Documentation and Universal Instructional Design: A Partnership Supporting Diverse Learners in Higher Education

Abstract

Universal Instructional Design (UID), an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that promotes multiple means of access and expression in the classroom, allows instructors to better prepare diverse learners with twenty-first-century skill sets through nontraditional assignments. However, these nontraditional approaches can be difficult to assess. Videotaped, written, and visual documentation in a UID classroom allows higher education instructors to both formatively and summatively assess students. The authors explore four examples of various modes of documentation that allow them to capture snapshots of student learning as well as promote deeper reflection for themselves and their students on the learning process.