At the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) we receive tons of questions, comments and concerns from faculty about how they can make students do the assigned readings. Instructors have tried all kinds of ways to force students to read the assigned readings: chapter quizzes, pop-quizzes, calling students at random to answer questions, testing students on minutia hidden within the chapter to “catch” those who aren’t reading, and the list goes on. But, regardless of their attempts to encourage students to read, many faculty find that students are ill-prepared for class.
So, this past fall, we offered a workshop called, “Why Don’t They Do the Readings?”, and we ended up with a pretty good turn-out. Our workshop started with an activity where participants were asked to choose a scholarly article about a topic that was WAY outside of their field from a collection of about 10 different articles chosen by our staff. We gave the participants 5 minutes to read as much of the article as they could, then we asked them to explain to a partner what the article was about. We had Spanish language professors reading physics articles and physics professors reading articles about polyphonic music of the Baroque period. When their 5 minutes was up we asked participants 3 questions:
All of these highly educated professors found themselves completely lost when reading something outside of their field, and it suddenly dawned on the whole group (seemingly at the same time) that this just might be how their students feel when they are reading content that is new to them. This “novice perspective” is something that we tend to lose sight of as we progress further down the rabbit hole of higher education. We forget what it’s like to jump into a reading assignment that is filled with jargon, acronyms and field-specific terminology. These dense readings can take novice readers much longer to read than it might take them to read a novel or a newspaper article. Reading scholarly, informative texts is overwhelming and often leaves the novice reader feeling confused and frankly, a little inadequate. No one likes this feeling. The goal of our workshop was three-fold: 1) We wanted to put participants back in the role of novice readers so they could remember how it feels, 2) We wanted to introduce them to the concept of executive functioning (EF) and highlight the role that EF plays in students’ study skills and reading habits, and 3) We wanted to give participants some practical strategies to embed in their courses that could assist students in completing their reading assignments. Here is our list of 8 suggested strategies to help students remove barriers for assigned readings: 1. Know your students: Instructors need to ask themselves several questions about their students when assigning readings and activities:
Visible Learning for Teachers & Students: Maximizing impact on learning. (2011). New York: Routledge.
UDL Checkpoint 8.3: Foster collaboration & community 2. Make the purpose of readings explicit: Students really need and want to know the WHY behind everything we do in the classroom. In order to make connections within the Affective networks of the brain, students must understand how readings and assignments are relevant and authentic to their professional goals and values. Instructors can say something as simple as this: “Tomorrow’s reading assignment is really important because it highlights some of the skills that employers find especially valuable when looking for new employees.”
CAST (2018). UDL and the learning brain. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/publications/2018/udl-learning-brain-neuroscience.htm
UDL Checkpoint 7.2: Optimize relevance, value and authenticity 3. Estimate reading times: Add an estimated reading time to each reading selection. Many students have other commitments outside of classes:
Hint: To accurately estimate reading times, time yourself reading the selection, then multiply by 1.5. UDL Checkpoint 6.2: Support planning and strategy development 4. Prioritize Readings: Determine the most important parts of your readings and deem these as “top priority”, label other readings according to their level of priority.
For students who struggle with time management, it can be difficult to know which readings should take precedence over others. If students know they can’t complete all the readings, they should at least complete the most important readings.
UDL Checkpoint 6.2: Support planning and strategy development 5. Scaffold Readings Help students learn to segment large projects into smaller, more manageable chunks. At the beginning of the semester, break large, week-long readings into daily portions, then explain to students how and why you broke readings down. Then as the semester goes on, gradually release this scaffold: This work by Jennifer Pusateri is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://crazyudllady.weebly.com/.
Professors may make an assumption that students already know how to break down these large tasks on their own, however, for most students, this task does not come naturally. Teaching students how to scaffold their own readings will be helpful in your classroom, and will continue to help them through their college career.
