UDL strategies to support diverse learners

Transcript

NARRATOR: In this case study, Shafaq Fatima from South Metropolitan TAFE talks about their UDL strategies to support diverse learners.

SHAFAQ FATIMA: I'm Shafaq Fatima. So, I work as a lecturer in Aquaculture at South Metropolitan TAFE in WA and the aquaculture campus is in Freemantle in WA. So, here I have been working from last two years as a lecturer.

NARRATOR: Why adopt an inclusive approach to your teaching?

SHAFAQ: When I joined TAFE as a lecturer because this is a vocational of course, I mean it's a vocational training institute. So, mostly the students which we encourage also to for like neurodiverse students, students having challenges with learning to join our aquaculture programs. So, almost like 30% or sometimes even more the number of students that proportion in our class at each qualification levels and we have three different qualification levels like certificate two, certificate three and diploma. So, 30% or more than 30% they have multiple types of challenges in in learning especially the neurodiverse issues.

So, there are different examples ADHD is very common, OCD is very common, dyslexia, auditory processing issues, some visionary impairments. This is something which is very common. So, that was something which actually motivates me to improve my teaching strategies and using digital tools so I can make my delivery more inclusive.

So, students with all neurodiverse challenges it's just so much challenging in a way that there is a diversity in those issues and then there are different levels like students with ADHD will be at different levels of this condition. So, it was very difficult to engage all of them in same class and keeping delivery fair and assessment fair and standardised also according to our compliance requirement.

So, that was the situation which really motivates me how I can include everyone in the learning process.

NARRATOR: What was involved in creating a more inclusive program for students?

SHAFAQ: What was before, if I compare like what I inherited and what I improved it will be easy to compare.  Initially the delivery or training material which I inherit was more just two categories theoretical and practical. So, students were given material like PowerPoints and then they will have paper based or knowledge based assessments and then they will have practicals. So, it is okay for a group of students who can read and write with focus or sometimes without focus also like they will get some time and then they will complete the questions or there will be just practical.

So and it is okay if there is those challenges are like if all the students they are on the same page of in in what whatever their intellectual perception is but having so much diversity in class and the one other diversity which I should mention also is in age and experience.

So, I will have a 19 years old student and then I will have a 55 years old student with experience. So, that was also a challenge for me. So, all I inherited was paper based assessments and then practical based delivery material. So, what I improved is that I introduced universal UDL in in my delivery and first thing which I so I made my strategies I improved all the PowerPoints because lecture is a mandatory part of the delivery to have a knowledge assessment.

So I improved all those PowerPoints and developed or designed them according to the WCAG 2.0 and the conformance levels was just double A because that's all we can do and that's all we need according to whatever the cohort of groups we have. So, I improved all those PowerPoints improving the colours, contrast, fonts, headings.

So, once they are uploaded in LMS, students with a visionary or vision or auditory processing issues, they should not have any trouble if they are using the hearing devices or they are using just the different modes to listen the content.

So that was a big part of my work which I did and then improving the delivery of this knowledge based content using different digital tools. Like I used iSpring suite a lot to develop to design SCORMs to design my quizzes and then H5P , H5P helped me a lot to make assessments in to very much interactive especially that interactive books, notebooks that tool I used a lot quizzes and then different flashcards, concept cards using H5P tools it helps that delivery very interactive because in our case our students they are because there are just too much hands-on and then because of the neurodiversity they can't maintain their focus and if they're not engaged they lose their focus maximum after 10 minutes. So, they need more engagement and more interactive engagement using the digital tools. So, H5P has been very helpful for me and then because we use Blackboard and transitioning towards Canvas gradually.

So, I use the in-built quizzes tools, discussion tools, videos, images, labelling images, hotspot that digital tools. So, these were introduced in the delivery of the knowledge material or the information which I designed in those units. So, that is the knowledge part and then of course the practical part is more lab- based or whatever they do in our workshops that is assessed and conduct performed under supervision.

So, I will say I just made for that part I just designed the checklist. So, it should be short, it should be brief and concise. So, they would know that what's what is expected from them instead of having long instructions paragraphs. They have trouble reading paragraphs and then in retention.

So, I changed all those check those long instructions and made them very concise in form of checklist. So, that's how those practicals they were they were done. So, mostly like each lecture has something which is practical. So, whatever is taught in the class then they will have some application in the workshops also.

NARRATOR: What inclusive assessment strategies have you implemented.

SHAFAQ: The third part which is the assessment. That was very tricky and difficult.  Again, these like my students they it is most of them it is hard for them to write long answers. because it's hard for them to focus retain whatever they have learned and write long sentences. They it's hard for them to do that.

So, and for those assessments sometimes they are portfolios. It is the condition from whatever the designs or elements we get from that what like although the course work which is approved by the TAG. So, what I did I revised all those assessments.

Initially they were designed in a way a questions or like portfolio or a notebook a question and then they will have to give an answer without any direction, guidelines or prompts. So, I designed them in a way that the whole content it is broken down into small pieces. So, it's like small chunks for them instead of imagining a bigger scenario and then comprehending that situation linking different scenarios together and then answer. This is not possible for them.

It's very difficult for them to do it. But when I divided it into small chunks especially in form of tables so they wouldn't have to write long sentences and it is not the demand in trade also like in trade they are supposed to perform practically more and make their notes they are not supposed to write long essays.

