Topic 10 – Connecting Indigenous Pedagogies to Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning is a framework that is rapidly gaining a wider audience and is necessary for all educators to know about and to implement.  The idea is to use these guidelines to help design and implement teaching and learning practices that offer the best experience for all learners rather than designing in a traditional fashion, which repeatedly excludes some learners.

This module is included in another Open Educational Resource entitled Universal Design for Learning (UDL): An Online Post-Secondary Educator Micro-credential for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) funded by eCampusOntario and the Ontario Provincial Government which explores the topic in much further depth.

Implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) ensures the provision of accessibility options throughout post-secondary education and is the catalyst for this project. Post-secondary institutions across the province are committed to equity, access and inclusion for all learners. While access and inclusion goals are often accomplished by instituting Universal Design for Learning Principles (UDL), the implementation of UDL varies widely in higher education. In addition, the swift move to remote learning during the pandemic has shifted focus away from previous gains made in inclusive and accessible education for Ontario’s post-secondary institutions.

To address this gap and shift focus back to equity, access and inclusion, the IDEA project developed a UDL micro-credential for Ontario’s post-secondary educators, providing UDL resources for technology-mediated learning environments in support of AODA compliance and EDI goal attainment.  The link to this project is https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/universaldesign/

The guidelines for Universal Design for Learning include:

• Provide multiple means of Engagement – affective networks (the why of learning)
• Provide multiple means of Representation – recognition networks (the what of learning)
• Provide multiple means of Action & Expression – strategic networks (the how of learning)(CAST, 2018)

Do any of these guidelines connect to Indigenous Pedagogies? Not surprisingly, yes!

Your imagination is the only limit in this exercise, but here are a few examples mapped against each other to expand your connection between the concepts. These suggestions are adapted from the work at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Oakland University, Amanda Nichols Hess, Christina Moore, and Judy Ableser, CETL, Oakland University (Moore, n.d.).

Engagement

• Divide long-term course or assignment goals into smaller short-term objectives (Use a Medicine wheel as a structure to illustrate the life cycle of goals and where to position oneself in the medicine wheel).
• Require learners to reframe course objectives into their own personal learning outcomes. (Responsibility for self – Indigenous principles)
• Construct linked tasks with varying degrees of difficulty that require learners to work toward similar course goals or outcomes (Learning Spirit).
• Give learners feedback frequently and in a timely manner (Relational Learning to build a relationship between students and instructors so students can trust that the instructor will help guide them and instructors can trust that students will be accountable for their learning).
• Build activities that ask learners to engage with a “real” audience and have a clear real-world purpose (Place-based learning. For example, have each learner develop a land acknowledgement that requires the learners to think about their own presence on Turtle Island, how they came to be where they are. When they are done, have the learner share their land acknowledgement with the audience).

Representation

• Pre-teach important vocabulary terms in ways that connect to prior knowledge.  (For example, understand the definitions of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples in Canada and research other terms from your discipline to see if there are corresponding terms in an Indigenous language or similar concepts.  Work with your local Indigenous community to explore further where possible (Relational Learning)).
• Give learners resources like videos, animations and simulations that they can control in sound and speed. (Storytelling – There has been a significant amount of Indigenous knowledge shared across various forms of resources such as videos (YouTube), animations and simulations (webinars) that the learners can control sound and speed.  Connect to openly available and authentic Indigenous sources that connect to your discipline)

Action and Expression

• Build opportunities for learners to communicate their knowledge in a variety of formats where appropriate and relevant. (Knowledge can be communicated through intergenerational methods or activities such as moccasin making with the Pasquachs – see video).
• Provide learners with many examples of ways to solve problems or address issues with real-life and academic examples. (engaging with individual Storytelling examples.)
• Pose questions to learners that ask them to reflect and self-monitor progress. (Using the Medicine Wheel as a framework, learners can reflect on their whole being to observe their progress and growth).

References:

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Moore, C. (n.d.). Universal design for learning: Teaching and learning resources for higher education. Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Oakland University. Retrieved Jan 2, 2022, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ssxAfHloILIUCrFEl-gHuafoa3V0Ub1Z7SsVbmrzO4k/edit