Universal Design for Learning for Social Justice Education

Universal Design for Learning (UDL), also sometimes called Universal Instructional Design (UID), is a set of principles and practices aimed at making education accessible to people with the widest possible range of needs and abilities without the need for individual accommodations. UDL benefits all participants, not only those with disabilities. For example, people with learning and communication styles that differ from the styles usually prioritized in educational settings, people with inadequate educational preparation, and people who experience learning challenges due to cultural and/or language mismatches will all find a course/workshop more accessible when UDL practices are incorporated.

Some basic practices that can help make sessions accessible include:

• Secure a space that meets all the known and likely access needs participants may have. For example, the space should:

• be wheelchair-accessible with ramps, wide doors, and wide aisles
• have sturdy railings on all stairs and ramps

• have gender-inclusive and wheelchair-accessible restroom options

• be accessible by public transit

• have clear signage

• have movable furniture

• have a variety of seating options including chairs that are hard, soft, wide, narrow, short, tall, have arms and don’t have arms, as well as tables that wheelchair users can roll up to

• have lighting that can be adjusted

• have sound amplification (microphones) available

• Provide all information in multiple formats:

• Any information provided verbally should also be provided in writing, and vice versa.

• Written materials (including handouts as well as longer reading assignments) should be available in advance to provide access for students who need more than average time to read and for students who use screen readers.

• Materials should be available electronically so that participants can readily use screen readers, magnification functions, etc.

• Any videos shown in class should include captions. If you want to use a video that is not already captioned, get it captioned. In university settings, Disability Services offices may offer this service; otherwise, for short clips, try YouTube’s automated captioning (you may need to make some corrections) or Amara’s online captioning platform (https://amara.org/)

• Images (in slide presentations, etc.) should be described verbally for the benefit of participants who cannot see the images or cannot see them clearly enough for the images to serve their instructional purpose.

• For videos in which some information comes across non-verbally, check to see if there is a version with voice narration available. If not, provide written narration in advance, and/or be prepared to describe the images to participants with visual impairments. (This can be accomplished by a facilitator sitting next to the participant and quietly narrating. Some university offices of disability services have staff who can provide this service.)
• When speaking to the group, make sure to face the group, and set up the room so that all participants have a clear line of sight to the instructors.

• Avoid giving instructions that contain assumptions about people’s capacities. For example:
• Rather than “look here where I’m pointing,” describe what you are pointing to.
• Instead of “raise your hand if you have a question,” say “if you have a question you can raise your hand, say my name, or however you would like to get my attention.”
• Rather than “everybody get up and go to the center of the room,” say “everybody move to the center of the room.”
• Avoid calling on participants to read aloud. Instead ask for volunteers.
• Instead of “everybody pick up your pens to journal,” say “Everybody get ready to journal or reflect.”

• Encourage multiple ways of participating in discussion.
• Use a mixture of open discussion and more formatted sharing such as taking turns, brainstorming, writing down thoughts for the group to discuss, etc.
• Offer a few minutes for quiet reflection after posing a question, before calling on the first person to speak.
• Make opportunities to return to conversations after some time has passed. Let participants know that if they think of something later, there will be another chance to share their thoughts with the group.
• Make sure that group guidelines don’t privilege some communication needs over others; for instance, they should not require eye contact.
• For in-class written reflection that will not be turned in, give everyone the option to write or not, with instructions like, “Take X minutes to reflect on … We encourage you to take notes if that is something that is helpful for you, or you can just think silently to yourself.”

• Provide multiple ways for participants to demonstrate learning. For example:
• For written reflection assignments, give all participants the option of recording a voice memo instead.
• For group papers, give all participants the option of recording a podcast together instead.
• For research papers, give all participants the option of making a research poster instead.
• For presentations, give all participants the option of recording it in advance, creating a video to share, reading from a script, or formatting the presentation in whatever way works for them.
• For all group projects, give all groups the option of sharing tasks in ways that work for their respective strengths (e.g. in a group presentation, everyone must contribute but not everyone needs to speak in front of the group).

• mphasize consent. For example:
• If an activity usually involves closing the eyes, make it clear that people can close their eyes, soften their gaze, look out the window, or none of the above.
• If an activity usually involves holding hands, make it clear that people can hold hands, bump elbows, wave, or none of the above.
• Make all options for participation equally legitimate, rather than making one the default.

• Plan for a sustainable pace. In many settings we may feel pressured to cover as much as possible in a short amount of time, but we know that covering a lot is not the same as learning a lot. Be realistic about how long activities should take, and be prepared to flex if they end up taking longer. For example, plan your time in a way that accounts for:
• Physical and mental transition time in moving from one activity to the next
• Time to think after a question has been posed and before anyone responds
• Time to process emotionally intense material
• A variety of paces in speaking, reading, writing, and moving
• A variety of paces in eating, using the restroom, and other activities people will be doing during breaks
• A variety of energy levels, and the likelihood that many participants will not be able to be “high energy” all day

• Empower participants to accommodate themselves and each other:
• Remind participants that they have the freedom to care for their bodies during the workshop, by sitting/standing when they need to, stretching, snacking, etc.
• Remind participants that they have the freedom to do what they need to do in order to concentrate including fidgeting, journaling, doodling, etc. For long sessions consider providing stress balls, silly putty, or other quiet toys for people to fidget with.
• Ask participants how the group can support them, and how they can support others. This fosters interdependence by creating opportunities to meet each other’s needs - not only disability-related needs.

No matter how well UDL is incorporated into course/workshop design and planning, individual accommodations will sometimes be needed.

Ask all participants about their physical and learning needs, not only those who have documented disabilities or formal accommodation requests. Provide ways for participants to communicate their needs to you privately (not only in front of the group) and well in advance. (Some accommodations, such as interpretation and fragrance-free requests, take time to arrange.)

If a participant needs an accommodation that is going to be apparent to the group, ask the participant whether and how they would like it acknowledged. It is perfectly appropriate and standard practice to simply make the accommodation without comment to the group; yet in some cases, a participant may prefer that facilitators acknowledge the accommodation verbally and explain to the group how making the accommodation is related to course themes like universal design and interdependence. Although such discussion can be a valuable teachable moment, it should always be up to the participant in question whether their accommodation is discussed in the group. If they do not wish it to be discussed but other participants bring it up, facilitators should remind participants of the importance of privacy for people with disabilities, and that all people deserve to have their needs met without having to justify or explain them publicly.

In general, be prepared to be creative. Most needs can be accommodated with a little problem-solving.

Some last-minute accommodations that you should be prepared to make include:

• If a participant has a mobility impairment that will make it arduous to move about the space, take steps to minimize the amount they need to move. For example, if the group counts off to divide into small groups, note which group the person with the mobility disability is in, and have the group meet where that person is already sitting.

• For in-class writing that will be turned in, participants with some learning disabilities and some mobility disabilities may want to make a voice recording instead (or a transcript using speech recognition software). (It’s also okay to give everyone this option, if there is enough space and time for participants to spread out so their voices don’t interfere with each other’s.)

• People may need longer or more frequent breaks than what you had planned for. Find ways to make it work.

In addition to the UDL practices outlined above, general universal design practices for all events are also important. The following resources offer guidance on creating an accessible event:

• https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2020/6/8/access-suggestions-for-public-events
• https://adata.org/guide/planning-guide-making-temporary-events-accessible-people-disabilities
• https://rootedinrights.org/how-to-make-your-social-justice-events-accessible-to-the-disability-community-a-checklist/
• https://autisticadvocacy.org/resources/accessibility/