Intentionally Designed Learning Experiences

In the words of William Ayers, “There is no formula or recipe that works for all learners in all times. There is no set of lesson plans or units that can engage the range of learning styles, approaches, and intelligences that are likely to gather in one classroom.” We know that there is variability among learners in a classroom. To increase engagement authentically we have to intentionally design learning experiences that increase commitment, motivation and even excitement. By examining engagement as a component of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) we look at it through a deeper, longer lasting, genuine lens as opposed to bells and whistles that students will soon lose interest in. 

1) Establish Instructor Presence

By simple definition, instructor presence is the quality of being visible, or present in online coursework. This includes bearing both your professional knowledge and your “personhood” including your personality, thoughts, and beliefs (Reupert et al., 2009). Establishing instructor presence helps to engage and interest all learners by establishing a relationship with them. Learners will be more engaged and work harder when they feel like they have a partner in learning and feel connected to the instructor. As Rita Pierson said, “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like.” 

You can establish instructor presence in a lot of fun ways in online or blended learning, like an all about me discussion board or a video of the instructor on a course homepage. I wrote a separate blog post detailing out some options for both synchronous and asynchronous online or blended learning. 

2) Offer Student Choice

Learners can struggle to engage when it feels like they are passive participants in the process. With Universal Design for Learning the ultimate goal is to create expert learners. We create expert learners who are purposeful and motivated by involving them in the learning process. They need the opportunity to make choices that leverage their own strengths and explore the process. In the book Beyond Discipline From Compliance to Community, author Alfie Kohn points out, “Even an assignment that could in principle be worthwhile may fail to engage students because its meaning and relevance were never explained, or because students had nothing to say about how it was to be done.” 

The key for sustainability is to offer choices that you, as the educator, are okay with. While students may not be able to choose whether or not they do a discussion board assignment, they may be able to choose from a list of 3 or 4 questions which one they want to answer. Perhaps students are able to choose to respond to the discussion board with text, audio or video. Allowing students to choose which question resonates with them and then talk about their answer rather than writing it out can minimize many of the barriers to motivation and learning. This take the discussion board assignment from one that may have been done out of compliance with minimal effort to one that students were excited to engage with. 

You can learn more about the value of choice and related strategies here.

3) Support Risk Taking

When we let learners make choices they are going to make some mistakes. And that is not a bad thing; mistakes are a valuable part of learning. It is hard for students to engage when they feel threatened, when they feel like they are not safe to take risks and make mistakes. 

Ask yourself these questions:

• Is my classroom a safe place to make mistakes?

• How do I give feedback when a student responds with an incorrect answer?

• What happens when a student turns something in late?

• Do students feel embarrassed in my class?

When in doubt, think like Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus - “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

Key Takeaways

The bottom line is that you may have some students who are able to engage and be successful without considering any of these strategies. However, you will also have students who absolutely will NOT be able to authentically engage or learn without one or more of these strategies. A key takeaway when thinking about Universal Design for Learning is that it is essential for some, but useful for all. All of your students will benefit when you share more of yourself, offer choices in learning and support risk taking.