To ensure equitable access to authentic, meaningful, and relevant learning environments, one must first know what is meant by “equity” concerning education. In our course reading this week, written by Waterford (2019), equity is defined as “offering individualized support to students that addresses possible barriers” and “provid[ing] people with resources that fit their circumstances.” Therefore, a teacher should strive to create a learning environment that provides every student with opportunities to find suitable materials to enhance their learning, and significant, meaningful opportunities to engage with their contents, teacher(s), and peers. These concepts are as accurate in open and distributed learning contexts as they are in traditional “brick and mortar” classrooms. For more information, watch the fascinating YouTube video below.
To simply say, “my classroom will be equitable” without providing a plan for equity to occur, would be foolish. Luckily, a set of guidelines exist, that outline how a classroom can indeed provide equity to students. The instructions are called the Universal Design for Learning. This week’s reading, Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable, written by Basham and colleagues, it is stated that “variability should be the norm because academic, social, and cultural differences exist.” Furthermore, the article by Selwyn (2020) points out that “it is important [as a teacher] of having heightened awareness of the inequalities implicit in online education.” This quote points out the need for U.D.L. in online classrooms. A third article we read this week is by Kral and Schwab (2012), and it provides a set of design principles that I believe can help teachers coordinate their online learning environments. The infographic below describes their eight policies.
When I started this course, I thought that the principles and design theories in online, open, and distributed education would be very different from those in a “regular” classroom. However, I now know that although differences do exist, the core values of meaningful learning, impactful lesson design, variability in means of expression and access, and a psychologically safe classroom are just as important in virtual settings as they are in traditional settings.
References
Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University E.T.C. Press.Masters, G. (2018, April 30)
Edwards, P. Cultivating Equity in The Classroom. Retrieved from YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZoF8yC2ECY
Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. A.N.U. Press.​http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012​ Retrieved from https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/learning-spaces %EF%BB%BF
Selwyn. N. (2020). Online learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19.[Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2020/04/30/1380217/online-learning-rethinking-teachers-digital-competence-in-light-of-covid-19
July 21, 2020 at 7:16 pm
Another fantastic blog post, Timm!!
As always, your writing was a delight to read – your decision to incorporate notable quotes from the course readings as well as your own personal thoughts and experiences made it very interesting and engaging.
I really liked the point you made at the end of your blog about how the “core values of meaningful learning, impactful lesson design, variability in means of expression and access, and a psychologically safe classroom are just as important in virtual settings as they are in traditional settings.” I totally agree with you – while the theories and frameworks we are learning about right now are focused on open and distributed learning, at the end of the day, they are truly applicable to all learning contexts as well. Further, after seeing the lovely infographics you have made for your last couple of blogs, I feel inspired to possibly create my own in my next post!
Keep up the great work, I can’t wait to read what you choose to explore in topic 4. 🙂
July 21, 2020 at 11:25 pm
Hey Timm!
Again, I am writing this for the third time, but I love how you gave a clear definition of the term equity before beginning your blog. I am starting to realize that I should have done this as well! Thank you for adding in the “Cultivating Equity in the Classroom” video, I have always loved these simple draw-as -I-teach videos because it is the pure definition of multimodal. I cannot believe how skilled you have got in creating these beautiful informational images the graphics you chose were perfect and so pleasing to the eye. I can say that I agree that when I first began this course, I too thought that design principles and design theories would all be very different regardless of if the classes were face-to-face or online, but maybe they are not. There are specific characteristics in both scenarios that if were not made would create utter chaos and inequitable classroom, however, in the end, a teacher’s job is all the same to create a learning environment fit to each student’s individuals needs.