Learner identity and universal design for learning. A proposal for dealing with diversity

Abstract

Attention to diversity requires an understanding of students’ different ways of learning in order to provide an appropriate response. In recent years, the analysis of learning has focused on learner identity (LI), for which the dialogic approach constitutes a complete and versatile framework. On the basis of this paradigm, with contributions from educational psychology, pedagogy and neuroscience, this article proposes an attention to diversity focused, on the one hand, on the analysis of LI and, on the other, on the universal design for learning based on four fundamental principles: 1) interaction and negotiation between teacher and students, 2) provision of options and flexibility in activities and in the means of representation and expression, 3) application of methods of cooperative learning, and 4) empowerment of students based on continuous assessment and metacognition. For the first step, consisting of the evaluation of LI, we present a specific questionnaire (LIQ) that can be used by both teachers and students, facilitating the analysis of and reflection on how students face learning.

Keywords: Attention to diversity, learner identity, dialogic approach, universal design for learning, cooperative learning, LIQ.