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UniversalDesignforLearning:ClassroomsthatSupportInternationalandEnglishLanguageLearners

TheCenterforExcellenceinTeachingandLearningQuickNotes

DevelopedbyAmandaNicholsHess,ChristinaMoore,andJudyAbleser,CETL,OaklandUniversity.Page1of2

UniversalDesignforLearning(orUDL)isawayto“improveandoptimizeteachingandlearningforallpeoplebasedonscientificinsightsintohowhumanslearn”(CAST,2015).UDLconsidersthewhy,whatandhowofstudents’learning.

Whilepostsecondaryclassroomsarebecomingincreasinglydiverseinmanyways,internationalandEnglishlanguagelearningstudentsrepresentagrowingsub-population.Whileuniversaldesignforlearning(UDL)strategiescanlowerbarriersandincreaseaccessforalllearnersinyourclassroom,thesetacticscanspecificallyhelpthosestudentswhomayhavetosurmountculturalandlanguagebarriersinparticular.

ENGAGEMENTYoucanprovideinternationalorEnglishlanguagelearnersmultiplemeansofengagement inthefollowingways:

• Encourageopportunitiestouselearners’owncultureandexperiencesintheclassroom-- usethisculturaldiversitytocompare/contrastothercultures

• Broadentheexamplesprovidedtohighlightapplicabilityinarangeofculturesandcountries• Approachyourclassroomwithapluralisticattitudeinsteadofanethnocentricone• Haveaknowledgeof,andrespectfor,culturaldifferences;thismayincludeaskinglearnerswhattheir

traditionsandpracticesarewithoutaskingthemtorepresentfortheirculturalorethnicgroup• Providelearnerswithopportunitiestosharetheirculturalnormsorexperiences,butdon’tsinglethemout• Offerlearnersfeedbackthatfocusesonmasteringcourseoutcomesorassignmentobjectives• Providearangeofactivities(e.g.individual,paired,group)forbothin-classandout-of-classlearningtasks• Developa“buddysystem”foralllearnersinaclass-- identifyinga“go-to”peermayhelpstudentsfeelless

intimidatedaskingquestions,discussingissues,orinquiringaboutexpectations/norms

REPRESENTATIONYoucanprovideinternationalorEnglishlanguagelearnersmultiplemeansofrepresentation inthefollowingways:

• Recordclasssessions/lecturesforlearnerstoreview• Provideaccesstotranslationmaterials• Provideaccesstotext-to-speechtechnology• Offerdefinitionsforvocabulary,keydefinitions,simplifiedterms,andexamples• Usevisualsandiconswhendescribingkeyconcepts• Usevideostoillustratekeyideasorassupplementaryresourcestotext-heavycontent• Providelearnerswithscaffoldstobuildtheirthinking,suchasflowcharts,outlines,ordiagrams,• Offerreadingmaterialsonkeycourseconceptsatbeginning,intermediate,andadvancedlevels• Becarefulinusingculturally-situatedmetaphors,sarcasm,orinreferencingassumedknowledge• Offerlearnersresourcesthatmayhelpilluminateculturally-differentknowledge(i.e.,OULibraries’Using

andCitingSourcestutorialonplagiarism)• Providestudyresourcesforlearners,suchasstudyguidesoroldcoursedocuments(assessments,rubrics,

syllabi)availableelectronicallyoroncoursereserveatOULibraries• Sharestudytechniques/strategiestofostercriticalthinkingoverrotememorization

TEACHINGSTRATEGIES:Noteverystrategywillworkineveryclassroom,orforeverysubjectarea—findtheonesthatyouarecomfortablewithandthatworkforyourdisciplineandlearners.

UniversalDesignforLearning:ClassroomsthatSupportInternationalandEnglishLanguageLearners

TheCenterforExcellenceinTeachingandLearningQuickNotes

EXPRESSIONYoucanprovideinternationalorEnglishlanguagelearnersmultiplemeansofexpression inthefollowingways:

• Providelearnersvariabletimetosubmitwork• Providelearnersvariabletimeforexams• Buildinopportunitiesforfeedbackandrevision• Aimformastery-- allowlearnerstoattaincourseoutcomesinseveralsmallassignmentsthatbuildtheir

knowledgeandskills• Whenappropriate,providelearnerswithalternativestolongwrittenassignments• Unlessacourse’slearningoutcomesincludeattaininggrammaticalandspellingmastery,limitthepoints

assignedtotheseareas• Providelearnerswitharangeofassessmenttypes,notjustwriting-basedtasks

TEACHINGSTRATEGIES (continued):Noteverystrategywillworkineveryclassroom,orforeverysubjectarea—findtheonesthatyouarecomfortablewithandthatworkforyourdisciplineandlearners.

ForadditionalstrategiesonapproachingyourteachingfromaUDLperspective,visitoakland.edu/cetl/ou-teaching-initiatives/

DevelopedbyAmandaNicholsHess,ChristinaMoore,andJudyAbleser,CETL,OaklandUniversity.Page2of2