UDL Checkpoint 6.2: Support planning and strategy development UDL Checkpoint 6.3: Facilitate managing information and resources 6. Use Guided Notes: Provide students with an outline or framework of questions about the most important content in the chapter. Guided notes promote active engagement during lecture or independent reading, provide full and accurate notes for use as a study guide, and help students to identify the most important information covered (Heward, 2001). Guided notes can be as simple as providing a graphic organizer that separates the chapter into sections or as complex as complete notes with numerous words left blank. Heward, W. L. (2001). Guided notes: Improving the effectiveness of your lectures. Columbus, OH: The Ohio State University Partnership Grant for Improving the Quality of Education for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved from http://ada.osu.edu/resources/fastfacts/ UDL Checkpoint 3.3: Guide information processing and visualization 7. Use Multipurpose Readings: Use a reading that you can return to for different ideas and skills. This helps to create a greater depth of knowledge for students and assures the quality of pieces, while simultaneously reducing instructor labor and student workload. UDL Checkpoint 3.4: Maximize transfer and generalization 8. Use Multiple Modalities and Student Choice: Many learning barriers can be reduced and even removed by providing students with different ways to receive and perceive information through different modes of communication. Incorporating student choice helps to build engagement and students’ feelings of autonomy.
This can be accomplished by providing students with more than one format of reading material (for example give students a PDF, a podcast, and the actual text), and by letting students choose the mode of representation that works best for them.
UDL Checkpoint 1.3: Offer alternatives for visual information Of course, we can never actually "make" students do the readings, but we can, as instructors, do our part to remove the learning barriers that can cause students to fail to complete the readings.
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When I started teaching, I didn't really know that executive functioning (EF) was "a thing". I'm kinda old, so perhaps it wasn't a subject area that was covered when I was a pre-service teacher a hundred years ago. But, because I was teaching at a school for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD), it didn't take me long to see that for many students EF is not only "a thing", but having deficient EF skills can present HUGE learning barriers. According to Understood.org's infographic, A Day in the Life of Child with Executive Functioning Issues, "executive functions work together to help the brain organize and act on information." This can include things like organization, time management, working memory, attention, focus, staying on task, regulating emotions, and self-control. For more information on EF, check out the video Executive Functions: Why They Are Skills for a Lifetime.
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In my classroom, I watched, every day, as students with ADHD, Dyslexia, Auditory Processing Disorder, and a number of other learning challenges struggled with organization, memory and self-regulation. I quickly began to see how a student without appropriate executive functioning skills could be at a marked disadvantage in a typical classroom setting. Luckily, the school itself championed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and explicitly taught and reinforced the development of EF skills in every class. While I'm no longer in a K-12 classroom, I am still in the field of education: higher education. And, I began to wonder if EF played as large a role in student success as I had witnessed in the K-12 world. Unfortunately, EF is a difficult thing to assess, as it is embedded in every class, extracurricular, and social activity a student experiences. It's difficult to separate and evaluate the EF skills ONLY. I simply didn't have access to this kind of data. I did, however, have access to archived mid-semester feedback (MSF) data conducted by the university's teaching and learning center, along with MSF data collected during the current school year. Our teaching and learning center conducts mid-semester feedback evaluations, when requested by individual instructors, for the university's instructional faculty. It is a very simple process:
The completed index cards look something like this: I wanted to see what students were recommending, because this would tell us what they are asking for help with in their classes. So, I collected and compiled all data from last year's MSF evaluations to see if any of the recommendations were associated with EF. Then, I got excited by the data, and decided to code all student responses according to the three UDL principles. I started by color coding each recommendation in Green for Engagement, Purple for Representation, and Blue for Action & Expression. Now that I was on a roll, I decided to break down each recommendation by UDL guideline, so I coded them according to the bullet points below. For more information on the UDL guidelines, visit the new 2018 CAST UDL Guidelines page. For Engagement:
Once I had the data all sorted, I removed any recommendations that less than 1/2 of the class agreed on, and I was left with 164 separate recommendations. Here's what the final data looked like:
I couldn't believe it! It turns out that of all the recommendations students made for ways to help them learn, the one thing they were asking for the most was help with executive functioning!
While I was compiling these data, our office was also asked to provide MSF evaluations for every instructor in the university's new Honors College. I was curious to see if there was any difference between the MSF data from all university courses and the MSF data from the Honors College. Well, here's what I came up with!
