Have you ever noticed how some products just make sense: a wider handle on a potato peeler for easier gripping or software that automatically corrects commonly misspelled word. In both instances these products were originally conceived to meet the needs of people with disabilities but ended up benefiting all users. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) takes the concept of universal design and applies it to learning. Below are suggestions on how to apply UDL principles to the design and delivery of writing assignment instructions.

#1 – Design instructions with the user in mind

What makes some products intuitive to use and others almost impossible to figure out even with an instruction manual? In a word, usability. This refers to how well a user can perform the designated task with the tool provided. If the tool works well, the user should be able to perform the task effortlessly and effectively. This can be achieved in assignment instructions by recognizing, designing, and delivering the instructions with the different needs of different learners in mind. Scholars in rhetoric and composition acknowledge the importance and impact of the assignments and their instructions (Bernhardt, 1986; Clark, 2005; Costanzo, 1986; Johannessen, 1989; Kirsch, 1988; Nelson, 1995; Walvoord & McCarthy, 1990). But a UDL perspective brings all of these ideas together while never losing sight of that the goal is making the assignment accessible to all students.

For example, students with learning disabilities will need content in small chunks. Students with limited sight will need instructions sheets in large font. Here are suggestions on how to design your instruction sheets with usability in mind.

• Present information in small chunks separated by headers
• Put key tasks and dates in bold
• Be generous with white space
• Refrain from trying to make text fit on one sheet by reverting to very small font
• Provide supplement information explaining key aspects of the assignment

#2- Reduce barriers to accessing the assignment

In college classes, assignments are tools for learning. And yet, getting students to give the assignment instructions a close and thoughtful reading is often difficult (Nelson, 1995) . For some, the assignment presentation is inaccessible because of its delivery format. For other students, not having the assignment available when needed becomes a barrier. Making assignment instructions readily accessible in multiple modes and formats encourages use. Here are some strategies for reducing barriers to accessing assignment instruction sheets:

• Prepare the assignments in advance for students who need the assignment delivered in an alternate delivery mode, such as transferred to Braille or read orally through a text to speech reader.
• Go over the instructions orally in class
• Make the instructions and supplemental material accessible in multiple formats. In addition to distributing a print version in class, make the instructions accessible online through a course management system like Blackboard as a downloable Word file or .pdf file. By placing the assignment on a web site or a course management system, the assignment is available 24/7

#3 – Establish and articulate an assignment's goals and objectives and criteria for assessment from the start

One of the keys to building in flexibility in an assignment is the clear articulation of an assignment's goals and objectives. A goal is the broad general statement about what the students will learn from doing the assignment. The objectives are the specific learning outcomes; in other words, what the student will be able to do after completing the assignment. In the teaching of writing, clearly articulated goals and objectives aids in a student's ability to understand an assignment and a teacher's ability to teach writing (Fulkerson, 1990; Shipka, 2005). By focusing on the goals and objectives in the assignment design process, one can identify places where flexibility in presentation or engagement can occur without reducing the academic rigor of the assignment. For example, if the goal of an oral presentation is to demonstrate the ability to synthesize and summarize information, then how that presentation is delivered can be flexible. For a student who is deaf, presenting information orally is a barrier. However, the same objectives for the assignment can be met through a PowerPoint presentation. This is an example of how clearly articulated goals and objectives aid flexibility.

