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Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Science 10 Safety Rules Lesson Critique
Part 1: A textbased critique for a textbased lesson
By Fenella Olynick

Introduction:
As a DL teacher of online senior sciences, I find the success rate of students in Science
10 is typically below that of other courses I teach. Also, it appears that the majority of
students who experience success have a fairly good reading level. Of particular concern is
the low success rate of First Nations students, given the high Aboriginal population in
Northern BC where I teach. As a practitioner, I ask myself: What factors are contributing
to this lack of success, and are there things I could do to improve the student success
rate? To answer this question, I will evaluate the Science 10 course, or parts thereof, from
a learning design perspective. I have chosen to examine the first lesson, a Safety Rules
lesson, as I feel the beginning of the course is the most important; it sets the tone for the
rest of the course. The start of the course should be a place where students find something
of interest that grabs their attention and students should be interested enough to choose
to continue their learning journey. Therefore, I will explore the accessibility of
curriculum and content materials within this lesson, and I will use three guiding
principles to critique the lesson. The guiding principles will be: How does the learner
pick up information? How does the learner express and act on the information? How is
the learner engaged by the learning situation?

Learning Design Framework:

I will use the new version of the BCLN Science 10 course, released during the summer of
2014, to examine the Science Safety Rules lesson using the Universal Design for
Learning (UDL) framework.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework, which provides accessible

alternatives for students individual learning styles. UDL is based in cognitive
neurosciences, for designing learning experiences that work across a wide spectrum of
learners (National Center on UDL, 2010). This framework is intended to increase
access to learning by reducing physical, cognitive, intellectual, and organizational
barriers to learning, as well as other obstacles (Wikipedia, n.d.): UDL is an approach to
curriculum that minimizes barriers and maximizes learning for all students (CAST:
UDL AT A Glance, 2010). The three broad principles of UDL are (to provide):

Multiple Means of Representation

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

Multiple Means of Engagement (Hirtz & Harper, 2008).

My hope is that by examining the Safety Rules lesson, using the UDL principles and
guidelines, I will be able to redesign the lesson to better meet the needs of the learners.

Rationale:
I have chosen to examine the above-noted Science Safety Rules lesson from the UDL
perspective because I believe the lesson needs to provide more interactive opportunities
and less text-based material. My belief is that students from cultures with rich oral
traditions, with a show and tell approach to learning, will especially benefit from a
course that is designed using the UDL framework. In fact, all students will benefit from
differentiated instruction. Overall, UDL assists students with disabilities, certainly, but
also assists students who are non-native language speakers, students with different
learning styles, students with different levels of Internet connectivity and access to
technology, and even students who require more assistance with self-motivation. (Hirtz
& Harper 2008, p.147). Moreover, as stated in the Ministry of Education, Province of
British Columbias Science grade 10: integrated resource package 2008:
When selecting specific topics, activities, and resources to support the implementation of
Science 8 to 10, teachers are encouraged to ensure that these choices support inclusion,
equity, and accessibility for all students. In particular, teachers should ensure that
classroom instruction, assessment, and resources reflect sensitivity to diversity and
incorporate positive role portrayals, relevant issues, and themes such as inclusion, respect,
and acceptance. (p. 21)

Perhaps with differentiated instruction and the minimization of barriers, more students,
and in particular First Nations students, will be able to graduate and/or continue on to
pursue a career in the sciences.

UDL Checklist Key Points:

Examination of the Science 10 Safety Rules lesson, using the UDL Checklist provided in
the OLTD 502 Week 3 course material by Professor Randy LaBonte, reveals:

Expectations (Objectives, rubrics, grading) should be more explicit. Three broad

learning outcomes are identified at the beginning of the lesson, but more specific
learning objectives would be useful.

Multiple ways to engage the students need to be included (presently non-existent).

Multiple ways of representing the ideas need to be offered to students through

choice options.

Alternatives to the text are not currently offered.