I was fascinated by the differences I found in MSF recommendations between those from the general university courses and those from the Honors College. Could they really be that different? What students from the general university courses seemed to want help with was executive functioning, but what the Honors College students wanted help with was engagement, specifically sustaining effort & persistence and recruiting interest.
Here is a chart of the coded data side by side. The general university course recommendations are on the top, and the Honors College course recommendations are highlighted by a gray box on the bottom. So, according to these data, students in the Honors College are doing pretty well with EF, but they really need to see the relevance in and be challenged by their courses. Whereas, in the general university courses, students need the most help with EF, but they also need help with recruiting interest. As our office continues to conduct MSF data, I will continue analyzing the information to look for trends in what students are indicating they need help with, and we plan to modify our professional development, training and workshop offerings based on these data. So, it turns out that EF is a major area of need for many higher ed. students, but for some groups the biggest area of need is seeing connections between their school work and their goals and interests. This information also leaves me with many new questions:
What other questions do you have regarding the student voice and course evaluations/recommendations? Leave me a comment! I learned to use a computer when I was in 5th grade (1988) because my elementary school had just installed its first computer lab in an old boiler room. This was back when you had to use a load command to open programs from your floppy disk. The load command looked like this: LOAD “*”,2,1. Wow! It’s pretty incredible that I remember that! Anyway, I’ve been using computers for 30 years- since 1988, so I feel fairly confident with my ability to create documents and materials for my personal and professional life. I just learned about making documents accessible in 2016 when I attended my first UDL conference (the UDL Symposium), and over the last year or so I have become more comfortable with creating and evaluating accessible documents. But, when I create documents today my process almost always goes like this:
This little 10-step dance occurs almost daily for me. So, the next goal I’m setting for myself, is to switch my default setting from the one you saw listed above to one that starts with accessibility. I would like to begin designing documents and materials with accessibility at the front of my mind instead of having to re-do my own work. Afterall, this is what UDL would ask us to do in all areas of our lives, right? Think about universally designing first, then plan accordingly. Some may say, “Well, yeah, but aren’t universal design and accessibility the same thing?” While they have similarities, they aren’t necessarily the same thing. Many people at my institution consider accessibility and universal design to be synonymous, they aren’t necessarily the same thing. When someone suggests that we need to evaluate a program, course, video or document for UDL, what they actually mean is that we need to run accessibility checkers and add alt text. But, if you look closely at the UDL guidelines, you will see that issues of accessibility like closed captioning and alt text represent only 3 out of 31 checkpoints of Universal Design for Learning. UDL includes tons of other important topics like supporting planning and strategy development and facilitating personal coping skills and self-assessment. A UDL-trained instructor can design true universally-designed documents by thinking about components that will aid in things like planning, strategy development and self-assessment. They can build in graphic organizers, charts for keeping track of goals, and utilize headings to emphasize structure and big ideas. If you ask me, a document’s accessibility regarding ADA compliance, isn’t enough to officially designate it as a universally-designed document. While ADA compliance is certainly important, universal design and UDL are much bigger topics. I was sitting in a workshop in beautiful Savannah, Georgia when I first heard about Imposter Syndrome (also called Imposter Phenomenon). Not knowing what this meant, I did what anyone under the age of 50 does when they don’t know what something means: we Google it (can we all agree that ‘Google’ can now be officially used as a verb?). So, I Googled “Imposter Syndrome” and came across a 2016 article from the Chronicle of Higher Education called Imposter Syndrome is Definitely a Thing. This article, written from the point of view of a university lecturer to her “past graduate-student self,” explains that Imposter Syndrome is “the feeling that you don’t belong — in graduate school or in your first academic or alt-ac job — and it’s more common that you might think. It makes people believe that they aren’t good enough, smart enough, or deserving enough” (Herrmann, 2016). This reminded me of an experience I had at a conference a couple years ago. After participating in a 3-hour long universally-designed, hands-on workshop, and, enduring a grueling 50 minute “sit and get” session, I was struck by the contrast in the way I felt about myself as a learner in each setting. In the “sit and get” session, I was lost. I felt like I didn’t fit in. I felt like a kid sitting at the adult table at Thanksgiving, trying to participate in conversations I didn’t actually understand. I hated it. I hated every minute of it. I learned nothing, and I was frustrated and felt like giving up. I