Universal Design for Learning: A Practical Guide
Section 4.1: Case Studies
Case Study #1
You are teaching a class on communication skills in law enforcement.
The course is designed so that student read five chapters from a textbook and two articles. There are ten conflict and arrest simulations that students practice and complete with a partner. Grading is based on seven reading responses and adequate understanding of conflict and arrest simulations.
Students tend to perform well on the reading responses but fare poorly on the simulations. Last semester, two students with self-disclosed anxiety disorders nearly failed the class. You feel that students are not readily prepared for strong communication in the field and you feel discouraged.
Apply Design Thinking and follow the steps below to analyse the case
| Start small and concrete | What are the problems? Is the type of reading? The number or type of simulations? The way they are related? Keep your starting points task-based (e.g., examine whether the simulations are related to the readings accurately). |
| Create clear goals | What is the goal of your design? Clearer simulations? Fewer failures? Better self-assessment? Flexible communicators? |
| Assess engagement | What do students want to know/build/develop? What are their expectation, strengths, and weaknesses? How can you support them in their opinion? How can they support each other? |
| Choose a starting point in the UDL Guidelines | How will you start the redesign? Will you start with the way information is presented and accessed? Will you start by designing for access to reading and comprehension? Or create multiple ways of demonstrating understanding of reading and relating that information to improve simulations? |
| Test and Get Feedback
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Implement one aspect of the redesign (e.g., one simulation practiced in two different ways with self- and peer-reflection on a related reading). Test it, get feedback, as implement further changes if necessary. Remember that feedback from both yourself and students is key to knowing when your UDL is doing what you want it to do! |
Case Study #2
Apply Design Thinking and follow the steps below to analyse the case
| Start small and concrete | What are the problems? |
| Create clear goals | What is the goal of your design? |
| Assess engagement | What do students want to know/build/develop? |
| Choose a starting point in the UDL Guidelines | How will you start the redesign? |
| Test and Get Feedback | Implement one aspect of the redesign. Test it, get feedback, as implement further changes if necessary. |
Resources
Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST)
