Jeni Dulek from Pacific University in Hillsboro Oregon presented at the Lilly Conference online about “Minimizing Barriers to Learning with Universal Design for Learning.” This is probably the second or third session from Dulek I watch. Dulek began by thanking the students in the course that was redesigned. The session’s objectives were to describe the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines, why it is important, and how you can assess them. Dulek teaches a course entitled Practitioner as Educator that highlights what teaching and learning are all about and how to be inclusive in the process. The previous version of the course was not very engaging and not very inclusive. Dulek began by explaining that we never really know the barriers that students will experience during the courses we teach. Citing Novak and Thibodeau 2016, some barriers are academic, cultural, financial, technological, and instructional. Some barriers can be enduring while others are situational, according to Fenrich et al. 2018. Dulek explained that students can lack social connections in online courses or experience challenges with technology. More often, Dulek shared, these barriers are experienced by certain non-traditionally-aged students, students with disabilities, first-generation college students, and students from marginalized backgrounds. Dulek shared a quote:
A UDL curriculum takes on the burden of adaptation so that the student doesn’t have to, minimizing barriers and maximizing access to both information and learning.
From Hall et al. 2004 p. 7 shared by Jeni Dulek, Lilly Conference Online 2022
However, Dulek stressed that UDL is not just accommodations for students with documented disabilities or just for students with identified needs. UDL is about understanding the barriers and designing experiences that reduce challenges and maximize access. I enjoyed learning about the history and goals of UDL through the information that Dulek synthesized. UDL moves away from “the myth of the average learner.” Dulek explained that UDL evolving and grounded in neuroscience. The three columns of the UDL handout are providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression. This can be summarized by affective, recognition, and strategy. Using UDL, students develop their abilities to seek out, figure out sources, and self-reflect on improvements. Dulek provides multiple means of engagement through midterm course feedback surveys and the end of the course. Dulek then explained the purpose of mastery-oriented feedback. Dulek shared some tips about why this approach is useful Dulek shared the prompts and DELTA resources for genome extraction, for example. Dulek also explained why iteration can help prevent overwhelm and that asking students for feedback is a useful approach. Dulek has created a website for UDL in occupational therapy! This session was a bit longer and also a slower pace than the others. I thought Dulek did a great job incorporating history and references. This session also provided motivation to continue learning about UDL and do my UDL homework!
