Principle of Engagement - Guideline 3 - Criterion 1

 

Universal Design for Learning

Principle of Engagement - Guideline 3 - Criterion 1

When developing a course using the third principle of Universal Design for Learning, there are three specific guidelines to assist us.  The third, Self-Regulation addresses maintaining focus and determination.

Criterion 1 of this guideline advocates that we promote expectations and attitudes that optimize motivation.

Everyone has intimate knowledge of what they find personally motivating and this is an important aspect to self-regulation.  Learners need to be able to set personal goals that they can reasonably obtain, as well as foster positive beliefs that they will be able to meet their goals.  Successfully accommodating this will require allowing for ways that learners can curtail frustration and eschew anxiety that many face while striving to meet their goals.  This will require multiple options for learners to help stay motivated.

To do this, you may consider:

• Providing guides, rubrics, prompts, and checklists to encourage increasing the length of on task orientation and elevating the frequency of self-reflection and self-reinforcements
   
• Create activities that support self-reflection and identifying, and assessing, personal goals
  
  
• Explicitly and implicitly promote the use of coaches, mentors, and tutors that help inculcate skills in goals setting that successfully account for both strengths and weaknesses.
   
• Encourage external success coaching and tutors for additional help, and promote the development of these services if your institution does not have them.

By following these suggestions, your course will assist students in communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line with the Principle of Engagement in the Theory of Universal Design for Learning.