Prerequisite Pedagogical Approach

The most important pedagogical approach that impacts accessibility is to lay out how the active learning techniques that we have chosen are supporting our students to achieve the learning outcomes of our lessons. This is what we will need to maintain, in our alternative options.

Below is a description of this approach by digging deeper into the conversation of Alignment.

Revisiting Alignment:

Picture description: Triangle with three corners labeled as: Learning Outcomes; Active Learning and Assessment. Alignment written in the middle of the Triangle.

In order to create meaningful learning experiences for our learners we need to make sure that the active learning techniques that we engage our learners in are adequately supporting our learners to meet the learning outcomes of our lesson, and that the assessment that we design are also assessing the achievement of our learning outcomes.

Activity Meta Objectives:

Picture description: Image builds on previous image of the triangle of alignment. Explains how active learning can support students to learning outcomes. Additional description on the triangle corner for Active Learning reads:

How does the technique we chose support students to achieve the learning outcome (LO):

1. What is this activity or technique good at accomplishing?
2. How do those related to the learning outcomes (LOs) of the lesson?

Active Learning techniques are each good at accomplishing certain things. We can call those activity meta objectives. When making choices about what active learning techniques to choose for our classes we need to first look at what the techniques are good at accomplishing (or what are the technique’s meta objectives). There are always things that each technique is good at accomplishing that are absolutely essential in supporting our learners to meet the learning outcome(s) of our lesson. There may also be aspects and qualities of the teaching technique that may not be essential in supporting our learners to meet our learning outcomes.

Redesigning for Accomodations:

Picture description: Image builds on previous image and explains what is essential when redesigning activities for the purpose of accomodation.

When redesigning for accomodation, it is essential to keep the qualities and aspects of the active learning technique that are contributing to the learners meeting the learning outcomes of our lesson. However, we can eliminate the aspects that are not contributing to the learning outcomes when those are barriers for student learning.