Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 2 - Criterion 3

Universal Design for Learning

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.