Welcome
Welcome to the Accessible Teaching Techniques Module! In this module, we will explore models of accessibility, reflect on accessible practices and apply the tenants of Universal Design for Learning to different teaching scenarios.
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Define accessibility and accommodation;
- Identify three principles of universal design for learning (UDL);
- Apply strategies to enhance accessibility in the classroom.
Context and Models of Accessibility
Universal Design & Universal Design for Learning
Important Resources
- Please review the Seven Princples of Universal Design created by The Centre for Excellence in Universal Design (CEUD). An centre that is “dedicated to enabling the design of environments that can be accessed, understood and used regardless of a person’s age, size, ability or disability.”
- Please review this The Universal Design for Learning resource created by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). This centre developed the UDL framework “to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn”.
Accessible Teaching Techniques – Case Studies
Now it’s time to apply the principles of UDL. Review the following five cases and select two of them for deeper reflection. For the two you have selected, respond to the prompts and write a paragraph or a bulleted list that articulates how you would respond. If the scenario is outside of your discipline, imagine how you could adapt this case to your own teaching. Click on each case to expand the text. Once you have decided which two cases you would like to respond to, you can write your responses in the text boxes below. Once you are finished, you can export your responses as a Word document on the second ‘page’ which you can access using the ‘next’ arrow.
Accessible Teaching Techniques – Additional Resources
Here are a few additional resources if you’re looking for more information on how to enact changes to make a course more accessible. The resources on this list, and the other external links, were referenced to create this module.
- McMaster’s Accessibility Hub
- University of Guelph: http://opened.uoguelph.ca/student-resources/universal-instructional-design Burgstahler. (2015).
- Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice. Harvard UP. Mills LC 4818.38 .U55 Meyer, Rose and Gordon. (2014).
- Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice. Cast Professional Publishing. Mills LB 1031 .M49
- The MacPherson Institute! Feel free to contact Greg Van Gastel if you have any questions or comments about the content in this module or would like to further your discussions about accessible teaching practices.