Universal Design for Learning as a Bridge to Inclusion: A Qualitative Report of Student Voices.

Abstract

Innovations in pedagogy are, at their core, aimed at improving the educational experiences and outcomes of learners. Being as many countries are embracing a philosophy of inclusive education (Forlin, 2012), designers of educational reform must be mindful of the effects of any proposed innovations on the experiences and outcomes of a broad range of diverse learners. The current project sought to contribute to the literature on the learner effects of a new pedagogy called the Three-Block Model (TBM) of Universal of Design for Learning (UDL)(Katz, 2012). This model is aimed at meeting the needs of diverse learners in common, inclusive settings through pedagogy that addresses the social-emotional and belonging needs of students alongside offering them authentic, multi-level instruction, and therefore endeavors to uphold the principles of whole schooling. Specifically, we examine the effects of the TBM on conceptions of learning, processes of learning, interdependence in learning, academic self-concept, and school engagement in ethnically and linguistically diverse students, indigenous students, and students with and without disabilities. Literature Review Learning is affected by a variety of factors including those organic to the learner, the characteristics of the learning environment, and the interaction between them. Conceptions, processes, and interdependence of learning, class climate and social and emotional well-being, as well as academic self-concept and school engagement all affect learners' experiences at school. Conceptions of Learning Conceptions of learning refer to learners' understandings and beliefs about learning (Lai & Chan, 2005, p. 3). Research has shown that children's engagement in learning as well as their academic achievement is affected by their conceptions of learning (Dweck, 1999; Dweck & Leggitt, 1988; Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Li, 2004). Taylor, Esbensen, and Bennett (1994) conducted research on preschool children that showed that these young children had very under-developed ideas about learning, in terms of demonstrating little awareness of their changes in knowledge over time. That is, when they learned new information, the children told the researchers that they had always known it. Sobel, Li and Carriveau (2007) also investigated children's development in terms of their conceptions of learning. They found, like Taylor, Esbensen, and Bennett, that younger children aged four did not understand learning as a process. However, they also found that older children aged six were more likely to conceptualize learning as a process. Furthermore, the older children seemed to understand the importance of attention and intention in the learning process. Hadar (2009) studied teen-aged children's conceptions of learning. Citing research by Martin & Ramsden (1987), Saljo (1979), Van Rossum & Schenk (1984), Hadar showed that students' conceptions of learning are not static, and may fall into five categories: (1) as an increase in knowledge, and as an activity by which the learner adds new knowledge to previous knowledge; (2) as memorizing or reproducing, and as an activity by which pieces of knowledge and units of information are transferred from an external source; (3) as acquisition of facts or procedures that can be utilized in everyday life (i.e., application). In this view knowledge is useful only if the learner can use it outside the narrow educational context; (4) as an abstraction of meaning, that is, no longer as a mere reproductive activity but rather as a constructive, active task in which the learner selects ideas and principles that are not only to be learned but to be understood; and (5) as an interpretive process aimed at comprehending reality differently. This perception emphasizes that seeing things from different perspectives helps you interpret reality. (p. 2) Categories one to three are viewed as superficial learning while categories four and five are viewed as deeper conceptions of learning (Hadar, 2009). …