Author: Elliot Lassitter – Coordinator, Learning Systems Support, Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that provides all students with equal opportunities to learn and succeed. UDL focuses on serving the diverse needs of learners through three central principles. UDL emphasizes empowering students through accessible and flexible methods, creating the “expert learner.” Expert learners are knowledgeable of their preferred learning styles, motivated to improve their performance, and strategic in how they approach learning. The three principles of UDL provide multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning), multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning), and multiple means of action and expression (the “how” of learning). UDL is rooted in accessibility and inclusivity, ensuring that all learners, including those with disabilities, English language learners, and those with different learning styles, can access and participate in the educational content. By implementing UDL strategies, educators aim to reduce barriers to learning, promote equity, and enhance the overall educational experience for all students.
Principles of UDL
Provide Multiple Means of Engagement
The first principle of UDL focuses on keeping the learner engaged with their coursework by maintaining an appropriate level of challenge and interest. A facilitator who utilizes UDL methods is flexible, offering many assessment and teaching techniques that allow the learner to feel confident in finding their route to accessing the material (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014). For example, a professor may allow students to select written and spoken options for their final assessment. Students, including English as a second language (ESL) students who are not confident in their English-speaking abilities, could opt to write an essay to mitigate language anxiety of speaking in front of the class. Instructors should eliminate any threatening aspects of their course, encouraging diverse learners to feel capable of learning and applying the material.
Provide Multiple Means of Representation
Learners cannot engage with new information if they cannot understand the content. The method by which course concepts are delivered is essential, as no one strategy works for all learners (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014). Students, including ESL students, perceive printed worksheets, packets, and textbooks as unengaging and threatening. There are several methods of bypassing this perceived threat: the instructor may provide supplementary materials, visualize the content, record definitions of key terms, and offer alternative media formats such as videos or recordings. Recordings are beneficial as captions, and the ability to rewind can easily keep students from falling behind.
Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression
The principle of action and expression focuses on the approach used to communicate, strategize, and monitor progress. Instructors must provide feedback and track the learners’ comprehension and performance as they progress in their coursework (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014). To keep students goal-directed, instructors should provide thorough feedback, encourage planning, and maintain an accessible and intuitive Learning Management System (LMS).
UDL Implementation
Several approaches utilize UDL to create a more welcoming and accessible classroom experience for students. Instructors should familiarize themselves with different strategies for both teaching and adding to their course’s LMS. It is essential not to disregard the online course shell, as it will serve as a point of reference for students when they are not involved in course lectures.
When deciding how to include any of the given strategies below into one’s course content, one must first understand the language proficiency of their class, if possible. Harrison and Shi (2016) suggested that in small course environments (primarily seen at the graduate level), instructors should be mindful of articulation and talking speed when speaking to their courses. Assuming that every learner in one’s class can understand English when one is using slang and speaking fast may lead to an unintentional barrier to some students’ learning. This mindfulness of proficiency should also expand to one’s writing, whether in emails to students or within the course LMS.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is an approach that benefits both the instructor and the student. Boothe et al. (2018) described this technique as breaking up long sections of content into several shorter units for students to cover. For marginalized learners, scaffolding cuts down on the “threat” factor by presenting small modules for students to focus on rather than one large package of course materials. This separation of content also allows students to better communicate areas needing additional clarification. If an instructor notices low scores within a specific module or unit, they could dedicate a section of the following class to covering this area. Alternatively, one could search for supplemental materials to incorporate into this module.
Instructors could use the scaffolding approach to better remove and add new content in new iterations of their course. For example, a professor could remove a given module if it is irrelevant. Since the content is already sectioned into several mini-units, the material should still fit together and make sense to students as they progress through the course.
Alternative Assignments
Students may feel varying levels of confidence in speaking or writing in English. For example, Generation 1.5 students may be more confident in their English-speaking skills than their writing skills (Bergey et al., 2018). Due to this variability in English proficiency, the instructor should be flexible in how they offer assignments.
