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Universal Design and providing inclusive feedback


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In many cases, the design decisions advocated by Universal Design turn out to be better for everyone; highly accessible resources are easier for everyone to use, which frees up time, effort and cognitive resources to be used elsewhere.


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Here are some ideas that occur across different Universal Design implementations, that can be relevant in the context of feedback:


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1. Present content in multiple media - so that students who struggle to process information in one format or another will not always be forced to use that format.


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Cognitive load theory tells us that multi-modal information can in general be understood and remembered much more efficiently than mono-modal.


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This is a good reason to offer some feedback in the form of audio recordings (or audio-visual - a screen-capture of you working through a student's essay, highlighting important points and audibly commenting on them, for instance).


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2. Offer flexibility wherever possible - so that learners can adapt resources to their own abilities.


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When using written feedback, try to offer it in electronic form, in editable documents, so that learners can alter font sizes and colours, and use text-to-speech readers.


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3. Make resources (including feedback) as simple and intuitive to use as possible - thinking also about the mechanical, physical, perceptual and cognitive abilities required to get to the feedback.


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Can the page displaying the feedback be zoomed in, or the font-size changed?


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What about the colour?


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4. Present instructions or action-affordances without using cultural idioms - in particular where you want the learner to do something, try to avoid expressing instructions or options in idiomatic language or imagery.


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Turns of phrase or metaphors that are embedded in a culture or subculture will be harder for an international audience to interpret; this matters most when they have to respond to or act on the phrases in question.


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5. Give learners clear, appealing opportunities to express themselves - which may include asking for support, or making recommendations about how to make your practice and resources more inclusive.