think I actually left after about 30 minutes because, as an ADHD adult, I was crawling out of my skin. In the universally-designed, 3-hour workshop, however, I felt smart. I felt like an equal among equals. I felt like I fit in and like I was an asset to the session. I only looked at my watch once, and when I did, I remember thinking, “there’s no way it’s already been 2 ½ hours!” The following is a document I typed up after this experience: If two contrasting instructional settings can make the same person feel completely different about themselves as a learner, then there’s got to be something else going on…other than Imposter Syndrome. Now, let me be clear, I’m not saying that Imposter Syndrome isn’t “a thing”. What I am saying is that the effects of Imposter Syndrome; low self-esteem, lowered retention rates, and declining feelings of self-efficacy, can be ameliorated by infusing instruction with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). So, here is my top 3 list for how to reduce students’ symptoms of Imposter Syndrome with UDL: 1. Assume Nothing!- Educators often assume that students come into their classrooms with a certain level of background information readily available within their working memory. This reminds me of something my high school drama teacher, Mr. Russell, used to say, “Assuming makes an A**out of U and ME (ASSUME)”. So true! When an educator hits the ground running in a lesson, without reviewing prerequisite background knowledge, they are essentially running over some of their students as they drive off in the distance. Now, that’s a little dramatic, but you get the picture. UDL suggests that we provide options for Comprehension by:
2. Always explain- “And Here’s Why…”- Students can become disengaged when they don’t understand how content applies to them, and this can often lead to students checking out emotionally, or worse, dropping out. While we, as professional educators, completely understand why certain knowledge and skills are necessary for future success in school and careers, students often can’t see those connections for themselves. It is our job, as educators, to explicitly show students how the readings, assignments, activities, labs and exams are relevant to their future hopes and dreams. UDL suggests that we provide options for Recruiting Interest by:
3. Support Executive Functioning- One of the areas in which students most often request help at our institution, is executive functioning. They are asking for things like help with scaffolding assignments by breaking them down into smaller chunks, help with planning and study skills and help with organization. Many educators assume that because they, themselves, have these skills, their students should have them as well. However, this is not true. Give students explicit instructions for how to break down large reading assignments, writing assignments, and projects into smaller pieces, or how to organize their materials. UDL suggests that we provide options for Executive Functions by:
For more information on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), check out the CAST UDL guidelines website. Herrmann, R. (2016, November 17). Impostor Syndrome Is Definitely a Thing. Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Impostor-Syndrome-Is/238418 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be a game-changer for students with print and/or learning disabilities because UDL provides learners with multiple means of engagement, representation and action/expression. Here are some great tools to enhance reading for all students through UDL: Engagement: One of the guidelines of UDL that leads to greater engagement suggests that instructors provide options for Recruiting Interest by giving students a choice in the materials and methods used during teaching and learning. One tool that can help teachers differentiate instruction for students with a variety of reading levels is Newsela.com. With Newsela, teachers can find articles about the same content, but with different versions written at different reading levels. Instructors can print off several copies of various reading levels and allow students to choose the reading level that feels like a good fit for them. For more information on Newsela, go to Common Sense Education’s product review or sign up for a free Newsela account at Newsela.com. Representation: One simple way to introduce content without overwhelming students who are reading below grade level is to use infographics as a starting point. Infographics combine icons, charts, diagrams and photos with minimal text to give students a “Cliff’s Notes” version of content. Using an infographic is totally in line with the UDL guideline of comprehension which asks instructors to guide information processing and visualization. Teachers can create their own infographics, or, browse tons of infographics created by other users at Easel.ly, a user-friendly web tool for designing infographics. Action & Expression: Read Write Gold (RWG) isn’t your typical screen reading software. When using RWG, students are provided with support for reading, writing, studying and researching. One guideline within the Action and Expression category of UDL highlights the need that many students have for help with executive functioning problems like organization, time-management and study skills. RWG is a great program to help students manage these executive functioning deficiencies. Students at the University of Kentucky are lucky to have access to a university-wide copy of RWG which can be downloaded from the UK ITS software downloads page. For more information on RWG, watch Read and Write Gold Demonstration, a video that shows many of the product’s features.
