Requirements
"Alternate delivery methods, including lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, Internet-based interaction, and field work. Make sure each is accessible to students with a wide range of abilities, disabilities, interests, and previous experiences. Face the class and speak clearly in an environment that is comfortable and free from distractions. Use multiple modes to deliver content. Provide printed materials that summarize content that is delivered orally."
It sounds so easy. We know this so well – that description looks like “good instruction.” And yet, we still rely on lecture 90% of the time in university classrooms, the delivery method that results in the lowest amount of retention. For exploring this UDL principle, let’s step back and take a look at delivery methods, or “strategies” in instructional design-speak, from two perspectives:
- Learning strategies
- Multi-modal representations
This principle packs a lot in, so let’s unpack it.
The Instructional Design (or Instructional Learning Systems Design) profession would identify two parts to this definition of “delivery methods.” There are the strategies for facilitating learning – lecture, hands-on, simulations, etc. And then there are the learning materials – manipulatives, multi-modal representations, etc.
Learning Strategies |
Learning Materials |
Learning strategies are decisions and actions we make surrounding learning materials, environments, and learners. Strategies are the ways we relate learning materials to what learners should know or be able to do. They are activities learners experience in order to interact with content, other learners, the teacher, and so forth. Strategies involve the sequencing of content, the selection of what form that content takes (reading, movie, hands-on game, etc.). It is the “how” of instruction to give form, context, and significance to the “what” of instruction. |
Learning materials are tangibles that we use in learning environments. Books, CD-ROMs, worksheets, movies, manipulatives, computer simulations, games are all learning materials. Learning materials are a modal manifestation of content – content can be delivered in a single mode, such as lecture, or multiple modes. But materials are directly tied to modality. When we integrate more than one mode in learning materials, the learning gain go up. We have not only made those materials accessible but have actually improved learning for all. Effective combinations of multiple modes can lead to a notable increase in learning (defined as recall, recognition and transfer; Mayer 2000). Thus, multi-modal materials not only provide access but actually benefit all learners – and in some pretty impressive ways. Check out Mayer, 2000 for more details. |
This UDL principle of Delivery Methods emphasizes that one should use a variety of learning strategies and a variety of learning materials. Not every strategy will benefit all students. And not every material will be as flexible as the next. However, when a class, over time, contains multiple strategies and multiple types of materials, it is then universally designed.
Example – Adult Learning
In a graduate level class on adult learning, the professor integrates a variety of activities and materials throughout. The course contains a variety of activities – writing a paper, cutting out shapes from construction paper to create a visual representation of one’s self as a learner, presentations, and even “human sculptures” where groups had to work together to create a sculpture with their bodies to represent a concept. Some learners who were more reserved and preferred writing had opportunities to express their learning in those mediums, where as others who were physical education or art majors were able to express their learning in other ways. The learning was the same – how to design effective learning environments for adult learners. However, the way the students interacted with the content, demonstrated their learning, and accessed the learning was different. This didn’t require any additional effort on the professor’s part – it just simply was how she designed the course. By designing it this way from the beginning, the flexibility just cascaded from open learning goals, open materials, etc.