EMPOWERING STUDENTS THROUGH UNIVERSAL DESIGN GUIDANCETIPS & TRICKS TO SUPPORT INCLUSION IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Debbi de CaluwéKatrien VanderstappenStudent Psychologists

Study Guidance Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Dutch-speaking university in the center of Brussels. Approximately 16.000 students study at one of the 3 campuses. There is one main campus, where most students, programs and services are located.

The Study Guidance is a central service for all students. We are located at the center of the main campus and have representatives on the smaller campuses. Our goal is to increase the wellbeing and study efficiency of our students.

Three different types of counselors work at Study Guidance: A. Learning path counselorsB. Study counselorsC. Student psychologists

Students can contact our services with all their (study-related) questions, free of charge.

We are all different. The following exercises and examples will illustrate this.

Exercise: a long time ago…(Raise your hand when it applies to you)I studied:

- Alone- In group- Out loud- At my desk- Everywhere except my desk- While writing- In absolute silence- With music- …

Processing Information Lay-out of an exam: which one do you prefer? Exam instructions: which one do you prefer?

Conclusion: we are all different. Diversity in population and in student population is the standard. This implicates that students can have different learning styles, different talents, different educational needs, …

Universal Design for Learning gives us a tool to meet up to those needs for all students.

Universal Design is a term that originated in architecture. It means that buildings are designed so that they can be used by a diverse group of people at the same time.

Universal design takes the reality of a diverse population into account from the start has been designed and built from the start is less expensive than adjustments afterwards is often more efficient than individual solutions benefits for more people

Universal design for learning (UDL) applies this philosophy in the educational context. Education is designed in such a way that it suits for a diverse group of students, but without changing the level of the final objectives. UDL allows students to be flexible with the learning material, choose different paths and represent information in different ways. UDL aims to create a curriculum with learning opportunities for all students, because variation is the standard. It is a way to remove barriers in the learning process and to create a flexible and inclusive educational context. UDL does not list possible limitations of exclusive statuses.

UDL stands for proactivity: fewer ad hoc adjustments and individual accommodations are

needed being flexible with objectives, methods, materials, evaluation, etc. without

changing the final competences making education universally accessible

UDL is based on 3 main guidelines:

udlguidelines.cast.org | © CAST, Inc. 2018 | Suggested Citation: CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author.

Some UDL tips on the lay-out of a document:

This is how we offer UDL-based study guidance at the VUB Study Guidance…

We offer a ‘one door’ service. Students can contact us with all their study-related questions.

o By phone, email or face to faceo With or without appointment o Every workday from 9am until 5 pm, throughout the whole year

(except for the week between Christmas and new year)

We are located at the center of the campus in a building accessible for all. All guidance (also psychological) is free for VUB-students We have no waiting lists (except for an appointment with a psychologist). Guidance is possible in both Dutch and English We offer individual sessions, group sessions and online sessions (webinars)

for all students. Individual appointments and group sessions in the evening are possible. We communicate with students via

o Websiteo E-mailo Flyerso Video’so Screens on campuso During eventso Posters on campuso During classes

In all communication we follow the lay-out guidelines as much as possible

We believe in the autonomy of the student. Students cannot be forced to come to Study Guidance. It is the student who decides what he wants to work on during guidance sessions.

The student can use all the new skills in both his professional career and personal life.

We want to reinforce the student and work strength driven. We ‘work on what works’ (WOWW)

To stimulate the student’s social and academical integration we:o Organize small group sessions with new and sometimes vulnerable

students during the first semester on a weekly base. Topics we discuss are: getting to know new people, finding your way on campus, group work, giving presentation, …

o Students can get a tutor. This is a student from a higher year who helps the tutee to find his way on campus. The tutor can also help with study skills and course related questions.

By guiding both students with and without special needs, we noticed that:- A lot of study related problems students encounter can be relatively easily

solved - A lot of reasonable accommodations for students with specific needs could

benefit all students.

We therefor decided to teach our academic staff about UDL by offering:- A workshop where they can learn how to make their education and exams

more inclusive- An intranet page with information about UDL, tips & tricks, and good

practices of colleagues- Working on demand:

o E.g. changing the lay-out of an examo Reviewing study material and give feedback about accessibility