Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 3 - Criterion 3

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 places more 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.