Checks for understanding need to be integrated more frequently in the lesson to

help shape instruction.

The lesson material does not currently include methods that require the students
active participation (although the assessment pieces and one matching activity do,
to a minimal extent).

Step by step instructions for using learning strategies should be apparent.

Class notes are only provided in one format.

Students should be able to show what they know in a variety of formative ways.

The above points substantiate that redesign of the lesson is needed to provide multiple
means of representation, action and expression, and engagement.

Theory Guides Practice:

As outlined in Theory and Practice of Online Learning (Anderson, 2008), text

converted to electronic form and placed on a web site for students to read does not
make any use of the multi-modal, computer-mediated instructional means that are
available (p. 247). For students to be truly engaged, the lesson needs to be reworked to
meet the standards of universal accessibility, with the student at the centre of the design
model. A learner-centred approach will place the control of learning into the hands of the
learner (Marzano, 1992). To do this, tools need to be employed purposefully, keeping in
mind that tools mediate between people and the world, not as simple channels, nor as a
means of achieving ends, but actively affecting how the world is experienced and
perceived objects play not just a supportive role, but an architectural one in learning.
(Dron & Anderson 2014, p.51). Furthermore, course material can be a barrier to learning
if the selection of tools, software, and learning objects does not reflect the local social
customs and culture. Course materials designed with a particular cultural bias embedded
in the instruction may have a negative effect on learning (Gunawardena & McIssac n.d.,
p.374).

Whats the next step?

Ultimately, the Science 10 Safety Rules lesson needs to be given life. It needs to move
from a text-based lesson to an interactive lesson that better meets the different needs and
interests of the learner. Through the Safety Rules lesson redesign and the implementation
of differentiated instruction, I feel the Universal Design for Learning framework can
facilitate student-centered learning to meet the instructional learning outcomes, and hence
promote greater student success. Science should be a subject that encourages
inquisitiveness and exploration. Why not demonstrate this in the design for learning?

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References

Anderson, T. (2008). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning, 2nd Edition.
Retrieved November 14, 2014, from
http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/99Z_Anderson_2008Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield,
MA: Author. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
Dron, J., & Anderson, T. (2014). Teaching crowds: Learning and social media.
Athabasca University Press. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from
http://www.aupress.ca/books/120235/ebook/02_Dron_AndersonTeaching_Crowds.pdf
Gunawardena, C. & McIssac, M. (n.d.). Distance Education. Retrieved September 7,
2014, from http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/118/Week10/GunawardenaMcIsaac-distance-ed.pdf
Hirtz, S., & Harper, D. G. (2008). Education for a digital world: Advice, guidelines,
and effective practice from around the globe. Commonwealth of Learning;
BCcampus. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from
http://dspace.col.org/handle/123456789/260
Marzano, R. (1992). A different kind of classroom: Teaching with dimensions of
learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350086.pdf

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Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia. (2008). Science grade 10:
integrated resource package 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/pdfs/sciences/2008sci_10.pdf
Wikipedia. Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2014,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Design_for_Learning

Other Sources (YouTube videos, Websites, slides, etc.)

Cast: Introduction to UDL. (October 7, 2011). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from
http://youtu.be/MbGkL06EU90
Cast: UDL At A Glance. (January 6, 2010). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from
http://youtu.be/bDvKnY0g6e4
LaBonte, R. (2014). OLTD 502: Week 3 slides and course material. Retrieved
November 14, 2014, from https://learn.viu.ca
National Center on Universal Design for Learning: UDL Principles and Practice.
(March 17, 2010). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from
http://youtu.be/pGLTJw0GSxk
National Center on Universal Design for Learning: UDL Guidelines Structure.
(November 22, 2010). Retrieved November 29, 2014, from
http://youtu.be/wVTm8vQRvNc
UDL Toolkit. (n.d.) Retrieved November 29, 2014, from
http://udltechtoolkit.wikispaces.com/