When most people think of UDL, the idea of flexibility comes to mind. Flexibility can mean a variety of different things in a classroom context and the student data we are using for this resource shows exactly this point. Flexibility can look like designing for deadlines that are changeable or having student input on the syllabus; it can mean quick pivots to discuss emergent topics, or it can mean a one-on-one decision with a student to approve a topic change. In the spirit of embracing the idea that there are multiple ways to reach a learning goal, the UDL framework embraces the practice of flexibility. Flexibility is often cited as one of the most important aspects of accessible teaching and like the term accessibility itself, the term flexibility can have a wide range of meanings. For the founders of the UDL framework, flexibility was the antidote to rigidity and uniformity in teaching and curriculum development. Flexibility meant understanding the curriculum as disabled instead of students (CAST, 2011) and designing for choice, with a willingness to move beyond the stifling confines of traditional teaching. In short, flexibility meant designing curriculum proactively for variability.

When we spoke to students about flexibility, a slightly different picture emerged. Flexibility referred to an instructor’s willingness to listen to students or it could mean the willingness to move deadlines. It meant openness to talking through the course material and even the willingness to support students with problems outside the classroom. For the learners, flexibility most broadly had a reactive quality – the willingness to jump in and address problems as they arose, whether that be extending deadlines or working through problems with the content.

Contrast the comments from Jenna, who commented on flexibility of turning in her work compared to Kristen and Connor, who both referred more to the design of the features of the curriculum such as format of content and assessment

Jenna: I would have liked to have had more flexibility on turning my work in so it wasn’t a matter of me either missing out on my workshop entirely or turning in something that I wasn’t exactly happy with, just because we had this arbitrary deadline.

Kristen: At the same time, greater flexibility when it comes to the format of classes, the formats of assignments, attendance requirements, and participation options. Where things can’t be flexible, there should be structure; where student needs can be accommodated, they should be.

Connor: They made nearly all homework, exercises, and projects due at the end of the semester, with the potential for unlimited redoes of as many assignments as you desired, so long as everything was handed in before the end of the year.

As instructors, many of us are familiar with requests to extend deadlines as problems arise, as Jenna illustrated. This reactive aspect of teaching can support students, but it can also create significant stress for instructors balancing shifting deadlines and tracking incoming assessments, not to mention maintaining the pace of the class. When flexibility around deadlines is planned proactively, as mentioned by Kristen and Connor, instructors and students can be on the same page around flexibility which in turn means that there are fewer surprises, fewer ad hoc arrangements, and better ways to track assessments.

In other cases, flexibility took on meanings around emotional support and acceptance of students. Wesam, Josh, and Val all spoke about flexibility in terms of this supportiveness and acceptance.

Wesam: Luckily, I had a few supportive instructors. I think what I liked most about my most supportive instructor is how their initial response was one of immediate acceptance, rather than questioning. They thanked me for sharing my accommodation request and mentioned how important it is to them that students share these requests with them so they can ensure everyone in their class is having a great learning environment.

Josh: She was absolutely wonderful to talk with outside of the classroom and help me on projects and stuff and I didn’t know anybody in the classes at that time so I reached out to her and she just, it was great. She didn’t make me feel like I should know that or something already like she just was willing to teach, and that was really really helpful.

Josh: I’m doing an English minor too, even instructors in those classes I’ve taken have been really good. Just accommodating me and just like understanding that you know if I need to leave in the middle of class I could without, you know, being all weird about it, you know. And just like being really accommodating with extensions on assignments.

Val: He also kind of had that kind of personal touch, he would go around actually checking in with people. If you weren’t comfortable, or you couldn’t grasp coding at a certain level, he was actually willing to accommodate you. If you could make it work he accepted it, which was great, because on one of the assignments I couldn’t figure out how to do a certain coding type. So, I’m like can I just do it like this is? He was like it will look ugly. But if you can make it work, I’ll give you the marks, and he did.

Interestingly, Mike framed flexibility as leniency and advised caution around implementing too much flexibility.

