Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design

International Perspectives on UDL

Susie L. Gronseth, Elizabeth M. Dalton

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429788215
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: Economics

Universal Access Through Inclusive Instructional Design explores the ways that educators around the world reduce barriers for students with disabilities and other challenges by planning and implementing accessible, equitable, high-quality curricula. Incorporating key frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning, these dynamic contributions highlight essential supports for flexibility in student engagement, representation of content, and learner action and expression. This comprehensive resource—rich with coverage of foundations, policies, technology applications, accessibility challenges, case studies, and more—leads the way to design and delivery of instruction that meets the needs of learners in varying contexts, from early childhood through adulthood.

Section 1

Foundations of Universal Design for Learning, Accessibility, and Curricular Quality

1
UDL and Connected Laws, Theories, and Frameworks

Elizabeth M. Dalton

Background

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) first appeared in professional educational practice in the mid-1990s. It is a curriculum design framework that has its foundation in both neuroscience research and in the earlier work of universal design (UD). The principles of UD were developed in 1988 by Ron Mace and colleagues at North Carolina State University (Center for Universal Design, 2008). UD is a set of architectural guidelines for developing physical environments that are maximally accessible for all users, including those with physical limitations or disabilities. Being aware of the principles of UD through their early assistive technology work, the staff of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) applied UD in their work with individuals who had varying types and degrees of disability to support their access to learning through various means, including technology (CAST, 2018a). In the early 1990s, CAST began to consider how UD might be effectively applied beyond just physical environments to educational environments as well. They looked to the research in neuroscience for insight as to how the brain learned. Through this research, CAST developed the core principles of Universal Design for Learning (Rose, Meyer, Strangman, & Rappolt, 2002).

According to UDL, the standard learner does not exist. Rather, it is learner variation that is standard, and the UDL framework offers principles and guidelines to design instruction that addresses this wide range of learners. The three core principles of UDL are Multiple Means of Engagement, Multiple Means of Representation, and Multiple Means of Action and Expression. Each principle is further explained through specific guidelines and checkpoints that assist the user in applying the principles to any learning environment and using them to assist all learners in becoming purposeful, knowledgeable, strategic, and effective learners (CAST, 2018b).

Rationale

The author participated as a post-doctoral fellow in UDL in 2010 with CAST and Boston College. Through this experience and previous UDL-related projects at Rhode Island College in Providence, RI, the author developed a deep understanding of how the UDL framework can be applied in K-12 and adult learning settings, including both adult education and higher education venues. Her work in UDL as a consultant and instructor has influenced teacher candidates and education professionals in the US and many other countries. The author views UDL as an umbrella concept that helps educators to implement many other inclusive instructional design theories, frameworks, and laws relating to equity of access to education through the elegant simplicity of its three core principles. In the sections to follow, the author will explain many of these laws, theories, and frameworks, and how each may apply to the educator’s practice. Finally, the author will discuss how UDL can provide support to educators to expand their instruction in order to achieve equity of access to learning for students with widely varied needs and/or disabilities.

Main Concepts

Key US Laws Regarding Inclusion

In 1973, the US Rehabilitation Act, and more specifically Section 504 of this act, was the first legislation of its kind to ensure the civil rights of persons with disabilities by prohibiting discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance, including public school programs at grades K-12 and higher education levels (Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, 2018). This law laid the groundwork for further disability rights laws that would impact US public education systems and broader community access. In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, also known as Public Law 94–142, was passed by the US Congress to guarantee free and appropriate public education for all children with disabilities, assure that the rights of children with disabilities and their parents/guardians are protected, assist states in providing such education, and assess and ensure the effectiveness of these efforts (US Department of Education, 2010). This legislation remains in force today as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); it has been reauthorized several times and expanded in its scope and clarification of rights and services for children with disabilities (IDEA, 2018). IDEA currently works in coordination with a new, comprehensive law for US public education known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed by the US congress in 2015. ESSA supports students with disabilities and their teachers by disaggregating data on student progress to ensure appropriate accommodations, increases local school and team control of individualized programs, supports early intervention programs, requires appropriate assessment accommodations for all students, and articulates parent/guardian rights to opt-out of statewide assessments for their children (Alverez, 2016). Finally, Section 504, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, laid groundwork for development and passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA is comprehensive civil rights legislation that “guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life—to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services” (US Department of Justice, 2018). Each of these laws has played a vital role in framing the development of inclusive systems of education and community access for both adults and children with disabilities in the US.

Key Laws Regarding Inclusion Around the World

It was quite a number of years after the passage of initial US laws protecting individuals with disabilities from discrimination that world organizations began to discuss and frame guidelines for equity of access to education for persons with disabilities. The first official statement came from the United Nations (UN) through its office concerned with education, science, and culture—UNESCO. UNESCO was established to build peace through international cooperation in the three designated areas (UNESCO, 2018). In 1990, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) spearheaded development of the World Declaration on Education for All. It states: “Every person—child, youth and adult—shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs,” and it was adopted by the World Conference on Education for All in March, 1990 in Jomtien, Thailand (OHCHR, 2018). Following this, at the World Conference on Special Education Needs organized by the Government of Spain in cooperation with UNESCO, 92 governments and 25 international organizations gathered in Salamanca, developing and adopting the Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education and a Framework for Action (UNESCO, 1994). This statement affirms the fundamental right of every child to education, the uniqueness of every child’s abilities and needs, the importance of designing education systems to address diversity, and the recognition that children with special educational needs must have access to regular schools, preferably those with inclusive orientations that combat discriminatory attitudes. The Salamanca Statement serves as a major guiding document for inclusive education initiatives around the world. The world push toward inclusive education was further supported by the Dakar Framework for Action, which outlines six global goals for achieving education for all (UNESCO, 2000):

• Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education
• Goal 2: Provide free and compulsory primary education for all
• Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults
• Goal 4: Increase adult literacy by 50%, by 2015
• Goal 5: Achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015
• Goal 6: Improve the quality of education

As a step toward addressing the implementation of inclusive education around the world, UNESCO developed specific policy guidelines to “serve as a resource for policymakers, teachers and learners, community leaders and members of civil society in their efforts to promote more effective strategies for reaching [Education for All] goals” (UNESCO, 2009, p. 4).

