Doing what we preach: Examining the contradictions of the UDL discourse in faculties of education

UDL: It's Time to Talk About the 'Why'?Dublin, March 14th, 2017Frederic Fovet, Faculty of Education, UPEI

Personal introduction• Who is this guy?• I usually avoid this sort of intros, particularly when time is limited and of the essence.• However I think my professional trajectory here is directly relevant to my

presentation, and that you need to understand my perspective.• Research and practice in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) in the

K-12 field (including 7 years as principal of a school).• Over the period of my PhD I took on the position of Director of the Office for

Disabilities at McGill.• Since end of 2015, returned to teaching as a faculty member in Education.• Natural inclination to see Disability service provision and teaching as aligned – but

the field is still seeing this as a dichotomy. • Also a UDL consultant in both K-12 and Higher Ed sectors

Interactive interlude• I realize that if you are not faculty – and more specifically not an instructor within a

faculty of education – it may be difficult to form an accurate perception of the current status quo.

• This is also an International Conference and I’ll be talking mostly about the North American context – a setting some of you may have but very hazy perceptions about.

• I thought it might be useful to gauge the room a little before I begin.• By show of hands/ object raised or waved, who feels that in general terms in North

America:(a) Faculties of Education are receptive to UDL and already embrace the framework(b) Faculties of Education have never heard of UDL(c) Faculties of Education promote UDL on their campuses(d) Faculties of Education are fearful of UDL

Session objectives• Discuss the context of UDL implementation in Higher Ed in North America and the

relevance of the role of faculties of Education.• Debunk myths regarding the readiness of faculties of Education to fulfill this role.• Share results of a study carried out in Canada on the dichotomy between discourse

and practice in a faculty of education with regards to UDL.• Examine the relevance of these findings in the contemporary UDL landscape in North

America• Examine if these considerations apply to the context of our European colleagues and

if issues are similar on their campuses.

Format and ongoing reflection about UDL• Always difficult to model UDL in a 30 minute presentation• For all of us presenting here though surely a parallel task is to reflect on how UDL

permeates all interface with a participant/ service user. Presentations in academia should integrate UDL principles too.

• What UDL reflection went on in the planning of this session?• Multiple means of representation: The presentation will metamorphose into a paper

(contact me for a copy), PPT can be emailed to you on request, a presentation was recorded at home and is archived on Movenote (https://www.movenote.com/v/pE1hiURnezZzd )

• Multiples means of action and expression: questions and interaction welcomed, hashtag is monitored before, during and after the presentation; emails are welcome at any time; discussions over a drink at 5pm are welcomed!

• Multiple means of engagement: page of resource on this topic for the ‘browsing participants’, archived relevant links under Twitter hashtag #udlAHEAD, discussion after the presentation.

The study that forms the basis of this presentation• Qualitative study on the perceptions of students taking graduate courses (or

contemplating such courses) in a faculty of education in Eastern Canada.• Phenomenology as an explicit theoretical perspective.• Examining these learners’ aspirations, preferences and expectations.• 14 in depth semi-directive interviews.• Considerable consideration given to ethics and power dynamics. The participants

were interviewed by fellow graduates in order to avoid hierarchical/ institutional concerns on their part.

• Also objective was not a criticism of current delivery but rather a description of expectations and desires in terms of pedagogy.

• The faculty has four MEds online and one face to face. • Coding around the three principles of UDL.

Findings and pertinence to the UDL discourse/ implementation effort in Higher Ed• Multiple means of representation:• Links to resources and articles that do not work• Would like a move away from the PDF• Would like to see much more use of audio, particularly for resources and academic

content• Having access to video footage as a tool for reinforcement to watch again at your

convenience• Examples of technology that widens access used in the classroom

Findings (contd.)

• Multiple means of action and expression:• Excessive use of ‘read and write a response’ • Avoid compulsory rote use of presentations and group work• Would like to be able to submit videos, animations, e-portfolios• A hybrid presence in all courses

Findings (contd.)

• Multiple means of engagement:• Would like their relevant professional experience acknowledged and used in

the learning experience• Activities, assessments and material that are real world and connected to

practice• Would like their learner identity, learning preferences and diversity

acknowledged and integrated into class material and activities

Particular points of ‘friction’… a sampling!• Clear disconnect with regards to discourse on differentiation and pedagogical

formats used during this instruction. • Incapacity to create a class climate where differentiation with actual participants is

openly discussed in more than a theoretical way.• Students would like mobile compatible formats for resources, platforms, etc.• Perception that often formats are chosen not to engage participants but to reduce

workload for instructor.• Implicit messaging in Assignments and Directives with little awareness of this from

instructors

Particular points of friction (contd.)

• Student would like to see their roles as creators increase (videos, e-portfolios, etc.) but opportunity rarely exists

• Over-focus on a ‘standardized’ and fairly randomly selected means of engagement: over-use in particular of group discussions and presentations.

• Some hybrid flavour, regardless of the explicit format of instruction - but rarely embraced.

• Students feel that though they experience learner diversity every day in their professional capacity this is not used enough in classroom content and activities – addressing learner diversity remains theoretical rather than hands on

• In terms of engagement students feel their own identities are not being used effectively as a means of engagement in course content (particularly mental health)

The danger…• The dichotomy highlighted here between discourse on UDL and Inclusion and on

terrain practices is not new, striking, or earth shattering.• One of the objectives of this study is to perhaps highlight that the greatest danger is

its ‘normalization’.• Learners expect it and don’t necessarily challenge it; faculties are comfortable

maintaining this ambivalence.

Discussion: The wider stakes

• Faculties of education are often looked at on campuses as the natural advocates for UDL implementation. When such faculties are reticent to embrace the momentum it has significant negative impact on UDL roll-out.

• There can be considerable rivalry between disability service providers and faculties of education on campus: silo mentality, territoriality, competition of forums and visibility. The result is a fragmentation in the strength of the message.

The wider stakes (contd.)

• There are usually fairly osmotic relationships between faculties of education and Teaching and Learning units. It is essential for a UDL momentum to happen that Teaching and Learning units be receptive to UDL. Faculty of education reticence often seeps through to these units.

• Faculties of education on most campuses end up training graduates that remain on campus in other roles and employee capacities. It is essential that faculties of education sow the seeds for UDL development through the various offices these graduates will eventually reach.

Resources

• Burgstahler, S. (2016) UDL in Higher Education: Promising Practices. Retrieved from: http://www.washington.edu/doit/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Universal%20Design%20in%20Higher%20Education_Promising%20Practices_0.pdf • CAST site for Higher education: UDL on Campus:

http://udloncampus.cast.org/home#.WMAbBvnyvIU

Acknowledgment and thanks

• The research project highlighted in this presentation was made possible by a UPEI Joint Research in Education Group (JERG) grant awarded in 2016.

Join us for a UDL conference at UPEI on June 1st and 2nd, 2017! • Call for Submissions is open!• Registration has been launched!• http://www.udlconference.ca/

Contact details• Frederic Fovet• Faculty of Education, UPEI• ffovet@upei.ca• implementudl@gmail.com• www.implementudl.com• @Ffovet