4. Principle 3 - Multiple Means of Action & Expression
Have you ever wondered
"How do learners navigate a learning environment?" or "How do learners express what they know?"?
Focusing on the “how” of learning, this strategic network of the brain recognizes that there is no single means of action or expression that is optimal for all learners. For example, individuals with movement impairment may struggle with a certain learning activity, such as turning pages in textbooks. Other learners may struggle with expressing themselves in speech and/or in writing. Therefore, it is important to provide learners with different options for action and expression.
The Action & Expression principle is comprised of the following guidelines, and this section of the module walks you through them one by one.
4.1. Provide Options for Physical Action ⇩| 4.2. Provide Options for Expression & Communication ⇩| 4.3. Provide Options for Executive Functions ⇩ | 4.4 UDL in Your Context ⇩
4.1. Provide Options for Physical Action
When designing our course materials, it is important to provide materials with which all types of learners can interact. For example, educational technologies may raise barriers to learners with movement impairments because their navigation options (e.g., keyboard, touchscreen, touchpads) can be limited. As you take this online module, you may have no problem with navigating the content by scrolling down the screen, but it’s not always the case for those who have moving impairments. To increase accessibility, we need to optimize our learners’ access to tools, and teach them how to use them effectively. In addition, we should try to make the use of assistive technologies, if required, as seamless as possible for our learners.
Depending on time, resources, and support available to you, you may not always be able to follow all these guidelines and accommodate all learners; however, it is important to design and plan your lessons and classrooms by keeping these learners and guidelines in mind. In addition, remember that making one change to address a particular accessibility barrier can benefit other students, who do not have the same accessibility challenge, as well.
Watch this 3.5-minute video on how to make open education resources accessible and why it’s important.
Title: Open Dialogues: Open education and accessibility
Duration: 3:29 min.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/KcvYG-rkO-Y
Checkpoints for Physical Action | Examples for your classroom |
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Vary the methods for response and navigation Links to an external site. |
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Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies Links to an external site. |
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4.1.1. Self-Reflection Activity
Think about a class you teach and reflect on the following questions:
- Think about one of your course activities, what choices might you offer students regarding accessing course materials to make your classroom more accessible and inclusive?
- How do you provide opportunities for participation and feedback for your learners with movement and vision impairment?
4.2. Provide Options for Expression & Communication
Learners express their knowledge differently; some are comfortable with writing, some prefer to speak, and others may like to draw. The medium (e.g., writing, speaking, drawing) is the vehicle for self-expression and there is no medium of expression that can be equally suited for all learners. In order to give all learners opportunities to show their knowledge, we need to provide them with alternative modalities to express themselves and share their learning. This way, learners have a fair chance to demonstrate their learning.
Figure 4.1: Provide options for learners to demonstrate their skills
Checkpoints for Expression and Communication | Examples for your classroom |
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Use multiple media for communication Links to an external site. |
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Use multiple tools for construction and composition Links to an external site. |
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Build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance Links to an external site. |
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Student Voices
Dr. Laila Ferreira (Faculty of Arts, UBC) implemented the UDL checkpoint “build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance” in designing assignments for her third-year writing course. Below are some of her students’ comments regarding this approach:
Student Y: “The staggering of the assignments helped me to stay on track and allowed me to spend more time thinking about the project as a whole."
Student Z: “The step-by-step nature of the scaffolding of assignments made it easier for me to integrate myself into the way of thinking in this class."
4.2.1. Activity: Providing Options for Expression & Communication in Different Disciplines
After exploring some examples of providing options for expression and communication and the examples provided in these courses, describe one change that you would make in a course you teach.
4. 3. Provide Options for Executive Functions
Executive functioning is a term psychologists use to describe the many tasks our brain performs that help individuals learn new information, remember and retrieve information, and use information to solve problems of everyday life. For example, executive functions allow you to organize an event, complete a research project, meet a deadline and get dressed in the morning. The capacity of executive functions is limited. Therefore, to perform any tasks well, we need to reduce distractions and free up the space in our executive functions so that we can focus and prioritize. To help our learners develop their executive function skills over time, we need to give them options and prompts to generate ideas and organize tasks, support the development of their working memory by using checklists, course schedules, and reminders, and provide them with different options for monitoring their progress.
Checkpoints for Executive Functions | Examples for your classroom |
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Guide appropriate goal setting Links to an external site. |
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Support planning and strategy development Links to an external site. |
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Facilitate managing information and resources Links to an external site. |
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Enhance capacity for monitoring progress Links to an external site. |
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4.3.1. Activity: Online Learning and Executive Functioning (Case Study)
Kelly is a chemistry major student with ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder that makes it difficult for her to concentrate. Some of the skills that Kelly may struggle with include: working memory, flexible thinking, managing emotions, self-regulation and organization and planning. She uses a text-to-speech technology on her laptop and finds that reading and listening to text at the same time really help her learning. She often meets with her instructors to clarify concepts and receive feedback on her understanding of the material covered in her face-to-face classrooms. This term, Kelly has taken two online courses and is facing new challenges. Similar to other online learners, she is overwhelmed and anxious about participating in an online course for the first time. She needs to develop goals, prioritize, plan and achieve those goals with autonomy. Executive functioning can be challenging for many students in an online environment, but it is particularly the case for students with disabilities (e.g. time management). Kelly’s marks are lower in her online courses than in the face-to-face courses she took, and she feels overwhelmed. The content doesn’t seem to be much more difficult than her face-to-face courses; however, a significant difference in Kelly’s performance and attitude is obvious. Some of the challenges Kelly may be facing are:
- She might fall behind in the class assignments and activities
- She might have problems navigating the course
- She may not get the same immediate feedback from her instructor as she was getting in her face-to-face classes
- She might have problems monitoring her progress
Identify 2-3 ways in which you can support a learner like Kelly in an online environment.
4.4. UDL in Your Context
Think about one assessment in your course. Download the worksheet and fill out the form.
Universal Design for Learning Worksheet - Assessment (Word) Download Universal Design for Learning Worksheet - Assessment (Word) (PDF) Download (PDF)
Below are worksheets completed by instructors in different disciplines for your reference:
Example 1 – CPSC 103: Introduction to Systemic Program Design (Megan Allen, Department of Computer Science, UBC) (PDF) Download Example 1 – CPSC 103: Introduction to Systemic Program Design (Megan Allen, Department of Computer Science, UBC) (PDF)
Example 2 - LAW 503E: Tort Law (Robert Russo, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC) (PDF) Download Example 2 - LAW 503E: Tort Law (Robert Russo, Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC) (PDF)
Example 3 - DHYG 461: Literature Review (Penny Hatzimanolakis, Faculty of Dentistry) (PDF) Download Example 3 - DHYG 461: Literature Review (Penny Hatzimanolakis, Faculty of Dentistry) (PDF)
Example 4 - WRDS 150: Writing and Research in the Disciplines (Dr. Laila Ferreira, Faculty of Arts, UBC) (PDF) Download Example 4 - WRDS 150: Writing and Research in the Disciplines (Dr. Laila Ferreira, Faculty of Arts, UBC) (PDF)
Resource:
Top 10 UDL Tips for Assessment: http://castprofessionallearning.org/project/top-10-udl-tips-for-assessment/ Links to an external site.
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