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![Initial brainstorm around sustainability
• UDL is usually presented to faculty
and staff from the perspective of
pedagogical improvement. It is
rarely presented from the
sustainability angle.
• How do you define sustainability?
• What are your initial reactions to
seeing UDL examined from the
perspective of sustainable
development?
• We will ask you to discuss this in
groups [Group reflection, 3
minutes]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/framinguniversalfordesignforlearninggrowthwithintheemergingsustainabilitydiscourseineducation-240919205106-13887ddd/75/Framing-Universal-for-Design-for-Learning-growth-within-the-emerging-sustainability-discourse-in-education-pptx-10-2048.jpg)
![The micro-level: implications of framing
UDL as ‘sustainable teaching practices’
• Addresses instructor burn out and growing feelings of exhaustion [shifts from a discourse that has thus far
focused solely on benefits for learners]
- Less intrusive questions
- Less tension with students
- More job satisfaction
- Impact on instructor’s course evaluation, T&P, feeling of increased efficiency.
• Contributes explicitly to the transformative nature of the student-teacher relationship
- Less opportunities for tension and conflict
- More opportunities for co-creation
• Offers a motivation that is intrinsic rather than extrinsic
- UDL is now appealing for faculty as a building block to career resilience
- Allows for more seamless meaning making within the complex path of career advancement
• Frames UDL not as something new but as a key part of sustainable development of one’s T&L
- Avoids ‘novelty exhaustion’
- Invite in even faculty who are not focused on T&L scholarship
- Offers a tangible asset within tertiary strategic planning
- Opens interdisciplinary reflection around management of change](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/framinguniversalfordesignforlearninggrowthwithintheemergingsustainabilitydiscourseineducation-240919205106-13887ddd/75/Framing-Universal-for-Design-for-Learning-growth-within-the-emerging-sustainability-discourse-in-education-pptx-13-2048.jpg)
Uploaded byFrederic Fovet
Framing Universal for Design for Learning growth within the emerging sustainability discourse in education.pptx
The document discusses the integration of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) within the framework of sustainability in higher education, emphasizing the need for a mindset shift towards accessibility practices. It outlines the objectives of a session on this topic, including exploring UDL as a sustainable teaching practice and the implications for organizational change. The research, supported by a TRU faculty sustainability grant, consists of qualitative inquiries, focusing on how UDL can enhance sustainability and social justice in tertiary institutions.
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Framing Universal for Design for Learning growth within the emerging sustainability discourse in education.pptx
- 1. Framing Universal forDesign for Learning growth within the emerging sustainability discourse in education Dr. Frederic Fovet School of Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work Thompson Rivers University, BC, Canada Maynooth University UDL Symposium August 22nd , 2024
- 2. Land Acknowledgement • ThompsonRivers University campuses are on the traditional lands of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’exelc (Williams Lake campus) within Secwépemc'ulucw, the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc. The region TRU serves also extends into the territories of the St’át’imc, Nlaka’pamux, Tŝilhqot'in, Nuxalk, and Dakelh
- 3. Personal introduction • Fredericis an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Thompson Rivers University in BC, Canada • The focus of his research is inclusion, UDL, accessibility, and social justice in teaching and learning • He is a UDL and inclusion consultant – both domestically and internationally supporting tertiary organizations and K-12 schools and school boards. • https://kamino.tru.ca/experts/home/ main/bio.php?id=Ffovet
- 4. Reflecting on UDLin our session processes and format • In order to offer participants multiple means of engagement/ action and expression: • We will use some interactive activities through the session, time permitting • I will share my slidedeck (including the Menti slides) tonight on X/ LinkedIn/ Bluesky through SlideShare • If you have any further questions about the paper, you can also contact me on [email protected] or via social media (@Ffovet on X) (asynchronous)
- 5. Objectives of thesession •(1) consider the opportunities of using sustainability as a lens in UDL development •(2) consider the strategic implications of connecting UDL growth to the sustainability agenda •(3) examine the mindset change required to grow sustainability perspectives on UDL
- 6. Context –identifying theissue • UDL has grown in momentum in the last decade (K-12 and post-secondary) (Fovet, 2020) • UDL represent an innovative ‘whole class approach’ to the inclusion of diverse learners that shifts away from deficit model approaches (retrofitting and accommodations) to embrace systematic and proactive inclusive design (Kirsch et al., 2024) • Growing volume of individual initiatives and communities of practice across the post-secondary landscape (Galvin & Geron, 2021). • Most of these field experiences focus on the pedagogy but not on UDL implementation as a process of organization change. This is an emerging priority within this scholarship (Fovet, 2020; Fovet, 2021)
- 7. Context –identifying theissue (contd.) • Within this strategic, organizational dimension, a key concern is the longitudinal shift in mindset and in accessibility practices. • To be accepted, embraced, and convincing, UDL as a mindset shift in tertiary organizations needs to be ‘worthwhile’: lead to gains and reduce organizational ‘costs’ – connects to the notion of ‘sustainable change’ • Yet this sustainability perspective has been missing to date in the scholarship and in the field
