Common Barriers and "UDL on Canvas" Strategies

Barriers, UDL Theory, and Common Things to Address

In the practice of Universal Design for Learning, we believe that most barriers to learning are predictable and systemic (as are learners themselves).  Traditionally, barriers have been attributed to learners based on their characteristics. For example, if Danny can't seem to keep up in my course, I assume there's something "wrong" with Danny or that he simply doesn't have the skill to learn this content at this level. In UDL, we recognize that everyone can learn and that barriers to learning exist at the intersection of individual variability and environments that are inhospitable to some types of variability.  This approach is empowering for faculty, staff, and ultimately students, because we have much more control over environments and design than we do over the reality of variability in the population.

This course was built around addressing common barriers that instructors and/or students face in higher education. Consistent with the UDL framework, I've organized these barriers according to the brain network related to learning with which they most closely correspond. The lists below provide an overview of the barriers addressed in this course and thus provides quick reference for instructors who are looking for ideas for course design that may address the barriers. 

You can choose your own progression through this course. Click Next to move linearly through the course or click on a barrier to be linked directly to the relevant lesson. 

 

Common Engagement Barriers

• My students enter a lesson or course at different levels of prior mastery. 
• My students struggle to give or receive peer feedback. 
• My students struggle with the organization & time management necessary for online learning.
• I struggle with providing feedback that leads to improvement. 

 

Common Representation Barriers

• Some of my students struggle with text-based content and would benefit from audio/video options.
• Some of my students struggle with cognitive overload trying to understand relationships among concepts. 
• Captioning videos is a best practice, but I struggle with the labor or skill of captioning videos.
• I struggle with providing rich written feedback for students (who often don't use it). 

 

Common Action/Expression Barriers

• Some of my students struggle with time management when given long-term projects. 
• My students need to move at different paces to maximize their learning. 
• My students and I struggle with meaningful collaboration on Canvas. 
• My students vary both in what they know and how fast they need to move! I really need multiple paths for learning!