Author: Hong Kha

This post is a student response to Thomas Tobin’s webcast on Universal Design of Learning as well as the UDL Guidelines page from UDL’s website. For more information, please visit those sites.

In his webcast on the basics of UDL, Thomas J. Tobin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison made it clear that we need to re-frame how teaching institutions approach UDL and accessibility. When presented with students who desire accommodations for their learning, instructors, though willing to comply, can often feel frustrated and stressed at the prospect of altering curriculum to fulfill the request.

But, UDL is not only a disability or access services format. Rather, UDL is a proactive way to structure material to help make the interactions the happen at your institution more easily accessible for people on their mobile devices.

What is UDL?

UDL is defined as a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. There are three components:

1. We need multiple ways to keep learners engaged. This is the “why” of learning. For example, instructors could give a time estimate for an assignment so that students know how to self-regulate their approach to the assignment, and experience autonomy.
2. We need multiple ways of representing information. This is the “what” of learning. For example, the students can be presented with both audio and visual versions of the content, and choose which style works best for them to retain the information. Providing different options for the information display allows deeper comprehension for the student, as they may understand one form of communication better than another.
3. We need multiple ways to give people choices for their actions. This is the “how” of learning. For example, as long as learning objectives remain the same, you can offer multiple ways for the student to complete an assignment, perhaps through an essay or visual presentation option. Or, give multiple options for first drafting that point toward the same end result assignment.  

Realistic Implementation

UDL helps to understand what has to happen at the level of course design that makes accommodation less necessary.

UDL is “plus one” learning. If there is a way you interact with students, just make one more way to interact with materials, each other, and the wider world.

Remember that UDL reduces barriers by offering students choices and control. If you offer more ways for students to access material, they are more likely to persist in classes, more likely to be retained in later years, and more likely to be satisfied with their learning experience.

UDL is work, but will alleviate more work and stress that could potentially arise later in the course, as it is a proactive, not reactive format.

Many instructors are familiar with DI, or “differentiated instruction”. DI is customizing the instructor’s response to the student in any way they can. DI occurs in the moment, responding to a specific student situation. It is also reactive, allowing instructors to hear and respond. UDL is the proactive counterpart to DI, and happens on “day 0” to set up for success.

5 strategies for UDL:

1. Start with text. Use your written content as a script for audio/podcast or video. You can post the text version and video/audio as the alternative (multiple ways to represent information).
2. Make alternatives. You can offer different formats for print/PDF content, or post take still photos with captions from a video. This reduces cognitive barriers for students. Note: UDL does not aim to water down content, but instead makes it easier for the student to get in and do it.
3. Let them do it their way. As long as objectives for assignment are the same, could offer video or paper presentations, let the student choose. 
4. Go step by step. 10:2 ratio. Give info for 10 mins, then ask students to respond for 2 mins. The response does not even need to be related to the info, it is used as a pause to retain info given in the 10 minutes.
5. Set content free. Publish content on platforms that are mobile accessible. Also, make sure they are not tied to a specific software that the student has to download or buy. 

FAQs

What about the science surrounding different learning styles?
Learning styles, in the conventional sense, (audio verses visual presentation, etc.) don’t exist. At least, not as six characteristics. Our learning preferences change from moment to moment based on the content and circumstances. For example: a man who is taking a class but also has to drop his daughter off at school before work may prefer an audio version of the class content to listen to during his commute, and in that instance, an audio option is much more helpful to him than a PDF.

Retention also varies and is not based on hard principles but based on accessibility; if the student can get to the information, look through it multiple times, and customize how they move through it, they can retain it.

This presentation gives a brief overview of the benefits of teaching in a metacognitive style, to create the most effective learning environment for students. To view the complete guide to metacognition, see LawTech’s Metacognition presentation.

In this presentation, we cover:

What faculty can do
What students can do
Brief overview of metacognition strategies

Optimal learning, or the most effective and efficient way a student retains and masters content, is the product of connecting the student’s motivation, emotion, and learning style. Ultimately, teaching in a way that encourages optimal learning is the goal of most every teacher. But how is this accomplished? This presentation will overview the benefits of learning to teach with metacognitive strategies, which allow the teacher and student to work together to facilitate learning.

Optimal learning occurs when the social and emotional environment of a learning space are considered along with the material presented in the classroom. This includes creating safe and stable learning environments, providing equitable and rigorous material, and aiming to meet the needs of diverse learners.

In order to facilitate this style of optimal learning, faculty and students must share responsibility for the learning environment. The faculty should set clear expectations and goals that the students can aim for. This is where metacognition is important!

For example, teachers may format their class schedule to accommodate different learning styles and increase engagement by incorporating interactive learning into lecture-based classes. For example, students can talk about a question together, or teach one another the material that was covered in a previous class.

Students can learn metacognition techniques themselves, and master learning models such as Bloom’s taxonomy and the study cycle.

Also, it is important to impress upon students that their performance in class does rely, in part, on their individual contribution to their own learning.

Thus, students need to be able to find balance.

Some effective metacognition strategies to encourage students to try include: knowing the material well enough to teach someone else and asking deeper questions to engage with material on an analysis level.

Teach the study cycle, which emphasizes mastery over memorization.

Essentially, it is highly beneficial for teachers to teach metacognitive strategies to students and establish clear learning goals the students can aspire to reach.

