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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