Clearly, a strong legal foundation has been laid in the United States and internationally that supports equal and inclusive education for all children. The challenge remains as to how to bring these desired goals into reality.

Theories

To understand the implementation possibilities of these laws, educators must consider how their own views on learning and the proven theories support learning strategies and frameworks. Next, four key learning theories will be introduced in order to ground such an understanding.

Multisensory Instruction

The first learning theory is that of psychologist Grace Fernald, Multisensory Instruction (Fernald, 1943). The “Fernald method” has guided generations of special educators. Developed as a multisensory whole-word approach (Fernald & Keller, 1921) to teach reading to those with severe learning disabilities initially, it was soon found to have relevance far beyond just the teaching of reading. Often referred to as “VAKT,” the acronym stands for Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic-Tactile, which describes each of the modalities that teachers need to consider applying in their instructional methods and materials to support the learner’s primary mode of taking in information and to build other weaker modalities by linking stronger learning paths with weaker learning paths. For example, if the student shows greater strength in learning through their visual modality, new content would include information that has many visual pictures and supports, so that the concepts can be best acquired. At the same time, these visual materials would be linked with other audio, kinesthetic, and/or tactile materials for the same content, to try to strengthen these weaker paths through the connection with the stronger visual learning methods and materials—hence, the Fernald method of multisensory instruction (Cooke, 1997).

Multiple Intelligences

Moving beyond VAKT, Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner wrote a seminal book, Frames of Mind, which first introduced and then expanded his theory of human multiple intelligences. Gardner explains that the multiple intelligences, or competencies, that people have relate to their own unique set of aptitudes and, therefore, how they might prefer to learn and demonstrate their knowledge. Gardner’s original core set of seven intelligences was initially published in Frames of Mind (1983), with two more intelligences added in his book, Intelligence Reframed (1999). The nine multiple intelligences are as follows:

1. Verbal-linguistic intelligence (well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words)
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence (ability to think conceptually and abstractly, and capacity to discern logical and numerical patterns)
3. Spatial-visual intelligence (capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly)
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully)
5. Musical intelligence (ability to produce and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timbre)
6. Interpersonal intelligence (capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations, and desires of others)
7. Intrapersonal (capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes)
8. Naturalist intelligence (ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals, and other objects in nature)
9. Existential intelligence (sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence such as: What is the meaning of life? Why do we die? How did we get here?)

According to Gardner, each person has each of these nine intelligences within themselves, but the mixture of intelligences—more of one and less of another—is unique for each person. Therefore, it is Gardner’s concept that instruction and learning environments should afford opportunities for each person to maximize their own learning by being able to choose to pursue learning through their preferred intelligences. This concept fits well with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). An example of this is Gardner’s intrapersonal intelligence, which connects directly with the UDL guideline of self-regulation within the principle of multiple means of engagement. Self-regulation develops as the individual is more aware of his/her own motivations, beliefs, and coping skills, and can reflect upon these through the process of self-assessment (CAST, 2018b).

Taxonomy of Learning

When considering theories that provide real ideas as to how to support effective learning for a widely varied body of students, the work of Benjamin Bloom and colleagues is certainly on the “A” list (Bloom, 1956). Their taxonomy of educational objectives for use in the classification of educational goals, commonly referred to as “Bloom’s Taxonomy,” has been part of foundational courses in psychology and education for decades (Seaman, 2011). The original taxonomy consisted of six categories for learning objectives—knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation; and it identified three domains for educational activities to support learning in these categories—cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Figure 1.1 depicts a recent iteration of the taxonomy from Vanderbilt University Center of Teaching. Educators continue to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to ensure that their lessons cover the many levels and domains of learning needed for balanced instruction.

Conditions of Learning

The fourth theory addressed here was developed and published by Robert Gagne in 1965 in his book, Conditions of Learning. He states that there are two primary conditions of learning—internal (involving attention, motivation, and recall) and external (involving factors relating to behavior, such as arrangement and timing of events). Gagne also identifies four phases of the learning process: I. Receiving the stimulus situation, II. Stage of acquisition, III. Storage, and IV. Retrieval (Gagne, 1985). Gagne espouses that these phases need to be present for any learning event to occur. In addition, Gagne outlines five main categories of human capabilities that must be considered when developing learning outcomes or objectives—verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and motor skills (ibid). Gagne’s theory extends to describe a sequence of nine instructional events, connected with human learning processes, that need to be addressed in the design of instruction. These events include: 1. Gaining attention, 2. Informing learner of the objective(s), 3. Stimulating recall of prerequisite learning, 4. Presenting the stimulus material, 5. Providing learning guidance, 6. Eliciting the performance, 7. Providing feedback about ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Section 1 Foundations of Universal Design for Learning, Accessibility, and Curricular Quality
• Section 2 Policies and Structures for Reducing Learning Barriers
• Section 3 Inclusive Classroom Design and Instructional Strategies
• Section 4 Technology Innovations for Inclusive Learning
• Section 5 Issues in the Design of Accessible Instructional Materials
• Section 6 Current Research and Evaluation in Inclusive Learning Around the World
• Section 7 Inclusive Instructional Design Cases
• Section 8 Future Directions
• List of Contributors
• Index