Class Act: Universal Design

Accessibility for all persons is the goal of Universal Design.

This underlying principle directs the application of ‘accessibility’ to building structures, to public spaces, to classrooms and curriculum, and to websites. Although such accommodations are known to benefit disabled persons, they also ultimately benefit all persons, whether disabled or not.

A definition of Universal Design as applied to education is as follows: Universal design is an approach to designing course instruction, materials, and content to benefit people of all learning styles without adaptation or retrofitting. Universal design provides equal access to learning, not simply equal access to information. Universal Design allows the student to control the method of accessing information while the teacher monitors the learning process and initiates any beneficial methods.

Although this design enables the student to be self-sufficient, the teacher is responsible for imparting knowledge and facilitating the learning process. It should be noted that Universal Design does not remove academic challenges; it removes barriers to access. Simply stated, Universal Design is just good teaching. (Source: The Ohio State University, The Partnership Grant, improving the quality of education for students with disabilities, cited in the Website References below. Used by permission)

Many systems have been developed using these principles in educational settings. However, for illustration one system which focuses on the teaching/learning process is outlined below. This system uses the principles of Universal Instructional Design or UID. (Source: University of Guelph, Teacher Support Services [TSS] cited in the Website References below. Used by permission)

To meet Universal Design principles, educational processes should:

Be accessible and fair.
Provide flexibility in use, participation, and presentation.
Be straightforward and consistent.
Be explicitly presented and readily perceived.
Provide a supportive learning environment.
Minimize unnecessary physical effort or requirements.
Ensure a learning space that accommodates both students and instructional methods.

Applications of these principles in an educational setting can be found on the following TSS web page:

http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/uid/guides/
LecturesUIDprinc.html.

Universal Design first appeared in education in the design of school buildings; however, creative educators quickly realized that these principles could also be applied to the design of curriculum and to classroom pedagogy (Waksler 1996). A recent publication (Johnson & Fox 2003) refers to this transition as “Creating Curb Cuts in the Classroom.”

Universal Design for education also encompasses institutional practices, campus layout and other structures that support the teaching and learning that go on in the standard classroom and with any curriculum.

The beneficiaries of Universal Design in education include:

Students with special needs, including those with disabilities.
Students with English as a second language.
The general population of students, all of whom will benefit from the application of Universal Design principles.

We see that Universal Design focuses on maximum accessibility for all and is inclusive of all students, not only those with special needs. With Universal Design, modifications for students, especially for those with disabilities, are built into the curriculum, not merely added later on as needs arise. Thus advanced planning to accommodate persons with disabilities is a key component of Universal Design.

Simply put Universal Design is good teaching.

(As ideas for Universal Design applied to Education have been developed, a number of different terms or titles have been applied to the systems developed. These include Universal Instructional Design, Universal Design for Instruction, Universal Design for Learning, and Universal Design in Education. All of these systems have more in common with one another than they have differences; those differences are often in the use of terminology and in the focus of the system.)

In 1995 the Center for Universal Design at North Carolina State University brought together architects, designers, engineers and others to formulate seven key principles or concepts of universal design (Bowe 2000). These seven principles (note that the education sections of this paper above each include seven principles), have been applied not only to the design of buildings and other public structures but to other fields where accessibility is of concern, notably in education.

Historically however, the concept of Universal Design was first articulated in the 1970’s by architects who responded to a generally increased awareness of the need to accommodate persons with disabilities in the design of buildings and other public structures. Such designs were ultimately based on a set of principles by which the plans for all new structures would be judged. Thus, new buildings were designed with hallways, elevators and doors wide enough to allow for the use of wheelchairs. Lavatories, drinking fountains and sidewalks also conformed to similar sets of standards.

An interesting outgrowth of these accommodations was soon apparent. Shortly after these principles had been implemented it was discovered that non-disabled persons used and benefited from the accommodations originally intended only for the disabled. For example, curb cuts originally intended for persons in wheelchairs, were also used by people pushing baby carriages, by bicycle and skateboard riders, by the elderly and by others.

Thus the term Universal Design encompasses those principles that make structures whether physical or not accessible to everyone. What’s more, these principles anticipate needs so that changes after ‘construction’ are unnecessary. Thus, accommodations are in place before a person, disabled or not, needs them. ‘Pre-fitting’ not ‘retro-fitting’ is the aim of these principles.

Website References

The following links take you to sites that specialize in applications of Universal Design principles, including its use with students with disabilities:

University of Minnesota, Curriculum Transformation and Disability (CTAD), http://www.gen.umn.edu/research/ctad/default.htm.
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), http://www.cast.org/.
Hofstra University, Dr. Frank G. Bowe, http://people.hofstra.edu/faculty/Frank_G_Bowe.
University of Connecticut, Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability (CPED), http://vm.uconn.edu/~wwwcped/index.html. The focus of this site is on students with learning disabilities but it includes other students as well.
University of Washington, DO-IT: Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology, http://www.washington.edu/doit/.
The Ohio State University, Partnership Grant: Improving the Quality of Higher Education for Students with Disabilities, http://telr.osu.edu/dpg/index.html.
University of Guelph, Universal Instructional Design, Teacher Support Services (TSS), http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/uid/index.html.

Other References

Bowe, F. G. (2000). Universal design in education: teaching non-traditional students. Westport, CT: Bergen & Garvey.

Johnson, J. M. & Fox, J. A. (2003). Creating curb cuts in the classroom. In Higbee, J. L., (Ed.), Curriculum transformation and disability: Implementing universal design in higher education (pp.7-17). Minneapolis, MN: General College, University of Minnesota, Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.

Orkwis, R. (1999). Curriculum Access and Universal Design for Learning ERIC/OSEP Digest, #586. ED437767. Retrieved from http://www.ericec.org./digests/e586.html.

Scott, S., Shaw, S., & McGuire, J. (in press). Universal design for instruction: A new paradigm for adult instruction in postsecondary education. Remedial and Special Education.

Waksler, R. (1996). Teaching strategies for a barrier free classroom. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 7(2), 99-111.