- 8. Context of thestudy that serves as a basis for this workshop • Exploring the impact of Universal Design for Learning integration, among faculty and staff, on the sustainability of accessibility provisions across campus • Supported by a TRU Faculty Sustainability Grant • Qualitative enquiry, action-research in flavour, theoretically grounded in the social model of disability/ ecological theory • Research team made up of the PI and two Research Assistants • The project explored how to best connect UDL implementation with sustainable development. It explored what the UDL/ sustainability overlap means for different campus stakeholders. Examined how to shift mindsets to optimize a dialogue between UDL advocates and sustainability experts
- 9. The methodological processof the project that is woven through this workshop • There have been 14 semi-directive interviews with faculty and staff • Good spread of stakeholders within the campus • A focus group was also integrated into the research design to provide alternate avenues for data collection • Context where operational sustainability is seen as a priority but reflection around social dimensions of sustainable development have not been so far • A dimension of risk: The campus in question has a high STARS rating and there is some fear that social sustainability might be less easy to quantity
- 10. Initial brainstorm aroundsustainability • UDL is usually presented to faculty and staff from the perspective of pedagogical improvement. It is rarely presented from the sustainability angle. • How do you define sustainability? • What are your initial reactions to seeing UDL examined from the perspective of sustainable development? • We will ask you to discuss this in groups [Group reflection, 3 minutes]
- 11. Debrief from groupactivity: Defining sustainable development • The ability to do the same or more in the future with less expenditure of resources. • Importance of widening the definition of sustainability beyond energy, emissions. and operations management. • Social justice and governance are increasingly focused on within sustainability. Accessibility should also be explicitly included in this reflection.
- 12. Four different dimensions •What is required to make UDL growth and implementation sustainable. • This is a growing important scholarship, but this is not what this study focused on. • The aim here was to frame UDL itself within the terminology/ concepts of sustainable development. • Three further dimensions emerged from the inductive coding: • Framing UDL as the adoption of sustainable teaching practices (micro-level/ student-teacher dimension) • Framing UDL in terms of resources preservation/ efficiency at departmental/ unit level (particularly as it relates to lightening the load on support services) • Framing UDL within sustainable development at campus/ institution level
- 13. The micro-level: implicationsof framing UDL as ‘sustainable teaching practices’ • Addresses instructor burn out and growing feelings of exhaustion [shifts from a discourse that has thus far focused solely on benefits for learners] - Less intrusive questions - Less tension with students - More job satisfaction - Impact on instructor’s course evaluation, T&P, feeling of increased efficiency. • Contributes explicitly to the transformative nature of the student-teacher relationship - Less opportunities for tension and conflict - More opportunities for co-creation • Offers a motivation that is intrinsic rather than extrinsic - UDL is now appealing for faculty as a building block to career resilience - Allows for more seamless meaning making within the complex path of career advancement • Frames UDL not as something new but as a key part of sustainable development of one’s T&L - Avoids ‘novelty exhaustion’ - Invite in even faculty who are not focused on T&L scholarship - Offers a tangible asset within tertiary strategic planning - Opens interdisciplinary reflection around management of change
- 14. The mid-level appeal:Sustainable use of resources • A ‘sustainability’ framing of UDL implementation from a resource management perspective: • Instruction and assessment is designed with various teaching philosophies/ traditions in mind for effectiveness and an optimal achievement of learning outcomes. • The design is teacher-centric and does not necessarily address the needs of diverse learners. Conventional designs of instructions are being perpetuated out of habit. • A barrier analysis is carried out by the instructor • Using one of the UDL principles (representation, action and expression, or engagement) the instructor redesigns by injecting flexibility and choice, to eliminate the barriers identified • This reduces the need for the learner to rely on disclosure, diagnostic information or documentation, or on support from out of class services such as accessibility department • UDL integration therefore theoretically should reduce the strain on campus services and the need for retrofitting for individual students
- 15. Sustainable use ofresources Instructors identify barriers UDL redesign removes barriers T&L strategies are integrated and perpetuated Students no longer require ancillary accessibility or support services Reduction in volume of retrofitting and of expenditure of ‘consumable’ resources
- 16. Caveat: UDL andsustainability at department/ unit/ faculty level (contd.) • Sustainable development automatically means systemic development across an institution. This was very prominent in study’s outcomes. • Do you feel we are able to overcome the siloing of departments and faculty when it comes to UDL implementation? • What are some of the ways forward?