So, please indulge me as I build self-regulation by "developing self-assessment and reflection" on my strengths and weaknesses with UDL. And, if you're feeling it, try answering the questions below for yourself. Here are the questions I was asked:
And here's my reflection: QUESTION 1: When introducing UDL to a colleague, I usually try to tie the concept to something they already know about and/or have experience- like closed captioning or automatic doors at the grocery store. I do this by explaining that the automatic doors at the grocery store, for example, were originally designed for a particular population with specific needs (in this case, people in wheelchairs or people with other physical impairments). I go on to point out that today we all use the automatic doors even though they may not have been designed originally for us. Parents with grocery bags, a diaper bag, a toddler and an infant have a much easier time entering and exiting the grocery store because the automatic doors were universally designed to accommodate people with a distinct need. What is a necessity for some, can be good for all. I then compare this to education and explain that if educators design their lesson plans by proactively planning for the variety of student learning needs they will inevitably encounter, they will be helping those students as well as providing important benefits for other students in the class as well. I have also used Katie Novak's analogy of teaching as a dinner party and UDL as a buffet to compare UDL to traditional and differentiated models of instruction. The general idea is that if I am hosting a dinner party and planning to make one main dish for all my guests, I may have some guests with different food allergies, restrictions and preferences that would present a barrier to them enjoying my party. For example, if Amy and Janice both text me with restrictions concerning their food, I may have to prepare separate dishes for each person. This would be time consuming and overwhelming! UDL would suggest that I could serve a taco bar instead of a Mexican lasagna for my party as a way to meet all the needs of my guests without driving myself crazy!. This work by Jennifer Pusateri is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://crazyudllady.weebly.com/.
QUESTION 2:
Generally speaking, the strategies surrounding UDL have always been my strong suit, and the technologies have been my weakness. Now, this doesn't mean that I know nothing about technologies and media associated with the concepts of UDL. I have a basic knowledge of a few technologies for each of the three areas, but my knowledge and application of these strategies provides room for improvement.
One way I am working on building my knowledge base for UDL technologies and media is by seeking out and following assistive tech. (AT) gurus on Twitter and following them. This keeps me up to date on many of the newer programs and apps that I can use to accompany UDL instruction. I also take place in a bi-weekly UDL chat with other UDL folks from across America and around the globe. I often get good tech tips from these other UDL practitioners that I can incorporate into my work with university faculty and staff.
If you are interested in learning more about UDL implementation, join me on #udlchat on Twitter on the first and third Wednesday of each month!
QUESTION 3:
Hopefully you can see my incorporation of other media throughout this blog post. I am a huge fan of multiple means of representation and I strive to add visuals, charts and diagrams to all documents and materials I create. Check out some of my visuals, charts, and diagrams in my Graphics and Images page. We all have students who are not the kind of kids that raise their hand. So, how do we get these shy kiddos to participate in class discussions? Try a silent conversation.
In a silent conversation all comments and questions take place on chart paper or poster board. If you want to use these conversations for a grade, simply have students sign their name on the back of their chart paper in the color marker they will be using. You can then go back and see who wrote what. When given this alternative to speaking up in class, many of our more timid students will feel more comfortable participating. Are you stuck in the rut of lectures, PowerPoints and chapter readings? Try representing your content in several different ways and you will see students' understanding grow in leaps and bounds.
This is a great cheat sheet for any teacher trying to offer options for student assessments. If you are only offering one choice right now, pick another idea from a different category. So, if you're only offering a test, add a podcast option, or perhaps let students create a Kahoot quiz to show you what they know.
I was fortunate enough to sit in on a really engaging ELA lesson a few weeks ago. This middle school teacher was exploring literary devices and used the Ray Bradbury short story, "All Summer in a Day". The students were enthralled by the story itself, but the teacher really caught my attention when she asked students to find examples of literary devices within the text and write/draw the examples along with the kind of literary device.
By offering students options for action and expression this teacher was giving students the opportunity to show her what they really knew! |
AuthorJennifer Pusateri is a Universal Design Consultant at the University of Kentucky's Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). Archives
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