Exploring tertiary sector instructors journey with UDL post-PD.pptx

This workshop builds on the findings of a large research project carried out across the Irish tertiary sector, in collaboration with AHEAD, examining the factors which contribute to instructors’ perceptions of professional growth and implementation success with UDL.

The interactive workshop will use the outcomes of this project to structure a discussion around the experiences participants have had of UDL growth, beyond the ‘curiosity’ phase and the initial launch of PD components around UDL. The session will support participants as they reflect on the findings of the study and reflect on the implications for their own organizational context.

The workshop’s outcomes for participants are to:
(1) create a sense of awareness around the variables that impact UDL growth beyond initial PD
(2) analyze the complexity, diversity, and scope of these variables
(3) reflect on practical implications within the context of their individual organizational contexts
(4) develop actional objectives to optimize the impact of facilitators and mitigate the impact of organizational stressors

1. Analyzing, understanding, and mapping the organizational stressors and facilitators that impact tertiary instructors as they grow UDL initiatives after initial professional development. Dr. Frederic Fovet School of Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work Thompson Rivers University, BC, Canada Maynooth University UDL Symposium August 22 nd , 2024

2. Land Acknowledgement Thompson Rivers University campuses are on the traditional lands of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc (Kamloops campus) and the T’ exelc (Williams Lake campus) within Secwépemc'ulucw , the traditional and unceded territory of the Secwépemc . The region TRU serves also extends into the territories of the St’át’imc , Nlaka’pamux , Tŝilhqot'in , Nuxalk, and Dakelh

3. Personal introduction Frederic is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Thompson Rivers University in BC, Canada The focus of his research is inclusion, UDL, accessibility, and social justice in teaching and learning He is a UDL and inclusion consultant – both domestically and internationally supporting tertiary organizations and K-12 schools and school boards. https://kamino.tru.ca/experts/home/main/bio.php?id=Ffovet

4. Reflecting on UDL in our session processes and format In order to offer participants multiple means of engagement/ action and expression: We will use two Menti Activities through the session I have created a Padlet to offer ongoing interaction through the day (synchronous and asynchronous): https://edswgrad.padlet.org/ffovet1/mapping-the-organizational-stressors-and-facilitators-that-i-5ttl4a06qc440ltj I will share my slidedeck (including the Menti slides) tonight on X/ LinkedIn/ Bluesky through SlideShare If you have any further questions about the paper, you can also contact me on [email protected] or via social media (@Ffovet on X) (asynchronous)

5. Objectives of the session (1) create a sense of awareness around the variables that impact UDL growth beyond initial PD (2) analyze the complexity, diversity, and scope of these variables (3) reflect on practical implications within the context of the participants’ individual organizational contexts (4) develop actionable objectives to optimize the impact of facilitators and mitigate the impact of organizational stressors

6. Context: Acknowledging the complexity of the task at hand in UDL implementation Much momentum for UDL in higher education over the last 15 years. Broadly across the Global North, there has been growth in interest for UDL and a plethora of sporadic pockets of UDL development The COVID pandemic has been significant in broadening faculty interest in UDL. There is wider receptiveness that instructors are ‘designers’. However, there is also concern over the lack of sustained interest in the lessons learnt during the pandemic. Return to the ‘old normal’? There has been a widening of the context within which UDL is emerging: further education, vocational training and trades education, labs, experiential learning contexts, graduate supervisory relationship, field placements, etc.

7. Context: Acknowledging the complexity of the task at hand in UDL implementation However there remains some strategic uncertainty as to how to grow this momentum systemically across institutions. How do we attain sustainable development in this area? There is still a general, pressing focus throughout UDL scholarship on introducing educators to UDL and providing basic resources for the start of their journey. Few resources examine the strategic complexity of UDL implementation as the journey of employees within vast ecological institutional landscapes. Few analyses to date examine the reflection, evolution, and personal motivational journey which takes place once instructors have been exposed to a PD piece on UDL This may not be as linear, seamless, or predictable as first thought. This endangers current efforts with UDL as all efforts at present focus on that initial exposure to the model.

