Abstract
This chapter serves as an introduction to the volume. It situates universal design for learning (UDL) historically as a framework and examines how it has come to be explored and embraced by higher education. The chapter first reviews the literature on implementation and use of UDL in post-secondary education, and does so in a way that will avoid all other authors in the volume having to revisit the same basic sources. The second section of the chapter uses the phenomenological data amassed by the author in terms of lived experience as a UDL consultant interacting with various post-secondary institutions—both domestically and internationally—to identify key areas that are likely to become crucial in the coming years. Explicit connections are made to chapters that appear further in the volume and develop some of the themes raised in this introductory chapter. The third and final section of chapter examines the global landscape and discusses differences that may exist in relation to UDL implementation between Global North and Global South.
TopLiterature Overview
This initial section of the chapter will summarize the current literature on UDL, as well as offer a brief historical overview of the emergence of the framework in HE.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Multiple Means of Action and Expression: This UDL principle supports instructors as they examine the criteria they apply with regards to the ways learners are expected to provide content. This design principle relates to class contribution and participation, the completion of assignments, teamwork, the production of artifacts and original content or messaging. This UDL principle encourages instructors to inject optimal flexibility within these expectations.
Retrofitting: Retrofitting describes an approach to accessibility and inclusion in the classroom which focuses on removing barriers encountered by students with disabilities, after the facts, through individual support measures. In Higher Education, these measures are usually called ‘accommodations. They are legally mandated, but they are still based on a medical model approach which requires disclosure by the learner and diagnostic documentation. These measures do not produce authentically inclusive learning environments, as they require access to specialized support services outside the classroom and lead to a degree of stigmatization.
Universal Design for Learning: Is a framework for the management of accessibility and inclusion which focuses on inclusive design rather than retrofitting or accommodations. It shifts the burden away from the individual who no longer needs to disclose a diagnosis or seek accommodations; instead, it presumes that learner diversity is ever present and that it must be addressed through inclusive design, at the blue print stage, when creating delivery or assessment, or selecting resources.
Multiple Means of Engagement: This is one of the three UDL principles which guide instructors towards inclusive design of instruction and assessment. This principle allows faculty to query the way they interpret ‘learner engagement’ as a construct, and helps them detect ways they are being teacher-centric when they formulate their expectations. It encourages them to inject as much flexibility as possible in their conceptualization of learner engagement and its manifestation in class.
Multiple Means of Representation: This is one of the three UDL principles. It encourages faculty to examine the way they offer material, resources, and content to learners, and to inject maximum flexibility from a design lens in the ways they present information to the student, in order to address the needs of all diverse learners.