Examples of Multiple Means of Action & Expression

Examples of Multiple Means of Action & Expression

Overview

Offering multiple means of action & expression honors the different ways learners approach the learning process. Each guideline shares considerations for interacting with materials, expressing learning, and strategizing how to meet learning goals.  

Resources

  1. Multiple Means of Action & Expression Guidelines & Considerations
    1. CAST UDL Guidelines website that provides guidance on how to incorporate each guideline and the corresponding considerations
  2. Some of the examples on this page align with AACN New Essentials competencies within the following domains: 
    1. Domain 2: Person-Centered Care
    2. Domain 3: Population Health
    3. Domain 7: Systems-Based Practice
    4. Domain 9: Professionalism

Examples

Guideline 4: Design Options for Interaction

4.1 Vary and honor the methods for response, navigation, and movement. 
  1. Choose multimedia content that allows for flexibility with rate of response, e.g., learning objects, so students can work at their own pace which offers flexibility in interaction with the information.  
  2. Design discussions and assignments that allow for student choice of response method, e.g., hand-drawn diagram vs. digitally created diagram, to provide options for physical response. 
  3. Identify areas of the course that would benefit from flexible due dates (e.g., a flexible due date course policy, assignments with "best by" due dates, a one-time late assignment pass, etc.) to reduce barriers and build in the flexibility for students to navigate circumstances in their personal lives that will inevitably arise. 

4.2 Optimize access to accessible materials and assistive and accessible technologies and tools. 
  1. Choose digital materials and tools that give options for navigating with either a mouse or a keyboard.  
  2. Choose digital materials and tools that can be used with common screen reader software. 
  3. When creating activities like active learning guides in a Word document, format with consistent headings and list styles instead of fillable tables to provide equitable usability.  

Guideline 5: Design Options for Expression & Communication

5.1 Use multiple media for communication.
  1. Create a variety of assessment types within a course so students can communicate their learning in multiple ways.  
  2. Incorporate infographic assignments, which uses both text and images, to integrate content and composition, as this will prepare students for creating or selecting effective patient education materials. (AACN New Essentials 2.2e & 2.8) 
5.2 Use multiple tools for construction, composition, and creativity.
  1. Give students additional support in areas of writing, grammar, and assistive technology, providing examples as needed. (ID Tip: Unsure of what tools to suggest? Visit the Ed Tech Rubric Smartsheet.)  
  2. Embed options to construct responses with a variety of media tools. 
  3. For media-based assignments, offer multiple media tool options for students to choose from to create their deliverable.
  4. Provide multiple tool options for construction and composition throughout a course to develop students’ communication skills across modalities. (AACN New Essentials 2.2e & 2.8) 
5.3 Build fluencies with graduated support for practice and performance.
  1. Create unique assignment rubrics that focus on quality and completion which embeds opportunities for differentiated feedback.  
  2. Provide multiple opportunities for formative assessment to support practice and performance.
  3. Provide the opportunity for instructors to give differentiated feedback.
  4. Design multi-part projects with peer-feedback to scaffold fluency and allow students to synthesize their learning with a final product.  
5.4 Address biases related to modes of expression and communication.
  1. Include a variety of assignments with a range in communication modes using multimedia to show multiple forms of expression are valued.  
  2. Explore culturally responsive communication strategies to prepare students in fostering effective partnerships and appropriate care. (AACN New Essentials 3.1g, 3.2c, & 9.6) 

Guideline 6: Design Options for Strategy Development

6.1 Set meaningful goals.
  1. Use a standardized course shell to house the course schedule, course outcomes, and module outcomes in consistent locations so that learning goals are readily findable and top-of-mind. 
  2. Provide templates and examples for complex assignments to serve as models for deliverables.
  3. Set due dates in the LMS for assignments and discussions to support student time management and organization of tasks. 
6.2 Anticipate and plan for challenges. 
  1. Embed metacognitive questionnaires related to planning for time and effort to scaffold students’ ability to strategically reach their goals.
  2. Use task lists in assignment instructions to support student planning for steps required.  
6.3 Organize information and resources.
  1. If not essential to the learning goal, embed utilization guides for software tool options along with links to their sites to reduce cognitive load so students can focus attention on the learning goal. 
  2. Organize active learning guide questions by chapter/topic to chunk and categorize information to support strategic notetaking while working through module content. 
  3. Choose digital course materials that provide highlight and note-taking capabilities to support organization of learning.  
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress.
  1. Create questions to help guide self-monitoring and reflection for students.
  2. Use a course icebreaker discussion to ask students what type of feedback they prefer. 
  3. Use rubrics for assignments to articulate clear expectations that focus on quality and completeness, which provides students with the opportunity to monitor their progress. 
  4. Include self-reflection/assessment questions in active learning guides to allow students to reflect on their learning progress as they monitor where they perform well and areas for improvement. 
  5. Include assignments that incorporate peer reviews, which provides an alternative method of feedback to monitor progress. 
  6. Use of case study learning objects with questions embedded throughout, automatic feedback, and the ability to download self-assessment results allows students to reflect on and monitor their progress.
  7. Create or encourage students to create their own flashcards as a way for students to self-monitor their learning.  
6.5 Challenge exclusionary practices.
  1. Choose content that explores the biases and barriers that have historically impacted population health outcomes. (AACN New Essentials 3.2 & 7.2) 
  2. Choose content that investigates policies that impact health equity within communities and populations. (AACN New Essentials 3.1 & 3.4)
  3. Design assignments that evaluate health policies and their impact on access, cost-effectiveness, quality, and healthcare outcomes across populations. (AACN New Essentials 3.3, 3.4 & 7.2)


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