I do feel that when given too much leniency or choice, students will take the “easy” way out instead of pushing themselves to try new or difficult things. This is not to say that for some people in some situations that this would not be incredibly useful, but I do have some experience and know that certain assessments are designed to test a student in particular way that will prepare them best for eventual employment.

Pacing

Pacing refers to the rate at which information is presented, the number of pauses in the presentation of content, the number of checks for understanding, and how many times the content is repeated or revisited. Pacing is a way to “structure” flexibility. Pacing can refer to the number of practice opportunities built into work in and outside of the class. Finally, pacing can refer to the number and lengths of breaks both within the class or in terms of the schedule of content presentation as we would see in a syllabus, for example.

The issue of deadline extensions, as we saw in the previous section, can often be thought of in terms of flexibility, but deadline extensions can also be framed as a bid to slow a course down, to gain more practice, more review, and even more depth of exploration and thinking.

Consider Josh’s approach to extensions where he acknowledges the time it will take to completion:

Now I’m at the point with, this semester an instructor I’ve taken before I’ve had to ask for extensions several times, and I just suggest a date that I know I’ll be able to get them done and they’re like, “Yep that’s fine.”

For Priyam, pacing considerations were important as an international student.

That was the time I was doing my education from a different timeline, I was in India in my home country, and I was studying here. So it’s like for me if it’s here it was 12 hours time gap, if it’s 12 in the day it is 12 in the night there so. But I know even though I sometimes I asked him to, if we can have a meeting and like nine of my time. So that’s maybe 9 for him and that evening or for him in the evening or sometime like 8 or 7. But he tried to accommodate me every time.

Aleema spoke about the importance of breaks for accessibility

Demonstrations can be accessible. My profs make them accessible. They allow me to sit. Or like they’re, they always give us breaks.

In the same way that accessible teaching and flexibility can have multiple convergent and divergent meanings, strong course design is as nuanced.

From the student responses, one of the most interesting meanings of strong course design emerged. It looks like assessment and design are synonymous–as though the design will ultimately be reflected in the quality and type of assessment.

Strong course design can incorporate innumerable features, including:

• Outlines, structure, planning
• Topic focus
• Depth of detail
• Design for access in advance
• Opportunities for practice
• Opportunities to extend learning
• Construct relevance of assessments
• Academic accommodations met readily

Kristen: Greater structure—providing students with information on the topics to be covered, the plan for each lecture, and the readings that need to be completed well in advance. It would also be helpful for students to get the full details of assignments early on in the semester.

Charlotte: He is a fantastic instructor and has already designed his course to be inclusive prior to finding out I had accessibility needs. For example, our quizzes are online and open for 5-7 days allowing for bad mental/physical health days but still leaving time to complete the quiz. His late policy is admirable because he subtracts 1% per day which is amazing. … . Also, he provides all of our notes to the class prior to our lecture.

Aleema: I think part of what allowed me to like experience my deepest learning was the fact that there was a technical element that I had to stick to. Um. But there was flexibility in that I got to take it how I wanted and use it how I wanted to. And produce like varying results I guess that weren’t, they didn’t need to be within a very specific set of criteria.

Priyam: I like to learn by practicing it. … I prefer videos and other material and they’re not lot of interactions because especially with those which I’m like very familiar with so that’s like kind of thing which varies subject wise as well and instructor wise as well.

Priyam: I have been given a choice three times, like there’s a group project due in August and we have a choice either to do only presentation, that would be like 20% or you can do in person presentation, or record the presentation that would be like a 15 for presenting and 5 for classes. So, it varies. So, I do have that option and I’m glad to have that.

Mike emphasizes another critical aspect of choice and that is the ability to extend performance and knowledge beyond the limits of the course.

I do appreciate having a brief and a rubric to work from, but I like freedom to push myself when I need it.

For learners with keen interest, background knowledge, or simply excitement for the content, it is important that our design accommodate for the “extenders”. Design should offer the option to push yourself, not just be pushed. Imagine a design that locates the locus of control for extending within the student. Imagine a design that offers the choice and modality to push, practice, and extend in ways that make sense to you.