One Small Change…
Iterative design isn’t a new concept. It’s been one of my favorite approaches to course development and teaching since my earliest days as an instructional designer. You probably do this in your teaching practice without even thinking – when you tweak something from one term to the next based on how an activity went, or how well students responded to a prompt.
Here at DePaul’s Center for Teaching and Learning, we’ve noticed that faculty have less bandwidth for course design and revision. At the same time, instructors want to offer the best learning experience for your students, and to be inclusive of learners’ different preferences, abilities, backgrounds, and goals.
Why not try the “Plus-One” Approach?
Plus-One is a framework for inclusive teaching proposed by Thomas Tobin and Kristin Behling in their book Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education.
The Plus-One approach just means making small, incremental changes to course design to increase its flexibility and usability for diverse learners. It is inspired by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which advocates for providing multiple means of engagement, representation, action, and expression in learning.
The Plus-One Principle helps us to apply the UDL framework – or any deliberate course redesign – in a manageable and practical way. Instead of trying to overhaul an entire course all at once, focus on revising one thing.
The UDL Framework can offer a path to follow with your “plus ones.” For example, if you want to provide multiple means of engagement, add one new way for learners to interact with the content, such as an asynchronous discussion, a quiz, or a game. If you want to provide multiple means of representation, add one new way for learners to access the information, such as an audio recording, a video, or a graphic organizer. If you want to provide multiple means of action and expression, add one new way for learners to demonstrate their learning, such as a portfolio, a presentation, or a podcast.
Don’t know where to start? Out of ideas? Call on your trusty instructional designer!
The instructional designers and production teams at the CTL are here to support DePaul faculty. For example, if you’d like to add a game, the DePaul Instructional Game & Innovation (DIGI) Lab can work with you to design and build digital or analog games to support your learning goals. If you’d like to record a video to explain a challenging concept, Academic Media Production can record and edit a variety of instructional videos in our Loop and Lincoln Park studios.
Most instructors want to continuously improve their courses, but our traditional approach to “revising a class” seems daunting, especially now. Plus-One helps instructors find concrete, manageable ways to plan for course revisions that will benefit students. It’s one strategy to foster more inclusive and equitable learning and interaction in and out of the classroom. Not only is it a way to address current challenges and pain points, but it is also an opportunity for innovation.
Reference
Tobin, T. & Behling, K. (2018). Reach everyone, teach everyone: Universal Design for Learning in higher education. West Virginia University Press.