2023 November Issue

A Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Workshop to Enhance Teaching, an Introduction and Application

A Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Workshop to Enhance Teaching, an Introduction and Application

To facilitate teaching staff to implement Universal Design Learning (UDL) in their classes, the Centre for Learning Enhancement And Research (CLEAR) held a workshop on 3-November 2023. Prof. Vivian WY Lee, Associate Professor, CLEAR and Prof. Gary Lam, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, CUHK were the speakers in the workshop.

Before starting the workshop, a pre-workshop interactive survey was used to invite participants to share their experience of potential barriers when applying UDL in class and we also asked them to tell us their expectation of the workshop. Providing option of physical action for responses1, all the participants had an opportunity to voice out, which could facilitate their sense of engagement in this workshop; and we were able to collect thoughts of everyone.

A TED talk video was played as the introduction of the workshop. By using the finding-an-average-pilot example of speaker Todd Rose2, Gary started the workshop of the message “design something for average, is actually not designing for anyone”; and point out the importance of jagged learning profile. Like the deviation of pilot’s measurement, the tallest pilot may not be the heaviest, each student has their own strength and weakness. UDL takes into account students’ difference in needs and learning styles, and it provides curricula and activities that allow multiple ways for materials to be presented and for students to demonstrate the understanding3. Prof. Lam introduced and explained 3 pillars of UDL (engagement, representation, action & expression) in detail and lead the workshop to an open discussion for all participants.

Prof. Lam shared his practice of using KWL Chart and tools he uses with his classes. The KWL Chart is a chart which consists of three columns: “what I Know”, “what I Wonder” and “what I Learn”. By following the order of this chart, students could retrieve their prior knowledge to the topic and be an active and critical learner4 when they are about to build new knowledge on the existing. This chart is especially useful for students with higher interest to the topic4. By the end of Prof. Lam’s section, tools such as Padlet, Kahoot and Mentimeter were introduced for participants’ use upon their teaching needs. Padlet makes beautiful boards to collect, organize, and present anything5. Teachers can create virtual bulletin boards for different classes and for different advisees. Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that brings engagement and fun6, which provides an alternative for students to participate in class without speak in front of the class. Mentimeter is used to create presentations with real-time feedback to build an immediate connection with students and make them a part of your presentation7, which is also an option to increase students’ participation. Teachers could use the most suitable tool to facilitate their class.

Second half of the workshop is group discussion session facilitated by Prof. Lee. Different cases were assigned to each group. The diverse background of our participants added unexpected elements to the sharing and discussions. Through the workshop, some participants recognised that they are already applying UDL in their classes. The workshop end in a good atmosphere and every participant should know the importance of learning variability and the principle of UDL is different from giving accommodation, it is designed to the edges8.

We hold workshops of different topic from time to time, offering practical tips and an instant response chance. If you have any thoughts and needs, kindly “TELL us more“. In the meanwhile, micro-modules about UDL are available here. To learn more about UDL and inclusive education, please click here to visit our website. More support from us are on the way. See you in the next issue!

References
  1. Gernsbacher, M.A. (2015). Video Captions Benefit Everyone. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Science, 2(1), 195-202.
  2. Youtube (2013) the Myth of Avearage: Todd Rose at TEDxSonomaCounty. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eBmyttcfU4
  3. Bateman, D.F. and Cline, J.L. Cline. (2016). A Teacher’s Guide to Special Education. ASCD.
  4. United States Department of Education. (no date) The Effectiveness Of K-W-L Technique To Increase Students’ Reading Comprehension Achievement Through Reading Descriptive Text For Grade 8 of SMP Negeri 1 Cisarua. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304478.pdf
  5. Padlet. (No date). :Padlet. Retrieved from https://padlet.com/
  6. Kahoot. (2023). Kahoot! Retrieved from https://kahoot.com/
  7. Metimeter. (No date). Metimeter. Retrieved from https://www.mentimeter.com/
  8. Algonquin College. (no date). UDL: Beyond Accommodation. Retrieved from https://www.algonquincollege.com/lts/udl/beyond-accommodation/