Dr Stuart Dinmore & Jennifer Stokes Learning and Teaching Unit UniSA College

1. Creating Inclusive University Curriculum: Implementing Universal Design for Learning in an Enabling Program Dr Stuart Dinmore & Jennifer StokesLearning and Teaching Unit UniSA College

2. Australian Context Equity policy in Australia focuses on improving proportional representation (Gale & Parker 2013) Australian higher education equity groups: ATSI (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) ·Disability Low-socio economic status (Low-SES) ·Rural Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) ·Isolated Women in non-traditional areas (NBEET, cited in Klinger & Murray 2011; DEEWR 2011) Australian higher education targets: By 2020, 20 % of enrolments from low SES backgrounds By 2025, 40% of 25-34 year olds hold a bachelor degree (Bradley et al. 2008, p. xiv)

3. UniSA College Foundation Studies1 year, Commonwealth Supported, Competitive GPA-based entry to UG Diploma 2 years, for students who have completed secondary school with a mid-range ATAR, guaranteed entry into second year of specified UG degrees

4. Universal Design Learning UDL is a ‘set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution, but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs’ (CAST 2011).

5. From Architecture to Education source

6. The Pilot Project: The Course Cohort 300 students per year (210 on campus, 50 regional, 40 online) Second semester course with pre-requisite Designed to support development of information literacy skills through technology-enhanced learning (TEL) Issues: Offering accessible content for diverse student groups Improving information literacy for students at varied levels Providing engaging and relevant content across multiple delivery modes Course to become a core in 2014 Identified as a good candidate for the pilot project due to TEL focus and diverse cohort • Information Skills • Course objectives To develop effective information retrieval and evaluation skills in order to build academic reading, writing and research skills for future university study. • Course content • Identification, use and evaluation of the full range of information sources relevant to university study with a focus on issues of accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. • Introduction to new forms of technology, networking and communication and identification of the challenges and opportunities in applying these to everyday situations and tertiary study. • Understanding of issues related to privacy, ethics and liability of information use.

7. The Pilot Project: The Approach Communication strategy An essential part of the implementation of both blended learning and UDL is to create an effective communication strategy targeted at staff and students orienting them to the changed learning environment It is important that teaching staff are given the opportunity for professional development and consider how to guide appropriate expectations and goal setting. Teaching staff need to set clear expectations and ensure that students are fully aware of the changed approach taken to teaching and learning in the course . This process will need to continue throughout the duration of the course and be presented to students in multiple ways. It is important that the communication is two-way and that students have a chance to express themselves through formative feedback to educators. For some students it is important to guide goal setting and attempt to scaffold their achievements as they progress through the course. We are currently developing a checklist block for MOODLE that will automatically update when students complete tasks within the course. For example, making their first post to a forum, completing a quiz or creating a profile will all complete a section of the checklist.

8. The Pilot Project: The Approach UDL pedagogies are an acknowledgement that students, regardless of their background, bring a diversity of approaches, backgrounds and expectations to higher education. UDL offers a method to teach effectively, not just equity groups but ALL students based on three central principles of curriculum design (CAST 2011). 1. Providing multiple means of Representation Recognition Networks, the ‘what’ of learning – how we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks – present information and content in different ways (CAST 2011).

9. 1. Providing multiple means of Representation

10. The Pilot Project: The Approach 2. Providing multiple means of Action and Expression Strategic Networks, the ‘how ‘of learning - planning and performing tasks. How we organise and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a maths problem are strategic tasks. Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know (CAST 2011). Learning experiences designed to provide multiple means of action and expression Interactive clickers in lectures Tutorials are collaborative and discursive, using TEL to support an active student experience. Students reflect on own experience and use online tools to inform offline discussion. Movement between classroom and online discussion allows students to seek clarity and express themselves in different ways.

11. The Pilot Project: The Approach 3. Providing multiple means of Engagement Affective Networks, the ‘why’ of learning - how learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions – they stimulate interest and motivation for learning (CAST 2011). Early engagement is critical in enabling programs (Hodges et al. 2013) Information Skills is designed to engage through student-centred learning and assessment Opportunities to conduct research relevant to lived experience and degree aspirations. • How is social media affecting socialisation in Generation Y? • Explore how online fan fiction helps build communities and identity. • Has Julian Assange breached the United States Espionage Act 1917 as a result of WikiLeaks? • Explore the use of social media in health promotion. • Examine the effects of digital distribution on the video game industry. • Is there a Dark side to Google? • How have the roles of experts changed in an information society? Tutorial experiences designed to engage students through exciting contemporary topics and diverse media: • Big data: Can Google cure death? (McCracken & Grossman 2013) • Epistemology: Using ‘Exit through the gift shop’ (Banksy 2010) to explore complex nature of truth. Increased likelihood of deep learning.

