capacity and comprehension: Spontaneous stereotyping under
cognitive load. Social Cognition, 22(3), 292-309.
For years there have been a common place bias favoring textual
learning over other forms of learning, such as the use of visuals.However, humans are highly visual creatures and
relied on visual far before text existed.It is not surprising that images can have a profound effect on us, and
this includes our learning.When carefully
employed, images can generate:
Discussion,
Critical thinking,
Empathy, and
Motivation
All of this can be harnessed to increase learning.
There is over thirty years of research illustrating that
images can play a key part in knowledge transfer. For example, Mayer’ s Multimedia Learning Theory
have a plethora of studies confirming that combining visuals with another
modality of presentation, such as auditory content or textual content,
significantly increases learning in subjects.
This applies to more than diagrams, but all types of images. Even decorative images, when applied
correctly, can increase learner retention of content.
The embedded webinar includes tips for making your images have
a greater impact. It also reviews the importance
of accessibility issues. Furthermore, tables
will be reviewed and solutions suggested to ensure that they are accessible and
effective.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 2 - Criterion 1
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The second, Expression and
Communication, focuses on how learners effectively communicate and express
their knowledge.
Criterion 1 of this guideline advocates that we use multiple media for communication.
Barring courses that specialize in a specific goal, such as
Chinese calligraphy or watercolor studio classes, it is important to provide
alternative media for expression.Every
type of media has its specific benefits and barriers to expression.These alternatives may accommodate a variety
of special needs while increasing the learners’ opportunity to develop a
broader range of expression in this media rich world. The variety of modes has
the unintended consequence of challenging students to learn how to maximize
their expression for specific media.For example, there is vast differences involved in writing effectively
for journals, web content, and for video.Offering alternatives of expression also allows learners to explore the
optimal medium for specific content and its effectiveness on its audience.
Essentially, allow learners to express learning in flexible ways while
inculcating composition skills.
Some things to consider include:
Utilize multimedia to promote expression using a myriad of
modes of communication, including: text, speech illustration, video, and
other more.
Use physical manipulatives – even online learning assignments
can engage students in real world activities and have students report
their findings or illustrate their results.
Use interactive web tools (for example: discussion forums,
annotation tools, storyboards, animation and presentations)
Provide the opportunity to
solve problems using a variety of strategies.
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