8. Key concern: What happens after the PD piece on UDL for tertiary instructors? The conceptual model that suggests UDL implementation grows after the PD piece is put in place is wishful thinking. UDL implementation post PD is not linear or seamless. Evidence of ‘UDL exhaustion’ among tertiary professionals who have been exposed to PD on UDL. There now exists a growing body of digital records of post-secondary UDL initiatives having dies their own death. This study is interested in examining in depth the complexity of what follows and what facilitators/ stressors come into play.

9. Interactive snapshot We will use Menti to gauge the perceptions of the room. Please do to Menti.com on another screen/ device. I will give you a code to access a poll. Where do you feel is the ‘danger zone’ where tertiary instructors are most likely to stall in their exploration and implementation of UDL? In the 6 months that follow the PD piece One year post PD Two years post PD Five year post PD After a decade of exploration

10. Debrief on the activity Most anecdotal observations seem to suggest that the UDL trajectory of instructors is most at risk two years into their implementation efforts. What is at play and what can explain this strain? Are there any facilitators, or elements of support that could assist with this UDL exhaustion?

11. Some background on the study which serves as a canvas for this reflection The current study is still in progress and this session builds on initial findings. Objective: to engage in semi-directive interviews with 40 or so instructors having undertaken an initial PD piece and having engaged with UDL implementation for a period (UDL Facilitator Digital Badge holders or John Kelly Award applicants) Examine the factors that support long-term resilience with UDL and the stressors which hinder persistence with the exploration of UDL. Overall objective: to map stressors and facilitators to enable institutions to gauge best practices for successful, longitudinal, sustainable UDL implementation.

12. Menti interlude: Identifying the main stressors What do you feel, from your own experience with UDL implementation, might be the most profound stressors for instructors, and those that most hinder successful persistence with implementation? Funding Leadership support Lack of ongoing PD opportunities Networks and collegiate support Workload recognition Validation Resource personnel

13. Debrief on activity All of these factors have come up so far in the data collection and analysis Difficult to quantify them as being more pressing one than the other Importance of recognizing the diversity and complexity of the tertiary sector: no two sectors resembles each other Added complexity in the Irish sector of the FET/ higher education dichotomy/ gap. Size of institutions and historical mindset have come through as enormously relevant in terms of the factors that impact the UDL journey of instructors. There may also be individual divergences in relation to persistence and resilience within the UDL implementation process.

14. Examining the stressors Funding Leadership support Existence of ongoing PD opportunities

15. Examining the stressors Networks and collegiate support Workload recognition Validation Resource personnel

16. Other more subtle and inconspicuous variables ‘Initiative overload’ Issues with the packaging/ branding of UDL (novelty versus organic reflection) Post-COVID dynamics Fear of workload increase due to sophisticated redesign

17. Other more subtle and inconspicuous variables (contd.) Intrinsic commitment to the development of T&L versus stand-alone positioning of UDL Wider issue of SoTL scholarship as motivational lever in a shifting tertiary landscape Encounters with the lived experiences of diverse learners

18. Other more subtle and inconspicuous variables (contd.) Acknowledgement of complexity of T&L transformation Availability of a space for candid reflection Documentation of failures/ design fails Need for a wider reflection around diversity in changing post-secondary landscape

19. Emerging lessons and framing facilitators UDL awareness within mid-managers of implications Acknowledgement of current neoliberal variables at play Being realistic and cognizant of future neoliberal realities Need for a rethink around UDL branding Positioning UDL with the T&L trajectory of instructors

20. Emerging lessons and framing facilitators UDL resource personnel and pertinent roles Sustainable funding commitment Leadership recognition workload planning A broad reflection around ecological complexity of change process Cautious in relation to reductionist road maps

21. Reflection around the methodological process There is almost an action-research flavour to the interviewing The story telling/ narrative enquiry dimension of this large qualitative process is central part of the process Many stakeholders clearly have few opportunities to discuss these fears/ concerns and take great satisfaction in the dialogue A current issue with the UDL momentum currently may be the inherent lack of space/ opportunities for the authentic sharing of challenges and concerns. Call to action: creating candid and frank spaces to acknowledge frustration and concerns.