- 17. Caveat 2:UDL andsustainabilityat department/ unit/ facultylevel- UDL ownership and issues around sustainable development • Sustainable development requires that there be a driver for change. • It is not always easy to see on campuses who has ownership over UDL: T&L, accessibility, faculties, senior management, EDI officers? This was also very prominent in study’s outcomes. • Do you feel this challenge is significant? • What is a way forward to overcoming it?
- 18. The macro scale:UDL and sustainability at campus level • Sustainability at campus level has typically been about energy and resources. Participants in the study stressed the current hurdles in engaging in this discussion at institutional level. • Is there hope to widen the sustainability discourse at campus level to include social justice, inclusion, and accessibility? • Similarly, can we hope to see accessibility and inclusion folks adopt sustainability terminology?
- 20. Creating global awarenessaround the synchronicity between UDL growth and the UN Sustainability Goals • There may already exist a road map to blend UDL development with sustainability scholarship, when one approaches UDL growth using the UN Sustainability Goals. • Many higher education institutions have a commitment to these goals, funding available, and this could allow for momentum around and interdisciplinary commitment to UDL. • As was the case for this study, it may well be that you are able to frame UDL research/ implementation within Sustainability research grants • This has considerable repercussions as the post-secondary field suffers from ‘change exhaustion’. Faculty and staff are reticent to engage with new initiatives. This definitely affects UDL buy-in. Being able to frame UDL, not as something new, but as a continuation of sustainability efforts would create less push-back from faculty and staff. • It embeds UDL development and implementation within a wider framework which is seen as (i) durable, (ii) cost-effective, (iii) campus-wide, and (iv) pertinent within a broad socio- economic and historic landscape.
- 21. What is missingfrom this discussion on UDL and sustainability?
- 22. Questions • We willhave a few minutes for interactive questions (live) • I will share my slidedeck tonight on X/ LinkedIn/ Bluesky through SlideShare • If you have any further questions about the paper, you can also contact me on [email protected] or via social media (@Ffovet on X) (asynchronous)
- 23. Contact details • FredericFovet (PhD.) • Assistant Professor, School of Education, Thompson Rivers University • [email protected] • UDL and Inclusion Consultant • @Ffovet • www.implementudl.com
- 24. Resources •Baumann, T. &Melle, I. (2019). Evaluation of a digital UDL-based learning environment in inclusive chemistry education. Chemistry Teacher International, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2018-0026 •Burgstahler, S. E. (2015). Universal design in higher education. In S. E. Burgstahler (Ed.), Universal design in higher education (2nd ed., pp.3-28). Harvard Education Press. https://www.washington.edu/doit/resources/books/universal-design-higher-education-promising-practices •Dalton, E. M., Lyner-Cleophas, M., Ferguson, B. T., & McKenzie, J. (2019). Inclusion, universal design and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States. African Journal of Disability, 8, 519. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v8i0.519 •Darrow, A.-A. (2015). Differentiated Instruction for Students With Disabilities: Using DI in the Music Classroom. General Music Today, 28(2), 29–32 •Fovet, F. (2018) Exploring the Student Voice within Universal Design for Learning Work. The AHEAD Journal, 8. https://www.ahead.ie/journal/Exploring-the-Student-Voice-within-Universal-Design-for-learning-Work •Fovet, F. (2014) Social model as catalyst for innovation in design and pedagogical change. Widening Participation through Curriculum Open University 2014 Conference Proceedings, 135-139
- 25. Resources (contd.) •Krebs, E.(2019) Baccalaureates or burdens? Complicating ‘reasonable accommodations’ for American college students with disabilities. Disability studies Quarterly, 39(3). https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/6557/5413 •Kumar, K.L., & Wideman, M. (2014) Accessible by Design: Applying UDL Principles in a First Year Undergraduate Course. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44(1), 125-147. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1028772 •Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. (2022) Conceptualisations of curriculum co-creation: ‘it’s not them and us, it’s just us’. Curriculum Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-022-00180-w •Masika, R., & Jones, J. (2016). Building student belonging and engagement: Insights into higher education students’ experiences of participating and learning together. Teaching in Higher Education, 21(2), 138–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2015.1122585 •Mole, H. (2013). A US model for inclusion of disabled students in higher education settings: The social model of disability and Universal Design. Widening participation and lifelong learning, 14, 62- 86.
- 26. Resources (contd.) •Schreffler, J.,Vasquez III, E., Chini, J., & Westley. J. (2019). Universal Design for Learning in postsecondary STEM education for students with disabilities: A systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 6(8). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-019-0161-8 •Singleton, K., Evmenova, A., Jerom, M., & Clark, K. (2019) Integrating UDL Strategies into the Online Course Development Process: Instructional Designers' Perspectives. Online Learning, 1(23). http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1407 •Valle-Flórez, R.-E., de Caso Fuertes, A. M., Baelo, R., & García-Martín, S. (2021). Faculty of Education Professors’ Perception about the Inclusion of University Students with Disabilities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(21). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111667