Equally important, if an assignment's goals and objectives are articulated, the criteria for evaluation is also clear allowing for flexibility in execution. For example, if a student is ADHD, that student may have learned accommodation strategies to help gather and organize ideas on paper. These strategies may be different from those presented in a course, but more usabe for the student. If the student understands the criteria for assessment, the student can use the accommodation strategies he or she knows to do the assignment and then reformat the assignment in its final draft to meet the assessment criteria. Here are some strategies for presenting an assignment's goals, objectives, and assessment criteria:

• List the assignment goals and objectives on the assignment sheet
• Explain how these assignment goals and objectives fit into overall course goals
• List the criteria for evaluation on the assignment sheet
• Explain the assessment process for the assignment when the instructions are distributed

#4 - Provide visuals and examples

Research in the technical writing aspect of instruction design has found that a user is more likely to successfully complete directions if representations of the finish product are provided, particularly visual (Ganier, 2004). For a class assignment, this means providing students access to examples of parts or the entire completed assignment. Giving student access to student examples of the kind of writing that is expected for an assignment is extremely helpful to all students. This is not a case of you doing the work for the student. It is modeling the proper or correct writing format, organization, content, and style. One of the fundaments of UDL in assignment design is to avoid the temptation to assume the students are proficient in every aspect of the task or genre you assign. Just as a person would have a hard time putting together the parts of a barbeque without instructions even if the person had a general idea of what a barbeque looked like, so too our students greatly benefit from having writing samples of a particular assignment.

• This can be done on the paper version of the assignment instruction sheet by including short examples. You can also provide handouts of longer examples
• Provide the URL on the instruction sheet where the student can go for additional examples
• Post examples on the course Blackboard site in a designated example section
• To get your own examples, ask students of previous classes if you can share their writing with your current students. You will want to get permission from your students. Examples in a classroom textbook are nice, but they pale in comparison from real examples from former students
• Choose several examples that show different approaches to the assignment to avoid the student temptation to think there is only one way to do something

Benefits of Applying UDL to Instructions

Applying UDL principles to assignment instruction design will benefit both you and your students. A UDL enhanced instruction sheet will increase your students' opportunity for success by making the assignment accessible to all learners through added clarity, flexibility, and focus. When the instructions are clear, well thought out, and self-explanatory, students have the tools they need to succeed in meeting the assignment's objectives. Moreover, building more robust instructions can make the assignment a learning tool itself. This happens because you can build in examples and explanations right into the instructions itself reinforcing the learning objectives of the assignment.

This approach equally benefits you, the instructor, by reducing the number of students who struggle or fail with an assignment. UDL enhanced assignment instructions can help your students produce the papers you want to read. Indeed, being clear in the goal and objectives of an assignment and presenting the task so that all students understand and can succeed is nothing new. It is just good teaching.

Resources

• Bernhardt, S. A. (1986). Seeing the Text. College Composition and Communication, 37 (1), 66-78.
• Clark, I. (2005). A Genre Approach to Writing Assignments. Composition Forum, 2 (14).
• Costanzo, W. (1986). Film as Composition. College Composition and Communication, 37 (1), 79-86.
• Fulkerson, R. (1990). Composition Theory in the Eighties: Axiological Consensus and Paradigmatic Diversity. College Composition and Communication, 41 (4), 409-429.
• Ganier, F. (2004). Factors Affecting the Processing of Procedural Instructions: Implications for Document Design. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 47 (1), 15-26.
• George, D. (2002). From Analysis to Design: Visual Communication in the Teaching of Writing. College Composition and Communication, 4 (54), 11-39.
• Johannessen, L. R. (1989). Teaching Writing: Motivating Inquiry. The English Journal, 78 (2), 64-66.
• Kirsch, G. (1988). Students' Interpretations of Writing Tasks: A Case Study. Journal of Basic Writing, 7 (2), 81-90.
• Nelson, J. (1995). Reading Classrooms as Text: Exploring Student Writers' Interpretive Practices. College Composition and Communication, 46 (3), 441-429.
• Shipka, J. (2005). A Multimodal Task-Based Framework for Composing. College Composition and Communication, 57 (2), 277-306.
• Straub, R., & Lunsford, R. F. (1995). Twelve Readers Reading: Responding to College Student Writing . Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
• Walvoord, B. E., & McCarthy, L. P. (1990). Thinking and Writing in College: A Naturalistic Study of Students in Four Disciplines . Urbana, IL: NCTE.