Prior to my working at Connecticut College, I worked at another college in a program specifically for students with learning disabilities, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Most of these individuals had a track record of struggling to learn, and the goal for those of us who taught and advised the students was to teach these students how to learn so that they could be successful in college.  In addition to using explicit instruction methods and incorporating a high level of executive function support and development, we incorporated how to use metacognition into our content classes.

Simply put, metacognition is thinking about your thinking for the purpose of improving your learning.  This second part is critical – it’s not merely a pondering, philosophical exercise (no offense to philosophers), but rather one with an explicit goal.  We think about our thinking to understand it better – its strengths and weaknesses – so that we can learn better.  We can teach students how to do that.  Equally important, educators can use it to evaluate and improve their teaching.

We think of our highest performing students as exceptionally smart, intelligent, bright.  The strength they really share is being metacognitive about their learning.  They may not know the term, or have ever consciously thought about what they are doing to be successful, but they are being metacognitive nonetheless.  It comes innately for some students – or at least they develop the ability fairly independently – while for many others, its development needs the guidance and support of others.

Let’s look at metacognition in a little more detail.  Metacognition involves constant monitoring of determining the task hand, the best way to approach it, how you’re doing, should you be doing something different.  Then reflecting on the entire process, and when necessary, cycling through again with any needed adjustments.  This requires understanding oneself as a learner, knowing options of strategies to use, determining which ones to use and when, evaluating whether they’re being effective or whether a different strategy is needed.  It’s being able to gauge when you understand something and when you don’t, and if it’s the latter, then being able to figure out what to do to aid comprehension.  It’s knowing when the process you’re using to monitor your learning is effective and being able to adapt your monitoring if it’s not.

Different analogies can be used with students to help explain this concept of metacognition.  For some, what is described in the paragraph above reminds them of seeing yourself in a mirror, looking at yourself in a reflection in a mirror, looking at yourself in a reflection in a mirror and so on.  Others describe it as “driving your brain” or “dissecting your learning.”  And one of my favorites, “doing therapy on your learning” – you can’t just take things as how they appear on the surface, but really break things down to see and understand what’s really going on, how are you helping or hurting yourself, what should you be doing differently.

Having a growth mindset, the belief that the ability to learn can be increased and challenges overcome with effort, goes hand in hand with being metacognitive.  After all, using metacognition focuses on the process being used, the journey to success, not just the end goal.  A metacognitive approach shows that hard work does pay off.  And with a growth mindset, one has the patience and resilience to work toward that payoff – what Carol Dweck, Stanford psychologist and growth mindset guru, describes as “the power of ‘yet’.”  I can’t do it . . . yet.

During Camp Teach & Learn at the end of May, there will be a workshop on using metacognition to teach and teaching metacognition as well as a workshop on developing a growth mindset in your students.

As stated in last week’s blog, Universal Design principles are intended to make a product, environment, or service accessible to all individuals – with a wide range of characteristics – by removing barriers proactively.  The barriers can be in architectural design, as was the first area where Universal Design was applied, but also in education.  The goal of Universal Design in education is to “…maximize the learning of students with a wide range of characteristics by applying UD principles to all aspects of instruction (e.g., delivery methods, physical spaces, information resources, technology, personal interactions, assessments).”[i]

The original Universal Design architectural principles, each followed by an example of how to apply these principles in education, are:

1. Equitable use. The design is useful to people with diverse abilities. Example: A professor’s website is designed so that it is accessible to everyone, including students who are blind and use text-to-speech software.
2. Flexibility in use. The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities. Example: A museum, visited as a field trip for a course, allows each student to choose to read or listen to a description of the displays.
3. Simple and intuitive use. Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level. Example: Control buttons on science equipment are labeled with text and symbols that are simple and intuitive to understand.
4. Perceptible information. The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities. Example: A video shown during class includes captions.
5. Tolerance for error. The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions. Example: Educational software provides guidance and background information when the student makes an inappropriate response.
6. Low physical effort. The design can be used efficiently, comfortably, and with a minimum of fatigue. Example: Doors to a lecture hall open automatically for people with a wide variety of physical characteristics.
7. Size and space for approach and use. Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of the user’s body size, posture, or mobility. Example: A flexible science lab work area has adequate workspace for students who are left- or right-handed and for those who need to work from a standing or seated position.[ii]

Two additional principles added specifically regarding education are:

8. A community of learners. The instructional environment promotes interaction and communication among students and between students and faculty.
9. Instructional climate. Instruction is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. High expectations are espoused for all students.[iii]

Faculty can implement these principles in teaching strategies they use, the instructional materials they require or provide, classroom setup and facilities, and activities and field trips.  This is intended to benefit not just students with disabilities, but students with varying learning styles, language skills, backgrounds, interests, and levels of motivation, among other differences.

