Blog Post 5: Inclusive Design

In this week’s blog post, we have been asked to reflect on our own particular interests, perspectives, and worldviews in how we approach designing instruction as well as our uses and approaches to integrating technology.  Following this week’s readings, I have considered my own approach and how I have incorporated various theoretical lenses in my design practice.   

My main design approach involves Universal Design for Learning, which incorporates the ADDIE model.  This model is learner-centric and begins with understanding the variability amongst learners.  According to Rao et al., (2023 )  “UDL is based on the premise that learner variability is the norm.  UDL researchers emphasize that there is no ‘average’ or ‘typical’ learner and that all learners have varied abilities, strengths, experiences, and preferences.”  As my teaching career has involved teaching students of widely different cultures in different places in Canada and overseas, I believe that it is crucial to understand the needs of the learners in your class before designing instruction.  Throughout my career I have honoured the cultural context of the student first, instead of imposing a “correct” cultural narrative.  In UDL principles, there must be multiple ways of engagement.  For instance, while teaching indigenous students reading and writing skills in northern British Columbia, I incorporated local stories and histories.  While teaching students to read and write English in Brunei Darussalam, I also incorporated local stories and histories.  I focused on the skills that needed to be taught, rather than using a set program that would have been less engaging.     

While learning about indigenous ways of knowing, I realized that many of the teachings align well with how I have already approached instructional design.  While the medicine wheel aligns mostly with Bloom’s taxonomy (LaFever, 2017), the medicine wheel also includes a spiritual component.  These teaching have become an important part of my classroom community environment.  As outlined by LaFever (2017), the spiritual component of the medicine wheel encourages the following: 

1. 1. An active quest for answers to life’s big questions
2. 2. A global worldview that transcends ethnocentrism and egocentrism
3. A sense of caring and compassion for others
4. A lifestyle that includes service to others
5. A capacity to maintain one’s sense of calm, especially in times of stress.

Each of these points can be considered an important part of building a classroom community, which has become an essential component in my planning. In addition, making connections to these points while designing for learning will also cover many of the core competencies that have been added to the curriculum.  

References: 

LaFever, M. (2017). Using the Medicine Wheel for Curriculum Design in Intercultural  Communication: Rethinking Learning Outcomes. https://www.lincdireproject.org/wp content/uploads/2019/03/Using-the-Medicine-Wheel-for-Curriculum-Design-in-Intercultural-Communication.pdf 

Rao, K., Gravel, J.W., Rose, D.H., Tucker-Smith, T.N., (2023). In: Tierney, R.J., Rizvi, F., Erkican, K. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education, vol. 6. Elsevier. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818630-5.14079-5.