Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction

The universal design of instruction (UDI) framework is gaining increased attention and application by educational researchers and practitioners at K-12 and postsecondary levels. UDI means that, rather than designing for the average student, you design instruction for potential students who have broad ranges with respect to ability, disability, age, reading level, learning style, native language, race, and ethnicity. Regarding students with disabilities, UDI challenges the instructor to go beyond legal compliance to proactively make all aspects of instruction, including class climate, interaction, physical environments and products, delivery methods, information resources and technology, feedback, and assessment.

Components of the UDI Framework include scope, definition, process, principles, guidelines, and practices. You can flesh out this framework to build a toolkit for applying UDI. The scope of UDI comprises all facilities, curricula, pedagogies, activities, and technologies used to help students learn.
 

A definition that can be used for the application of the UDI, modified from the basic definition of UD, is the design of teaching and learning products and environments “to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.”

UDI Process

To apply UDI, instructors should consider the potential variation in individual skills, learning styles and preferences, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, abilities, and disabilities as they select appropriate content and strategies for the delivery of instruction and then apply universal design to all course activities and resources. Specifically, an instructor needs to

1. Identify the course and evidence-based teaching practices. Describe the course, learning objectives, and content. Adopt overall teaching and learning philosophies (e.g., constructivism) and evidence- based practices (e.g., active learning).

2. Consider the diverse characteristics of potential students. Describe the population of students eligible to enroll in the course and then consider their potential diverse characteristics—with respect to gender; age; ethnicity; race; native language; learning preferences; size; abilities to see, hear, walk, manipulate objects, read, speak—and the challenges they might encounter in your course.

3. Integrate UDI with evidence-based teaching practices. Apply UDI strategies (underpinned by relevant UDHE principles) in concert with evidence- based instructional practices in the choice of teaching methods, curricula, and assessments as well as to all teaching practices and materials to maximize the learning of students with diverse characteristics.

4. Plan for accommodations. Learn campus procedures for addressing accommodation requests (e.g., arranging for sign language interpreters) from specific students for whom the course design does not already provide full access. Include information about how students can request accommodations in the syllabus.

5. Evaluate. Monitor the effectiveness of instruction through observation and assessments of learning and collect formative feedback from students. Make modifications based on the results. Return to step 3 if your evaluation suggests further improvements to your course should be made.

The following checklist provides examples of UDI practices. Numbers in brackets at the end of items in the checklist refer to UD, UDL, and WCAG principles to which the practice is most relevant.

Class Climate

Adopt practices that reflect high values with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Welcome everyone. Create a welcoming environment for all students. Learn students’ names. Build rapport. Encourage the sharing of multiple perspectives. Demonstrate and demand mutual respect. Include a civility statement with behavioral expectations in the syllabus. [UD 1; UDL 3]

• Avoid stereotyping. Offer instruction and support based on student performance and requests, not simply on assumptions that members of certain groups (e.g., students with certain types of disabilities or from specific racial or ethnic groups) will automatically do well or poorly or require certain types of assistance. [UD 1]

• Be approachable and available. Welcome questions, seek out a student’s point of view, and respond patiently. Encourage students to meet with you, maintain regular office hours, and suggest alternatives when student schedules conflict with those hours. [UD 1, 5; UDL 3]

• Motivate all students. Use teaching methods and materials that are motivating and relevant to students with diverse characteristics, such as age, gender, cultures, and interests. [UD 1; UDL 3]

• Address individual needs in an inclusive manner. Both on the syllabus and in class, invite students to meet with you to discuss disability-related accommodations and other learning needs.

• On the syllabus, list URLs and other contact information for tutoring and writing centers, disability services, and other campus services that may be helpful. [UD 1, 2; UDL 1]

• Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any student. Do not draw undue attention to a difference (e.g., disability) or share private information (e.g., a specific student’s accommodation). [UD 1; UDL 2, 3]

Encourage regular and effective interactions between students and the instructor, employ multiple communication methods, and ensure that communication methods are accessible to all participants.

• Offer multiple options for communication and collaboration. Employ interactive teaching techniques. Use in-person, phone, and multiple electronic communication methods when possible. Make interactions accessible to all participants, including those with disabilities. When meeting on site, face the class, speak clearly, consider using a microphone, and make eye contact with students. [UD 1, 2, 4, 5; UDL 2, 3; WCAG]

• Require inclusive cooperative learning. Assign group work for which learners must engage using a variety of skills and roles. Encourage different ways for group members to interact with each other, insist that all students participate, and facilitate their engagement as needed to ensure that participants communicate in ways that are accessible to and inclusive of all group members. [UD 1, 2, 4, 5; UDL 3; WCAG]

• Make content relevant. Put learning in context. Incorporate multiple examples and perspectives to make specific concepts relevant to individuals with diverse characteristics such as age, ability, gender, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status, and interests. [UD 1; UDL 1, 3] 

• Select flexible curriculum. Choose textbooks and other curriculum materials that address the needs of students with diverse abilities, interests, and learning preferences; are well organized; emphasize important points; provide references for gaining background knowledge; include indices and glossaries; and have chapter outlines, study questions, and practice exercises. Consider the use of digital materials that provide feedback, background information, vocabulary, and other supports based on student responses. [UD 2–5; UDL 1, 3; WCAG]

• Provide cognitive supports. Summarize major points; give background and contextual information and deliver effective prompting. Offer outlines, summaries, graphic organizers, and other scaffolding tools to help students learn. Provide options for gaining background information, and vocabulary. At the beginning of a lesson, consider posing one or two questions and ask students to answer them at the end of the session. [UD 2–5; UDL 1–3; WCAG]

• Provide multiple ways to learn. Use multiple modes to deliver content e.g., reading, lectures, collaborative learning, small group discussions, hands-on activities, internet simulations, and fieldwork). [UD 2–4; UDL 1, 2; WCAG]

• Deliver instructions clearly and in multiple ways. Make instructions clear in the syllabus and follow up with a question and answer session. Ask students to summarize instructions to ensure understanding. [UD 3, 4; UDL 1; WCAG]

• Use large visual and tactile aids. Use large manipulatives and images to demonstrate content; use a computer to enlarge microscope images. [UD 3, 4; UDL 1; WCAG]

• Make each teaching method accessible to all students. Consider a wide range of abilities, interests, learning styles, and experiences when implementing each instructional method to ensure engagement of all students. Describe content presented visually. [UD 2, 4, 5; UDL 1, 2; WCAG]