From the Faculty of Applied Science, Carla Ferreira (Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Nursing), Elisabeth Bailey (Associate Professor of Teaching, School of Nursing), and Melissa Li Sheung Ying (Director, Centre for Instructional Support) discuss how they put nursing theory into practice through multiple means of representation and applied learning in NURS 402.
What motivated you to engage with the UDL Fellows program and incorporate UDL principles into your practice?
Melissa: In my role as Director, one of my main responsibilities is to work collaboratively with all instructors within the Faculty of Applied Science (APSC) to inspire teaching excellence, support pedagogical best practices, and improve student learning experiences – and the UDL Fellows Program was a wonderful avenue to pursue this with a focus on one of our Schools. When I approached the School of Nursing, I immediately found allies in Carla and Elisabeth, and they were so excited to have the opportunity to join the program and have dedicated time to integrate UDL principles into the teaching they were already doing. It really was the perfect match!
Carla: Prior to coming to UBC, I was introduced to UDL by a colleague who sparked my curiosity about how to make learning more relevant, where learners understood not only the ‘what’ but more importantly the ‘why’ behind what they were learning in nursing. Learning about the principles of UDL changed the way I approached my teaching practice and when Melissa approached us to engage with the UDL Fellows Program, this was an easy yes!
Elisabeth: After Melissa approached us about this opportunity, I read a bit about UDL principles and realized they were aligned with my own approach to and beliefs about teaching. The UDL Fellows opportunity seemed like an excellent way to learn more about incorporating UDL to support my goal of creating inclusive and responsive learning environments. I was keen to learn more.
Walk us through your project on making NURS 402 more accessible, and specifically, what changes were made to the course to apply UDL principles?
Carla: NURS 402 is the final Foundational Skills and Competencies for Nursing Practice (FSCP) course we offer to students before they go into their final preceptorship course. In this course, not only do we review psychomotor skills the students have learned throughout the program, but we also offer students the opportunity to
consolidate their learning by participating in simulation-based learning experiences. Like other courses in the undergraduate nursing program, we use Canvas as a Learning Management System (LMS) to house learning materials for learners so they can prepare for the activities we have designed for them. The expectation is that in these 3-hour sessions, learners are to engage with the activities and take initiative in identifying areas that they know well and areas that they might need extra support in. Their ability to self-assess is important at this stage in their program. This is where Canvas can be better utilized – as opposed to solely perceiving our LMS as either a repository for course documents, we wanted to explore the opportunities within Canvas to keep learners engaged and on track for success.
To keep learners engaged, we made changes to the way we shared preparatory work for learners. Before, students mentioned that the prep work was reading-heavy – students said we relied too much on one medium of obtaining information. To address this, we introduced options – learners can read or watch videos to review particular content. We also included a “test your knowledge” section so they can tell which areas they ought to focus on when reviewing materials.
We gave them a more structured format when preparing for their simulation-based learning experience, so they know how to focus their attention.
Elisabeth: In my role as the Associate Director, Undergraduate Programs for the School of Nursing, I had the opportunity to think about incorporating UDL at the program level, in addition to in NURS 402. As part of my contribution to our project, I helped re-format our syllabi templates to incorporate UDL principles in several ways including accessible fonts, encouraging teachers to share their approach to teaching and learning at the beginning of the syllabus to set the tone for connection and support, linking assessment directly to course learning objectives to enhance motivation for learning, etc. The formatting also considers text-to-speech readers for students who may use this supportive technology. We’ve been able to update all of our program syllabi, including NURS 402, to this new formatting and have had positive initial feedback.
Can you share any resources, tools, or practices you found helpful in implementing UDL more easily? Did you experience any challenges with implementing UDL, and how did you overcome them?
Carla: I learned many tips and tricks from other UDL fellows in the program and one practice that I found that helped in implementing UDL is embracing a stance about accessibility. Incorporating an accessibility statement in the syllabus helped me think about how I can truly support learners to fully participate in whatever it was we were asking them to engage in.
Melissa: One general challenge I’ve observed when working with instructors who wish to incorporate UDL into their courses and teaching methods is that sometimes it can feel overwhelming… There are just so many things you can do! But something Carla, Elisabeth, and I practiced from the beginning was starting with small changes (the Plus One Approach) that we knew would eventually grow and layer over time to reach the ultimate holistic level of effectiveness we wanted for nursing students and their learning experiences.
Elisabeth: I agree with Melissa that taking an incremental approach has been really helpful. Each step we take towards incorporating UDL into our program is a step in the right direction. So having that framing and approach is very helpful. I also continually go back to the CAST Guidelines and resources, and I’ve directly incorporated suggestions and strategies shared at the UDL Fellows Workshops into my own practice.
How will students/your participants/your colleagues benefit from the UDL strategies you have implemented/will implement?
Carla: My hope is that the UDL strategies we have implemented address the issue of meaningful engagement among learners.
Elisabeth: The UDL Fellows Program opened my eyes to some simple but effective ways that we can “hard wire” accessibility into our program materials – syllabi, teaching materials, Canvas. By designing syllabi templates with UDL in mind, for example, we’re able to make integration easier. I think Carla, Melissa, and I are all now better able to speak the language of UDL, promote it as a framework to support deeper learning, and to serve as a resource to colleagues.
Melissa: Working alongside Carla and Elisabeth has not only been a significant step towards wider UDL exposure within the School of Nursing, but they have also contributed to a much larger initiative for the APSC community that Carol Jaeger (Associate Dean, Academic) and I have been intentionally nurturing through participation in supportive opportunities like the UDL Fellows Program. We’re looking forward to seeing how UDL expertise and experience continue to develop, expand, and thrive throughout the different parts of our Faculty.
Thank you to Carla, Melissa, and Elisabeth for sharing their story