Thank you for your interest and attention!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.

This presentation is compiled from the information presented in Sandra McGuire’s best-selling Metacognition book, “Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course To Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation”. You can buy the book here.

In this presentation, we cover:

Linking Concepts
Bloom’s Taxonomy
The Study Cycle

Consider encouraging your students to read the Student’s Guide to Metacognition, so that they also understand the benefit of learning how to study and master material efficiently!

This presentation will explore Metacognition, or the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought process. In understanding the different approaches to learning, you will be able to both enhance your learning and cater to students in their personal learning processes.

Metacognition, literally “cognition about cognition”, or “thinking about thinking” is the process of understanding how you learn and includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or problem-solving. This understanding can manifest in being aware of oneself, and monitoring or judging one’s level of learning.

The purpose of this presentation is to explain some strategies and self-evaluation techniques to both enhance teaching for more in-depth student learning, and equip teachers with the knowledge to help students realize their learning patterns and objectives.

For highest efficiency, choose one or two techniques that you, or the student, can feasibly implement into a teaching or studying routine.

 Short-term benefits include:

Increased metacognition awareness has been proven to massively improve test scores.

This is not a one-off phenomenon; building strong learning habits is a continuous process that will continue to benefit the student long-term.

The first metacognition strategy is linking concepts:

To illustrate this concept, follow this exercise, and have a pen or pencil and paper ready. There will be a timer set for 45 seconds. On the next slide, count all the vowels you see until time runs out.

Now, try to write down as many words as you can remember from the previous slide. If you’d like to calculate your score in percentage divide the number you remember by 15, and multiply by 100. The average is 3 phrases remembered, or 20%; did you beat the average?

Looking at the list again, try to find the underlying pattern that orders the group.

Now, repeat the exercise again- you will be given 45 seconds.

 Did your average improve?

This exercise illustrated the strategy “linking concepts”, in particular focusing on the overall goal. When the goal is clearly set (memorize the list) to match the expected outcome (write as many words as you can recall), the outcome is much improved.

Secondly, and implementing a holistic, pattern-driven strategy helped to make the learning process familiar. By linking the words to numerical order, it was easier to recall the words in the exercise. In academia, the “linking concepts” approach remains relevant; connecting content to the overall goal, and making content relatable to things familiar to the student helps to format the learning experience to the student. 

For example, you may ask the student to link the content or their readings to something they’ve encountered in everyday life, thus making the learning process tailored to their experiences.

The second strategy is Bloom’s Taxonomy:

Bloom’s taxonomy is a quantitative, measurable hierarchy. Each level of learning builds on the next, and to understand which level you are at versus which level you need to be at for the goals of the class is vital.

The first stage is remembering, essentially rote memorization. The second is understanding the terms, characterized by the ability to paraphrase the content.

The third is applying, where you can take the information you’ve understood and use it in new contexts that you have not seen before. Fourth is analyzing, where you can break the concept down into parts, and examine the constitution or structure of the concept.

Fifth is evaluating, where you can take the concept you’ve learned and compare, contrast, and judge influences and competing ideals based on your knowledge of the concept. Lastly, sixth creating: in this stage, you are able to solve problems originally, building off of the knowledge of the concept.

Differing from the buy-in to metacognition, which many view as simply raising grades, bloom’s taxonomy challenges the student to truly understand the material, identify how they interact with material, assess what they know, and shift study habits to engage in deeper learning.

After evaluating where the student is on the taxonomy, how do they move higher, out of levels of memorization and into levels of deep comprehension? Use the study cycle! This is a cycle an instructor can introduce to students for their use.

The cycle consists of 5 steps: Preview, attend class, review, intense study sessions, and assessment.

The preview stage happens before class, where the student skims over notes or completed homework to ascertain the learning objectives for class that day, and any questions they may have.

The second stage is attendance; stress the importance of going to class, no matter what, and taking meaningful notes.

Directly after class, the student should review main concepts learned that day and review by reading over notes and answering questions.

The fourth step is engaging in short study increments where you implement metacognition techniques.

Periodically, the student should pause and make sure that they fully understand the material you have studied. A student may try assessing their stage in Bloom’s taxonomy; are they simply in the memorizing stage, or higher in the evaluating stage?

In college, the level of material retention necessary to succeed in a class is higher than in high school. Students should be aware of the Bloom’s stage they need to be at to succeed; typically, they should be at the analysis or synthesis stage.

Next is a model of the study cycle when applied to reading.

The student should be able to identify the questions they are trying to answer by reading the text; encourage broad skim reading first to understand the topics that will be covered in the reading.

When reading the actual text itself, students should not go straight from beginning to end, instead they should read in chunks to fully digest the information in a feasible manner.

The student needs to be attending class and taking physical, hand-written notes, engaging completely with the material while in class.

Homework should be done first without notes or a guide, and used as an assessment to see how well the student understands the material covered in readings or class.

Group work is a fantastic way to implement Bloom’s taxonomy learning, as the students will need to master the material to be able to teach it to each other, fill in learning gaps, and produce a final project or assignment.

In summary, using metacognitive strategies is deeply beneficial in helping students understand how they individually learn best, and how to format their study and class practices to master material. 

It is also incredibly important for teachers, to be able to format their teaching styles to facilitate the most effective student learning.

Thank you for your interest and attention!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Information Services at [email protected] or (310) 506-7425.