12. The Pilot Project: The Outcomes Course numbers have tripled since 2009 with over 300 students taking the course in semester 2 2013. Highest pass rate of College courses for Semester 2 2013 with 66% passing. Of those that failed, most failed to engage in the course at all and earned F2s (31% of cohort). Very few students with F1s (1.3% ) or P2s (1.7% ). Overall, student satisfaction and engagement very high. Student responses focus on interest, fun and value of the course. The layout of the tutorials that Jenny had set up were interesting and very interactive and kept me on my toes and interested in the topic being discussed. Kept the content varied and interesting, I learnt so much more than just information, due to variety of materials used. Some of the topics were very interesting, like piracy and 3d printing. ‘learn about the media and what not to do when on social media. The content is very interesting and the teacher is very knowledgeable. The way in which the content is delivered is very interactive and fun. Very good course.

13. I felt that the technology focused interactive approach to delivering this course served to embed the fundamentals of research strategy whilst tying together and giving context to many of the other courses inthe Foundation Studies program. The Pilot Project: The Outcomes This course helps to gain more understanding with how to research and the differentskills that will help with my future undergraduate degrees. It has help me to find the truth about different concerns of the world and research well.

14. This course was fulfilling in all areas, it was set up in a way that was easy to learn and complete necessary requirements and really assisted me with my own learning online and further research. The Pilot Project: The Outcomes Jenny was engaging and interesting, she also showed she was passionate with the content which help me to be interested. The feedback from my assignments were great and help me to improve my assignments.

15. This course was extremely insightful. I found the content not only interesting but quite relevant to a person my age living in a modern society. Also the lectures used the clickers to poll statistics with students, although I viewed the majority of lectures online I found the polling helpful as I could attempt to answer the questions at home giving me a better understanding of the content. The Pilot Project: The Outcomes I enjoyed the interactive "clickers" in the lecture - I think this helped a lot. I believe any other form of interaction like that would be beneficial.

16. The Pilot Project: The Outcomes Whyalla External Mt Gambier

17. Moving Forward: The Principles and Other Lessons Universal Blended Learning is a part of our Blended Learning strategy. UDL pedagogies are most effective in a technology-rich environment, due to the relatively easy process of building in the accessibility and portability afforded by multimedia and the Internet. Indeed, blended learning and UDL share many similarities. They both; Have the concept of flexibility at their core. Rely on a technology rich environment with groups of networked learners. Encourage self-paced learning through the provision of Internet based materials. Rely on a high level of explicit communication with students facilitated by ICT. Both are focussed on the creation of lifelong or expert learners.

18. Conclusion UDL needs to become part of the mainstream of curriculum design and development. As part of a Blended learning strategy is a great way to achieve this. This kind of design is a process not a destination, to be effective practitioners need to be reflective. Consideration needs to be given to diversity in assessment types.

19. References Banksy (dir.) 2010, Exit through the gift shop, Paranoid Pictures./Madman Entertainment, Australia. Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H. and Scales, B. (2008) Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report, Commonwealth of Australia, Australia. Hodges, B, Bedford, T, Hartley, J, Klinger, C, Murray, N, O’Rourke, J & Schofield, N 2013 Enabling retention: processes and strategies for improving student retention in university-based enabling programs, Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, Australia. Burgstahler, SE 2008, 'Universal Design of Technological Environments: From Principles to Practice', in Burgstahler, SE & Cory, RC (eds), Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA. CAST 2011, Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.0, Wakefield MA. Edyburn, DL 2010, 'Would you recognize universal design for learning if you saw it? Ten propositions for new directions for the second decade of UDL', Learning Disability Quarterly, no. 33, pp. 33-43. Gale, T & Parker, S 2013 Widening Participation in Australian Higher Education. Report to the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and the Office of Fair Access (OFFA), CFE (Research and consulting) Ltd, Leicester UK and Edge Hill University, Lancashire, UK. Hodges, B, Bedford, T, Hartley, J, Klinger, C, Murray, N, O’Rourke, J & Schofield, N 2013 Enabling retention: processes and strategies for improving student retention in university-based enabling programs, Commonwealth of Australia, Australia. Klinger, C 2010, 'Firm Foundations for the Future in a Knowledge-Based Global Economy: an Australian Perspective on Access Education', Access to Success: Closing the Knowledge Divide, 19th Annual Conference of the European Access Network Stockholm, Sweden, pp. 75 - 84. Klinger, C & Murray, N 2011, ‘Access, aspiration and attainment: Foundation Studies at the University of South Australia’, International Perspectives on Higher Education Research, vol. 6, pp. 137-146. McCracken, H & Grossman, L 2013, 'Google vs. Death', Time Magazine, Time, USA. UniSA 2013, MyCourseExperience, Australia. Willison, J, Lievre, KL & Lee, I 2010, Making research skill development explicit in coursework: Five universities’ adaptation of a model to numerous disciplines, Australian Learning and Teaching Council, Australia.

20. Questions?