Some suggestions for faculty on applying Universal Design to their teaching:

• Include a statement in your syllabus inviting students to talk with you and/or Student Accessibility Services about disability-related issues.
• Point out campus resources available to all students such as the Academic Resource Center, Tutoring Center, Writing Center, and Counseling and Health Centers.
• Clearly and early in a course, define course requirements, announce the dates of exams, and tell students when assignments are due. Avoid last-minute readings or additional assignments and provide advance notice of changes in assignments and due dates.
• Provide printed materials early to allow students sufficient time to read and comprehend the material. Many students with learning disabilities use software that can read the textbook and other text-based materials aloud. In order for them to take advantage of this technology, the printed text must first be converted into an electronic file; this process can be time-consuming.
• Use multi-modal methods to present classroom material in order to address a variety of learning styles and strengths (e.g., auditory, visual, kinesthetic). Provide important information in both oral and written formats.
• When teaching a lesson, state objectives, review previous lessons, and summarize periodically. Repeat important information several times.
• Use more than one way to demonstrate or explain information. Draw pictures, charts, or use other visual representations when possible.
• Read aloud what you write on the board or present an overhead visual. Allow time to copy before erasing and/or allow students to take a picture with their phones.
• Keep instructions brief and uncomplicated. Repeat them word-for-word.
• Allow time for clarification of directions and essential information.
• Use captioned videos and know how to turn on the captioning feature. Although captioned videos are typically used for students who are hearing impaired, they also help some students with learning disabilities and those for whom English is a second language by ensuring content is presented visually and audibly. Give all students an opportunity to view a video multiple times (e.g., by making it available in a library or on Moodle).
• Provide study guides or review sheets.
• Have multiple methods for assessment, such as allowing students to take an exam or write a paper; work alone or in a group; or deliver an oral, written, or videotaped project presentation.
• Stress organization and ideas rather than mechanics when grading in-class writing assignments and assessments.[iv]

Endnotes:

[i] Sheryl Burgstahler, “Universal Design of Instruction (UDI):  Definition, Principles, Guidelines, and Examples,” DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) University of Washington, Accessed Feb. 16, 2017, http://www.washington.edu/doit/universal-design-instruction-udi-definition-principles-guidelines-and-examples .

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] “Nine Principles of UDI,” University of Connecticut Neag School of Education Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability/Center for Students with Disabilities, Accessed Feb. 19, 2017, http://udi.uconn.edu/index.php?q=node/12 .

[iv] Adapted from “Academic Accommodations for Students with Learning Disabilities,” DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) University of Washington, Accessed Feb. 19, 2017, http://www.washington.edu/doit/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Academic-Accommodations-Learning-Disabilities.pdf .

There has been focus and discussion here at Conn regarding “full participation” in all aspects of the College, including in the classroom.  The working definition of full participation we are using is from Susan Sturm:

Full participation is an affirmative value focused on creating institutions that enable people, whatever their identity, background, or institutional position, to thrive, realize their capabilities, engage meaningfully in institutional life, and contribute to the flourishing of others.   http://wordpress.conncoll.edu/connections/full-participation/

Interestingly, this is very similar language used by educators who focus their work on teaching students with learning disabilities.

In fact, students today come to college very familiar with this notion of full participation because this concept has been applied in K-12 classrooms since before they were born.  Today’s K-12 teachers are expected to reach and teach all of their students, with most special education occurring in the classroom as well.  The range is huge – students with intellectual impairments, students with learning disabilities, students who are underprepared, English Language Learners, typical learners, gifted learners, etc.  The way that K-12 teachers do this is through what is called “differentiation.”   This essentially entails determining where a student is academically and then how to support each and every student – bringing those who need remediation up to speed and challenging and pushing those who are advanced beyond grade level, and everything in between.

Differentiated instruction requires a teacher to vary his or her approach to each student by customizing content, teaching techniques, learning strategies, and assessment tools.  In order to do this, instructors need to identify the learning outcomes they want students to achieve, must understand how each student learns best, and then design differentiated instructional approaches and assessments.  If they’ve tried something that doesn’t work, they go through the process again to adjust and adapt the learning experience for the student.  Sounds like a lot of work?  It is (not to mention adding classroom management and developing social skills into the mix) . . . thank your K-12 teachers!

We can use some of these same approaches that have been applied during students’ K-12 years to teaching students in college.  A significant step in this direction that has gotten attention at Conn is in applying principles of universal design for learning (also referred to as universal design for instruction).  Universal design for learning is a framework based on the philosophy of inclusion – making learning accessible to all students, addressing diverse needs, interests, and abilities.  Universal design for learning provides for different methods for students to take in information and to demonstrate what they know.  The approach increases student motivation, which contributes significantly to improved learning.

Universal design originated in architectural design, making physical space accessible to all, both those with and without disabilities.  In the same vein, universal design applied to learning is meant to benefit all students, with and without disabilities.  In addition to this benefit for all, a particular benefit for students with disabilities is that it can greatly reduce their need to ask for accommodations when access is given to all from the outset.

Next week we will focus on some specific examples of applying universal design for instruction and learning in the classroom.