Putting the ‘you’ into UDL: Why we all have a part to play
Elizabeth Hitches, Sessional academic (inclusive education), Griffith University
Welcomed, valued, safe, included and enabled to thrive. Ideally, every student who aspires to take part in higher education would experience this. But we know this isn’t the case for all students...yet.
The ways that a more inclusive higher education system can be reimagined has been a key discussion point as the Australian Universities Accord has progressed. As university cohorts continue to diversify and grow, the Accord Panel specifically exhorted that “modes of learning need to accommodate diversity and growth” to ensure a quality educational experience for all. The “university workforce will need to be bigger and better equipped to help different student cohorts learn well” (p 173).
With “significantly lower success rates” for students from under-represented groups being a “strong indicator that inequities persist” (Accord Final Report, p. 138), and while we wait for the Accord recommendations to be fully implemented, staff across the higher education sector might be wondering what action they can take right now to reduce some of the barriers students routinely experience. Creating inclusive learning environments will be an essential component.
An approach which has gained momentum internationally is Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which proactively considers how a diverse range of learners can participate and engage in learning and how barriers can be reduced. UDL offers opportunities to build flexible and accessible learning environments that enable all students to feel included, valued, respected and reflected in the learning process. However, for this good practice to be embraced at scale, we need to support staff right across the higher education sector to develop the skills, and also the confidence, to take a more universally designed approach.
To build sustained momentum and capability, we need ongoing opportunities for rich professional development in UDL for both institutions and individuals. One upcoming opportunity is the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training (ADCET) UDL Symposium being held next week. The Symposium will bring together staff across the Australian higher education sector to share examples of practice and reflect on how best to proactively respond to the changing landscape of education, from diversifying modes of learning to harnessing the potential of AI.
Keynoting at this Symposium is Dr Thomas Tobin, who assures us that UDL implementation need not be overwhelming. We can look at the learning experiences already available and start with adding one more inclusive approach, or reducing one more barrier – a “plus one approach” – with each small change building on the next and adding up. Taking this to the next level, strategies will be suggested for ways to scale up UDL actions and, importantly, to engage colleagues to join in proactively designing to reach and teach a diverse range of learners.
For those eager to start their UDL journey in time for the Symposium, free eLearning on UDL in the Australian higher education and Vocational Education & Training (VET) sector is already available.
Each of us, including you, has a part to play in making educational environments inclusive for a diversity of learners. Let’s put the ‘You’ in UDL.
Elizabeth Hitches, Sessional academic (inclusive education), Griffith University. PhD Candidate, University of Queensland. Member of the ADCET UDL Symposium Organising Committee.