Reducing Barriers to Instruction

This is the essence of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Our task, as educators, is to design learning experiences where all students can be equally empowered, challenged, and supported. To do this, we have to be proactive about identifying and eliminating barriers that prevent inclusive learning and innovation.
Couros, G., & Novak, K. (2019). Innovate inside the box: empowering learners through Udl and the Innovators Mindset. Place of publication not identified: published by IMpress, a division of Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.

Andelee Espinosa and I teach in a very traditional looking high school. But, our physics class is not your typical physics class. Our co-taught physics classroom includes a wide spectrum of learners. Not only those who would not traditionally be in the physics classroom, but those who only a few years ago would be in a self-contained classroom. So how can we meet the needs of all learners in a college prep physics classroom when all of the learners in the classroom don’t have college as a goal? By putting the learning at the center. To make this possible we attempt to, as Katie Novak says, in her new book with George Couros Innovate Inside the Box says, eliminate barriers.

Looking at our different phases of instruction, we can look at how we attempt to do this. 

In physics, we still give traditional large group instruction. So what steps do we take to attempt to provide access to all learners in this format?

• Providing hard copies of presentation slides - It’s important to remember that just because we want to go paperless doesn’t mean it meets the needs of all learners. While we don’t hand out paper copies of the slides we make them available for students to pick up at the start of class. This makes it easy for learners to add their own thoughts to the notes or follow along instead of trying to keep up just writing what is on the screen.
• Annotated notes available digitally - During our lectures Andi take notes on the hard copies of the slides. She then scans them using the ScanBot app to send them directly to a Google Drive folder that all of our students have access to. This works great for students who are absent or those just looking to refer to a different set of notes.
• Pear Deck for real time interaction - The idea of having students interact during large group instruction is nothing new. But the ability to hear every student’s voice in the room is. We use Pear Deck to allow those who wouldn’t normally raise their hands to answer a question or offer an opinion a safe place to do so. In addition, their responses can be shared out without putting them on the spot.
• Keep it basic - We try to keep large group instruction under 30 minutes for our 80 minute blocks. We understand that some learners may need more help while others will be ready to move on their own. That’s what our practice options provide

After any large group instruction, we have students choose different practice options to clarify the understanding or provide a different context. We start the year with a set of practice options and then elicit student feedback for additional practice options we should be providing. Here are some of the practice options we provide learners

• Guided Practice - Depending on the content, many learners may not grasp it right away. So offering the opportunity to work through additional practice problems with the teacher in a smaller group of students can provide students with that extra help before they are ready to tackle the concept on their own.
• Gimkit - Using technology for learning games is nothing new. Students love apps like Kahoot and Quizizz. I recently have been using Gimkit as a formative practice tool for learners. It allows learners to answer questions at their own pace and to see the same question multiple times. In addition, it has a power up store where students can use their points to purchase point multipliers and insurance. It’s a fun way to have students practice terminology and calculations.
• Digital and Paper Problem Sets - Like any traditional physics classroom, we still have problems sets for students to work through. A few years ago I switched over to having them all online and computer graded.
• Computer Simulations - Many topics can be difficult for students to conceptualize. The ability to have a model that can be manipulated goes a long way to increase understanding by making the conceptual more concrete. Free STEM simulations for sites such as PhET and CK12 allow learners to manipulate variables and visualize relationships that may not be intuitive
• Leveled Readings - Many students in our classroom have Specially Designed Instructional Minutes as part of their IEP using leveled readings related to the content from ReadWorks.org helps learners meet these goals while increasing exposure to the content covered in class.

There are many time is class where we want all students to engage in the same activity. It is not simply a practice exercise. It is a fundamental content experience in which they will be learning and applying content skills. In our classroom, these experiences tend to be experiments in the lab. But every content area has these fundamental experiences or investigations. Our goal is to eliminate the obstacles that would prevent all learners from achieving success. The practices include the following

• Scaffolded Templates - We provide different versions of the same template to meet the needs of learners. While all students are asked to address the same learning outcomes, we build in extra supports into the templates to support those whose learning would benefit.
• Google Slides for Expression - Many classrooms use Google Docs for document creation. We find that Google Slides allows for seamless integration of multiple forms of expression such as video, audio, images, and drawing. The fact that we can chunk information slide by slide also allows for more focused processing for those who may get overwhelmed.
• Video Instructions - The process of creating a short video to communicate what students need to do in an activity has been a wonderful addition to our classroom. Students can see what they are being asked to do instead of just a list of steps written out in text. Students can re watch the video as they work through the process. For many of our learners, YouTube videos are the go to for learning how to do something new. Why not leverage this tool?
• Paper is OK - I am a tech savvy person. But as Andi has discovered technology can get in the way of allowing students to express what they know. For some students, a technology tool may reduce barriers towards expression. But for others, it can just add another barrier. Being flexible about the format through which students complete their work is essential to creating paths for all learners to achieve success.
• Digital Data Collections Tools - We use a variety of modes of data collection both analog and digital. But many times, digital tools can be used to complete some of the processes we are not holding students accountable for. In many cases, probeware and digital data collection apps can allow students to collect real time data and make a better connection between what happened and the data that they collected by removing the temporal difference.

When it comes to summative assessments, options for expression are key. But before designing any experience, you need to be clear about your unit outcomes or competencies. Once I have those mapped out, Andi and I sit down and construct different paths students could take to demonstrate understanding. These include

• Traditional tests
• Evidence presentation in which students present 1:1 to the teacher on each learning outcome backed up with evidence from the work they completed in the unit. This includes labs, problems sets, and other activities. Students can also create a narrated video presenting the same evidence rather than presenting in person.
• Maker project which can vary from unit to unit from chariot design, catapult construction, to musical instrument creation. They are then given a structure to report out on that meets the standards.
• Experimental design in which students collect data related to the current unit and present that data. For example in our projectile motion unit, students collect, analyze, and present data from the app Angry Birds to determine if it is an accurate representation of projectile motion

Ultimately, the best summative assessment is one which students feel some sense of empowerment. This requires getting feedback from students about what hooks them and how they can best express their understanding. The goal is not to make it easy. The goal it to reduce the barriers that have nothing to do with measuring the content standards.
These may seem science specific at first glance. But I know if you take the time to think about them, you’ll see many of these strategies can be incorporated in a wide variety of classrooms. Whether or not you use any of these, the most important thing to realize is that there are obstacles in our classrooms that students are presented with that have nothing to do with the rigor of our courses. Those are the obstacles we need to identify and reduce. Katie and George point out that while it can often been seen as the teacher's job to reduce these barriers. We need to create an environment in which students play a role as well because the ability to that is what will unlock a great world of learning for outside of the classroom today and forever.

Andi and I will be presenting at the 10th Annual Convening on Personalized Learning next week. You'll find more information about our classroom practice in the presentation below.