Attitude Survey
(Value Line)
Before You Start:
Before reviewing the Optimization and Redesign sections for ideas about making changes to your activity, review the Activity Meta-objectives section and make sure the meta objectives of the activity you have chosen (in this case, Attitude Survey or Value line) are well aligned with the learning outcome of your lesson, and that the activity was, in the first place, the best choice for supporting your students in accomplishing your lesson outcome(s).
Activity Description
During an attitude survey or value line activity, students respond to a series of questions about their opinions, values, or beliefs on a given topic. Each response is rated on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means “strongly disagree” and 10 means “strongly agree.” A physical line marked with numbers from 0 to 10 is drawn on the floor or wall. Students stand next to the number that corresponds to their level of agreement with each statement.
Activity Meta-Objectives
What is the activity good at accomplishing and how does it accomplish that?
Below is a list of some of the things you can accomplish with your students using this active learning technique. Before making changes to the technique, check (and add to) all that the Attitude Survey activity is contributing to your students’ learning experience and make sure you maintain those through the changes that you are making.
- Enables students to discover and compare their beliefs, opinions, and values with those of their peers by requiring them to choose their positions on the value line in real time.
- Promotes engagement and a sense of community by involving all students in the classroom in a low or no stakes situation.
- Others?
Optimizing for Accessibility
- Draw a clear line with legible and large labels for different numbers/bins. Provide clear instructions and inform students orally about the locations of the different numbers on the line.
- Describe the steps to the activity orally and in written format, and check for understanding before inviting the students to stand up for the activity.
- Explain what the extremes of the value line mean (for instance: “0 on the left of the room means that you strongly disagree with this statement”).
- Avoid using marker colors that are more difficult to read such as orange, pink, yellow etc.
- Ensure that the statement you are providing is clear and that students have all the necessary prerequisite information they need to engage with the statement..
- Move any tables, chairs, backpacks, water bottles, or other classroom furniture away from the value line and ensure there is sufficient space for your students to move around.
- Give your students enough time to think and reflect on the statement and to locate the number of their choice on the value line.
- Provide the statements in a written format. If using PowerPoint, show the statements one by one using animations or on separate slides.
- Recap the result of the value line for each of the statements (or have the students reflect on and/or describe what the attitude survey/value line is representing) before moving on to the next statement.
- Put aside extra time for students to be able to make it back to their seats.
- Make sure to put aside time to make meaning from the attitude survey/value line activity as a group (i.e: describe what the value line meant, or have students (in small groups or on their own) come up with an understanding of what the value line represented.
Redesign Process Guide
Step 1: Identify essential components
Identify the components/aspects of the attitude survey activity that are essential for learners to meet the learning outcomes of the lesson.
- How does attitude survey help learners meet the learning outcomes of the lesson?
Step 2: Identify obstacles
- Which parts of these essential components/aspects are an obstacle for this learner?
Step 3: redesign to remove obstacles
- How can we redesign these essential components to remove the obstacle for the learner but still equally support them to meet the LO of the lesson?
An example of applying this process
Using activity meta objectives to redesign for temporary accommodation:
Below is an example of a redesigned Value Line/Attitude Survey activity while maintaining the activity’s meta objectives. I encourage you to engage in the same process to redesign this activity for other accommodation needs.
This redesign removes the need to walk around in order to engage with the activity, which can be more accessible for students who might be experiencing mobility or visual impairments.
Process:
Step 1: Identify essential components
- Which parts of the attitude survey activity are essential for learners to meet the learning outcome(s) (LOs) of the lesson?
Response: The opportunity for students to discover and compare their beliefs, opinions, and values with those of their peers in a low or no stakes environment is essential for students to meet the LO of the lesson.
Step 2: Identify obstacles
- Which parts or aspects of the essential components are an obstacle for this student?
Response: The aspects of the value line activity that require students to get up and move to a number on the physical line present a challenge for this learner.
Step 3: redesign to remove obstacles
Take necessary steps to redesign these essential components to remove the obstacle for the learner but still support them in meeting the LO of the lesson:
The aim of this redesign should be to eliminate movement when it isn’t essential to student learning and modify to provide alternative ways of meeting the learning outcome.
Here is how to redesign Attitude Survey/Value Line to accommodate a learner with mobility impairments:
- Let your students know in advance that there is an option to participate in the value line activity without having to move.
- Create index cards with different colors and numbers, and distribute them to the students. The students can show how much they agree or disagree with the statement by raising these cards.
- Alternatively, integrate a digital value line using online platforms (such as Google slides).
- For large classes, if possible, this activity can be adapted into a group activity where one representative from each group can present the group’s opinions or beliefs on the value line.
- Instead of physically moving to positions on the value line, students can indicate their opinions by leaning in different directions at their desks: neutral, right, far right, left, and far left.
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Now It’s Your Turn
Choose and click on one of the Learner Scenarios below, go through the process of redesigning the Think, Pair, Share activity in order to accommodate the learner. The aim is to fully engage and support this learner to meet the LO(s) of your lesson while not removing any support from your other learners.
Post your response in the comment box.
Scenario 1
You have a learner in your workshop/class who is visually impaired.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 2
You have a learner in your workshop/class who is deaf.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 3
You have a learner in your workshop/class with severe social anxiety.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 4
You have a learner in your workshop/classroom who is in a wheel chair.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 5
You have a learner in your workshop/class with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?
Scenario 6
You have a learner in your workshop/class with auditory processing disorder.
How would you redesign your activity to accommodate them?