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Universal Design: Making Education Accessible to All Learners (Part 1) When Dr. David Rose introduced a Web site (www.inclusivemedia.net) featuring digitized movies of the brain into his graduate-level education course on “Neuropsychology, Technology, and Disabilities,” remarkable changes began to take place in his students’ learning. “The students were getting the information almost one hundred percent faster. They were asking better questions and understanding more, sooner,” recalls Dr. Brenda Matthis, a teaching fellow for the course from 1996 to 1999. Rose had previously relied on traditional textbooks, lectures, and an overhead projector to convey the dense, hard-to-grasp information that is fundamental to understanding how the brain works and how deficits in brain function manifest as disabilities. When he introduced QuickTime movies to his curriculum, Rose's students were able to examine the brain from “live” perspectives, top-down, cross-sectioned, and in the process of unfolding, to show interior sections. These perspectives were impossible to convey through static, black-and-white textbook illustrations. At the same time, Rose began using a textbook that was available in digital format so students could access it online. By offering his course materials in several formats (printed textbooks, online textbooks, online lecture notes, QuickTime movies, and videotapes of all lectures) Rose was providing his students with multiple representations of information. This is a fundamental principle of Universal Design for Learning, an innovative approach to education pioneered by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) a non-profit organization based in Peabody, Massachusetts. “For the first time, the students had a menu of different ways to get the information” recalls Rose. “The challenge is that you have to be prepared to give them more when they're ready for it.” In fact, the entire course began shifting. For Rose, having the Web site was like having another teacher in the room, and suddenly he was scrambling to adapt his teaching style so that it would complement the other approaches he was using. “At what point do you stop lecturing and start using the Web site?” he asked himself. A lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education since 1985, David Rose is also co-director of CAST, leading research efforts on ways to use technology to expand opportunities for diverse learners, including those with disabilities. CAST has found that the principles of universal design, drawn from architecture and product development, are useful for creating effective educational tools. Architects practicing universal design build structures that accommodate the widest spectrum of users possible, including those with disabilities. In universally designed physical environments, adaptability is subtly integrated into the design. Designing for the divergent needs of “special” populations increases usability for everyone. A classic example is the ramped curb cut, which was originally designed for people in wheelchairs. Now, curb cuts also make the way easier for those who are pushing baby carriages, using canes, riding skateboards, or just walking. Universal Design for Learning UDL extends the architectural concept of universal design to create a new paradigm for teaching, learning, and developing curriculum materials. In the process, old assumptions about learning and teaching are challenged in four key ways:
Part Two: Providing multiple options for content, expressing knowledge, and engaging learners. |
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