22. Group/ think pair activity Sharing your take aways: What is the factor/ set of factors discussed today that most seems relevant to your institutional or personal journey with UDL? How would you best use this reflection in your context to improve instructor resilience with UDL? Please share your closing thoughts on the Padlet!

23. Questions We will have a few minutes for interactive questions (live) I will continue to monitor the Padlet beyond the session itself (synchronous and asynchronous) I will share my slidedeck (including the Menti slides) tonight on X/ LinkedIn/ Bluesky through SlideShare If you have any further questions about the paper, you can also contact me on [email protected] or via social media (@Ffovet on X) (asynchronous)

24. Contact details Frederic Fovet (PhD.) Assistant Professor, School of Education , Thompson Rivers University [email protected] UDL and Inclusion Consultant @Ffovet www.implementudl.com

25. Resources Baumann, T. & Melle , I. (2019). Evaluation of a digital UDL-based learning environment in inclusive chemistry education. Chemistry Teacher International, 1 (2). https://doi.org/10.1515/cti-2018-0026 Burgstahler , S. E. (2015). Universal design in higher education. In S. E. Burgstahler (Ed.), Universal design in higher education ( 2nd ed., pp.3-28). Harvard Education Press. https://www.washington.edu/doit/resources/books/universal-design-higher-education-promising-practices Dalton, E. M., Lyner -Cleophas, M., Ferguson, B. T., & McKenzie, J. (2019). Inclusion, universal design and universal design for learning in higher education: South Africa and the United States. African Journal of Disability, 8, 519. doi : 10.4102/ajod.v8i0.519 Darrow, A.-A. (2015). Differentiated Instruction for Students With Disabilities: Using DI in the Music Classroom. General Music Today, 28 (2), 29–32 Fovet, F. (2018) Exploring the Student Voice within Universal Design for Learning Work. The AHEAD Journal, 8 . https://www.ahead.ie/journal/Exploring-the-Student-Voice-within-Universal-Design-for-learning-Work Fovet, F. (2014) Social model as catalyst for innovation in design and pedagogical change. Widening Participation through Curriculum Open University 2014 Conference Proceedings , 135-139

26. Resources (contd.) Krebs, E. (2019) Baccalaureates or burdens? Complicating ‘reasonable accommodations’ for American college students with disabilities. Disability studies Quarterly, 39 (3). https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/6557/5413 Kumar, K.L., & Wideman, M. (2014) Accessible by Design: Applying UDL Principles in a First Year Undergraduate Course . Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44 (1), 125-147. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1028772 Lubicz-Nawrocka , T. (2022) Conceptualisations of curriculum co-creation: ‘it’s not them and us, it’s just us’. Curriculum Perspectives . https://doi.org/10.1007/s41297-022-00180-w Masika , R., & Jones, J. (2016). Building student belonging and engagement: Insights into higher education students’ experiences of participating and learning together. Teaching in Higher Education, 21 (2), 138–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2015.1122585 Mole, H. (2013). A US model for inclusion of disabled students in higher education settings: The social model of disability and Universal Design. Widening participation and lifelong learning, 14 , 62-86.

27. Resources (contd.) Schreffler , J., Vasquez III, E., Chini , J., & Westley. J. (2019). Universal Design for Learning in postsecondary STEM education for students with disabilities: A systematic literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 6 (8). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-019-0161-8 Singleton, K., Evmenova , A., Jerom , M., & Clark, K. (2019) Integrating UDL Strategies into the Online Course Development Process: Instructional Designers' Perspectives. Online Learning, 1 (23). http://dx.doi.org/10.24059/olj.v23i1.1407 Valle- Flórez , R.-E., de Caso Fuertes, A. M., Baelo, R., & García-Martín, S. (2021). Faculty of Education Professors’ Perception about the Inclusion of University Students with Disabilities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18( 21). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111667