So, industry is also happy with that. So, all those small tables, small chunks, they come with the prompts. So, if I write that in this table you are expected to answer this standard or criterion then I will also give them an example that this may be expected, like you may write or think over these lines and then they will provide their answer and the requirement of answer is I'm I don't expect them if they don't even write a word a whole sentence few words which explain very well what is expected from them as an answer I will expect it as an answer and consider it like it is a standardised answer and that will be mentioned in my marking guides also. So, this design of assessments the knowledge assessments and the portfolio assessment it helped me a lot and it helped them a lot because once it is divided into small pieces it is easy for them to understand that piece comprehend it and then answer and then move to the next.

So that's how like step by step they will provide answers of whatever understanding or the knowledge is expected from them. So, that was very helpful for me. and then I also improved the feedbacks. So, like in each session there will be an informal feedback and at end of each assessment there will be a formal assessments and I also reduced the number of assessments also to make it less overwhelming for them because for most of them it's just very easy to be overwhelmed the students with neurodiverse challenges. So, once they are overwhelmed they can't perform.  But reducing the number of assessments they are still learning the same amount of knowledge but they are less overwhelmed, less fear of being assessed so that was also helpful. Feedback helps me a lot to keep improving whatever the delivery content I have designed, whether it's knowledge it's practical based or it is assessment based and then the other one the other strategy which I adopted in the beginning is consultation with the experts in my portfolio.

So, my principal lecturer she helped me a lot in understanding the standards and relating the standards given in RTO 2025 Standards maintaining what whatever is expected from us, the quality wise and still making it easy for students and not compromising the fairness of assessment also.

So, we had pre-assessment validations and then the post validation assessment. So, this process of improvement and feedback it is continuous and going on and next year we will have the post validation also. So, I keep modifying my assessments in the light of the feedback I receive from students, and I also receive from my principal lecture and I also get a lot of help from the learning and development department that division at South Metro.

NARRATOR: How have you measured the effectiveness of your approach?

SHAFAQ: The first thing is feedback. feedback helps me a lot to that is an evidence from students who are actually the users of that material which I have designed I the feedback is really good especially the section using those digital technologies it's very interactive so I can feel even myself I can assess myself also that students they are more engaged and they are answering correct they are less confused and then of course the their the formal feedback which they give at end of each assessment and they don't ask many questions like they used to ask or spending more time because it's easy for them to understand what is expected what is delivered and the other evidence is retention rate. So, the number of students they do not leave the qualification in the middle or in the beginning because they are just so overwhelmed and they think they can't cope up with it. So, retention rate is improved, success rate is improved.

So, the number of students passing the qualification or my units that is improved also or we give them two chances of passing assessments but now I feel that most of them they pass assessments even in their first attempt. So, it's very rare. It's very hard that if the I mean like this this semester in in my diploma there is only one student in the class of 11 who may have to do second attempt. The reason is that he is on a support plan and diagnosed with four different conditions and the level of those condition is even much higher. So, he is he's having trouble but all other 10 they are very much on track and half of them are on support plans like they have different types of neurodiverse conditions.

So, this success rate that percentage is also my tool to assess that I am on track.

NARRATOR: What challenges did you encounter and how did you address them?

SHAFAQ: The big challenge I mean if I reflect on it that was like I would say like year ago or two years ago it it was more struggle to find a direction by myself. I in my case I have been I have a background at university and a bigger groups with less percentage of neurodiverse students but in this program where I am teaching now is neurodiverse students percentage is actually much, much higher. So, I have to learn a lot myself and train myself first that how can I deliver them something which is easy for them to understand because they have all the rights to participate in the community and being a productive member of the community and earn for themselves also in different trades.

So, that that's what I feel that initially it was I have to train myself. I started a graduate certificate in digital teaching only so I can learn. I learned UDL by myself and attended so many trainings from learning and development division of TAFE and external trainings also. So, that was the challenge. I train myself and that's what I feel that mostly the educators they think that their job is to train but in fact their first job is to train themselves and cope up or keep keeping up with those changing teaching strategies especially in incorporating digital technologies incorporating AI assisted technologies. So, training ourselves that is the biggest challenge I think or admitting it that we need continuous growth and development.

NARRATOR: What advice would you give to others?

SHAFAQ: Practical performance is not everything. What I feel in vocational training is that they believe educators they most of them they believe that students are very good in hands-on. they can perform the task. A builder can build. Of course, that's the job he needs to do. But the that a trainee or the student, they should have the knowledge also. And knowledge is the most knowledge delivery is very difficult if we have neurodiverse students. Neurodiversity. I still believe that both in knowledge delivery and in in practical work or training educators they need to be more sensitive when it comes to the neurodiverse students to make it more inclusive for them. I mean it is inclusive but they just they need to do some more effort so they can make delivery easy for them.

They should not struggle too much to cope up with other students who do not have these neurodiverse challenges. And the other thing is what I feel among my students is that some of them do not disclose their conditions also. Why they feel that they should not disclose it or they do not realise that they have a condition? So, these things should be encouraged in vocational training that students who have challenges they should be encouraged to disclose their condition. So, they should be on a formal support plan, and the lecture will be familiar that they have a diagnosed condition. So, there should be more encouragement for students to for the disclosure.

NARRATOR: How can this approach be made sustainable?

SHAFAQ: I'm continuously improving myself as a trainer and assessor and I'm improving my training material that will guarantee sustainability. But if I think that it’s perfect, it's good. If I believe that oh whatever I have done is perfect, it's forever, it won't be sustainable. I as a trainer and assessor I should believe that it needs growth and development all the time.

NARRATOR: This video was developed by the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. For further information on building inclusive practices and supporting students with disability, visit our website adcet.edu.au