Adaptive Learning Pedagogy of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Multimodal Training

Abstract

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been searching for effective ways to train a large number of air traffic control specialists (ATCSs) to fill the growing number of vacant positions; however, it has been challenging to increase the trainees' passing rate. It might be possible that the traditional ways of teaching that often use a single information display type (e.g. text summarized in PowerPoint slides, providing information in a fixed format that prevents customization based on each trainee's needs, or being unable to provide multiple means to engage in activities or manage anxiety) can affect the performance of the trainees if diversified needs among the students exist. For example, some trainees who are identified as "average" might show similar performances regardless of whether the information is presented visually or verbally. Conversely, other trainees might perform exceptionally well when visual information is presented, yet perform poorly when auditory information is played. If a course was taught using mostly verbal instructions, then those other trainees would not perform well unless they are provided with appropriate scaffolding techniques that might give them time to adapt.To address the students' needs, the concept of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was introduced to provide as many diversified teaching methods as possible based on three classifications (i.e. information display methods, action and expression methods, and engagement methods) (Hall, Meyer, & Rose, 2012;Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002;Rose, 2000;. The UDL approaches have been applied not only in K-12 classrooms (Edyburn, 2010;Hall et al., 2012;Rose, Meyer, & Hitchcock, 2005) creating such diversified materials takes significant time and effort, requiring a better approach to reduce efforts while still obtaining similar increases of performances.One of the approaches that might diminish the efforts of developing UDL-based materials is the identification of preferred learning styles of the trainee population. While many models of learning styles exist (Hawk & Shah, 2007), the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) is unique in its approach. The ILS divides student characteristics largely based on four classifications: perception, input, processing, and understanding (Felder & Brent, 2005;Felder & Silverman, 1988;Felder & Soloman, 2000), and the learning styles of the student can be assessed through asking approximately forty binary choice questions (Felder & Soloman, n.d.). This is a highly respected model that has been applied to a diverse range of areas, some of which include Learning StylesFelder and Silverman (1988) published one of the most widely cited pieces of work on the topic of learning styles. In it, they outlined four learning style dimensions and developed a web-based questionnaire called the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) designed to determine one's learning style preferences. The proposed model can be seen in Table 1. Originally, the publication also included a fifth dimension -inductive/deductive -bu...

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