3 Strategies for Removing Threats and Barriers
Removing threats and barriers to learning with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) involves incorporating teaching strategies and classroom activities to better meet the needs of all learners. Examples of barriers to learning may include a poorly constructed syllabus, little or no opportunity for collaborative work, learners’ lack of background knowledge in content, learners with second languages, lengthy exams, or one-shot, high-stakes, end-of-semester projects. There are some specific ways to implement UDL to remove these threats and barriers for learners and achieve the same learning outcomes. Try not to overwhelm yourself by attempting to implement all of these at once. Start small and gradually; try one or two strategies at a time. Understand this is an iterative process requiring self-reflection and evaluation: What worked, what didn’t, and why. The author and expert Thomas Tobin calls this “Plus One” Thinking in his book Reach Everyone Teach Everyone. Keeping a Plus One approach in mind, the following strategies offer examples of how to reduce or eliminate threats and barriers to learning.
1. Implement Engaging Learning Options.
Offer a variety of activities to support different interests and learning preferences.
This strategy reduces barriers to learning because it allows learners to choose content-related topics, projects, or activities that align with their strengths and course requirements. This also reduces threats and fosters a sense of community through collaborative learning opportunities. When learners share their perspectives and experiences, they gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter and become expert learners.
2. Diversify Representation in Your Presentations and Lesson Content.
Present information in multiple formats, such as text, audio, video, and graphics.
This strategy reduces barriers to learning by providing options for learners who use screen readers and other text-to-speech assistive technologies to access content. Interactive design bolsters learning, as does using different formats to present content, such as video, visuals, infographics, and gamification. Available tools like the Canvas built-in accessibility tool, built-in accessibility checkers for Office formats like Word and PowerPoint, and Adobe Acrobat’s PDF accessibility checker can help you ensure the content you author is accessible to diverse learners. SensusAccess converts inaccessible documents to a wide variety of more accessible alternate media formats, including audiobooks (MP3 and DAISY), e-books (EPUB, EPUB3, and Mobi), and digital Braille, as well as tagged PDF. EquatIO, a tool for making math content accessible, is available for free from the UIUC Webstore.
3. Address Action and Expression by Varying Testing and Assessment Methods.
Use a combination of written assignments, oral presentations, or multimedia projects.
This strategy reduces barriers to learning because scaffolded assessment methods, including formative and summative assessments, provide learners with different ways to demonstrate their learning progress and achievement. These can be high-stakes or low-stakes assessments. Variability in learners' cultural, linguistic, and disciplinary backgrounds affects their performance on different assessment types.
The strategies provided are by no means exhaustive. Tune in next month when we look at UDL strategies for fostering expert learners!