Providing students with assignment choices, such as a live presentation, a written paper, and a pre-recorded presentation for a single graded assignment, fosters autonomy and confidence. Students who are comfortable speaking in front of an audience may opt to present, saving them from having to write about their topic. Other students may feel comfortable speaking English but would appreciate the agency allowed by recording software. The language anxiety associated with presenting content would be reduced as students could re-record audio, edit out selected moments, or combine multiple successful takes.
Course Syllabus
A course syllabus is essential as it is often the first time students will interact with their instructor’s course. Since learners will base their expectations of the class on the syllabus, it is ideal for the instructor to be thorough and inclusive regarding what content to include in this area. Boothe et al. (2018) suggested that professors acknowledge and represent students by including a diversity statement in the syllabus. Adding a statement acknowledging ESL and international students reflects an instructor mindful of inclusivity. Additionally, students may feel less pressured to abandon aspects of their identity to meet the instructor’s standards.
Model Expectations
For assignments requiring one to follow a specific procedure, the instructor may give an example of the final product they are expecting or walk students through the required basic thought process (Lewis & Brown, 2021). For example, finding and reading an academic article is often challenging for first-year students. The instructor may set aside class time to walk students through accessing the University’s digital library, finding a database, and searching for a relevant peer-reviewed article. Once the students know how to navigate a database, the instructor could walk them through finding information within an academic article. Familiarizing students with how to complete essential processes communicates the instructor’s expectations and cuts down on the “threat” factor associated with new practices.
Progress Checks and Feedback
Some courses are formatted, so students must prepare around one large final assessment. This assessment approach not only serves as another “threatening” factor but also only gives students one chance to succeed in a course. ESL students in this format may need some form of feedback to gain confidence in their writing or speaking skills. Boothe et al. (2018) suggested breaking up large assignments into small groups of items for grading, with instructors providing timely feedback to ensure that students can improve or maintain their performance thus far.
Lewis and Brown (2021) further elaborated on providing feedback for ESL students. Formal writing is often challenging for ESL students due to cultural differences in writing styles, leading to issues in expressing one’s thoughts regardless of their knowledge of English vocabulary. Without the chance to receive constructive criticism and revise one’s work, ESL learners cannot acquaint themselves with the language in a formal context.
Culturally Responsive Materials
To engage ESL students, instructors should find means of integrating materials that are culturally relevant to each student. One could create assignment prompts focusing on identity exploration or base content around the class’s interests and needs (Bergey et al., 2018). Instructors may use the course LMS to create modules containing culturally relevant materials, opting to have students use discussion boards or blogs to communicate and practice their English writing skills. Through focusing on culture, the instructor encourages students to engage with the course content without compromising or disregarding their identity.
Future Research
While UDL has the potential to positively impact the learning experience for ESL students, there are some areas where further research is necessary. Specifically, intersecting identities pose a challenge for implementing UDL effectively. For example, an ESL student with disabilities may not be receptive to some of the abovementioned techniques. Learners with multiple identities are often left out of the research process, questioning whether the abovementioned techniques may be effective for all students.
The recent shift to relying on technology may also prove challenging for many ESL students. For fully online classes, some students may lack the competent hardware to tune into their live course sessions or watch class recordings. For hybrid courses that offer both in-person and online attendance for class sessions, many instructors may find courses with an uneven attendance preference. If most of the class chooses to attend class online, the collaboration aspect of UDL may be much more challenging to implement for the in-person group.
References
Bergey, R., Movit, M., Baird, A., & Faria, A. (2018). Serving English language learners in higher education: Unlocking the potential. American Institutes for Research. https://www.air.org
Boothe, K. A., Lohmann, M. J., Donnell, K. A., & Dean, H. D. (2018). Applying the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) in the college classroom. Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship, 7(3), 1-13. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1201588.pdf
Harrison, J. & Shi, H. (2016). English language learners in higher education: An exploratory conversation. Journal of International Students, 6(2), 415-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.32674/jis.v6i2.364
Lewis, K. D. & Brown, S. L. (2021). College ready or not? Engaging and supporting English language learners in higher education. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 4(1). 109-127. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304637.pdf
Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. CAST Professional Publishing.