Created by the Center for Instructional Innovation & Assessment and Outreach & Continuing Education for the TLCo-op.
Updated 4/3/23
Introduction
phases of the heuristic for inclusive instructional design
The Heuristic for Inclusive Instructional Design (HIID) is a tool developed and used by Western Washington University’s Teaching and Learning Cooperative. It is intended to serve as a guide for centering inclusive design practices. It provides instructional designers and faculty with prompts in various stages of the design process. The HIID is by no means an exhaustive list. It undergoes regular edits as the field expands, as our contributors provide feedback, and as our knowledge grows.
The HIID attempts to build on traditional instructional design models like ADDIE, which has been used for over 50 years by military, corporate, and educational designers, while incorporating inclusive design considerations influenced by more recent models such as the ACE Framework, which focuses on adaptability, connections, and equity. Intentional prompts facilitate critical thinking and reflection on one’s own disciplinary roots, course content, materials, and activities. These prompts are curated in a way that not only includes traditional instructional design best practices, but more importantly, they seek to center accessibility, diversity, equity, inclusivity, and anti-racism (ADEI-AR) in relation to a more holistic method for instructional design.
Engaging in reflective practices outside of traditional instructional design models may assist faculty and course developers with building student-centered courses where learners benefit from accessible materials, inclusive environments, clear expectations, multiple means of assessment, and broader representation of identities and opportunities in the curriculum. When students have a better sense of motivation, engagement, and belonging, the stage is set for learning and growth.
Phases of the HIID
The HIID is composed of phases and sections. Phases represent the general steps of instructional design and are listed below (and in each section of the HIID):
- Research and Reflect: Investigating and critically examining the course, materials, and assessments, considering learners’ needs, backgrounds, and identities as well as objectives and outcomes. Reframing of the ADDIE stage of Analyze.
- Design and Draft: Planning, organizing, curating, and creating the preliminary versions of the course content, materials, and assessments. Reframing of the ADDIE stages of Design and Develop.
- Employ and Evaluate: Implementing instruction and collecting feedback on course materials based on observations of the instructor, learners, and instructional peers. Reframing of the ADDIE stages of Implement and Evaluate.
Sections of the HIID
The three phases are composed of sections. These sections attempt to address gaps in traditional models by focusing on questions that identify areas for reflection related to accessibility, diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism, as well as belonging and well-being. The sections include:
- Positionality and Intersections of Identity
- Student Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Contexts
- Adaptability, Accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning
- Connections and Community
- Outcomes and Objectives
- Alignment, Assessment, and Activities
While this organization is helpful for presenting the HIID, it is important to note that many lines of questioning could easily be placed in other sections as there are areas where certain topics may overlap. It is also flexibly designed so that faculty or course developers may enter the HIID from any phase or section, depending on their needs, their level of expertise, or where they are in their design process.
HIID Graphic Explained
The graphical representation of the HIID is composed of three concentric circles with Positionality and Intersections of Identity, Student Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Contexts, and Adaptability, Accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning in the outside circle, representing the importance of building an environment conducive to learning. This outer circle represents the elements that must be established in order to develop Connections and Community, which is the next, middle circle. The questions contained in Connections and Community are critical for laying the foundation to be able to address the final, inner circle of Outcomes and Objectives and Alignment, Assessment, and Activities. To underscore the idea that designers/faculty can enter this process at any stage of their design journey, the phases (Research/Reflect, Design/Develop, and Employ/Evaluate) encircle all of the sections.
Feedback on the HIID
To provide feedback on the HIID, please complete the linked survey below:
Sections of the HIID
Positionality and Intersections of Identity
Foundational to inclusive course design is focusing a lens on your positionality as a course designer and what you bring to the course from your own background. As you engage in the content, it is also essential to reflect upon how the discipline, field, institution, and course materials are situated in relation to privilege, identity, intersectionality, and biases.
Research/Reflect
- How do your biases and identity impact your instructional design choices?
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How will you prepare to address inequities, racism, and difficult moments in your course–and potentially repair relationships?
- How is your discipline/content centered on systems of power, oppression, and control (e.g., whiteness, colonialism, patriarchy, heteronormativity)?
- How might you critically evaluate the relevance of your discipline/content for your students?
Design/Draft
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How can you develop materials that promote critical thinking and reflection?
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How can you center non-dominant cultural identities and perspectives in your class and in your course materials?
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How will you foster an environment for critical thinking that values identities and provides opportunities to do reflection work?
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How will students demonstrate diverse ideas and values, and reflect on identity through creative assessment options?
Employ/Evaluate
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How will you and your students review course materials in a way that promotes critical reflection of your discipline and course activities?
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Where will students have opportunities to reflect on their learning in coordination with valuing and doing identity work?
Student Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Contexts
To foster a course in which all students feel welcome and can succeed requires intentional design that gives attention and respect to students’ lived experiences, backgrounds, identities, and cultures. Learning more about your students can help you support their needs, develop guidelines for spaces where they can share their authentic selves, and create a more student-centered inclusive course.
Research/Reflect
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What do you know about your students’ lived experiences? How will that inform your course design?
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How is the premise of the course situated in a specific cultural set of knowledge that privileges certain experiences, skills, vocabulary, and identities?
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What work is needed to plan for course delivery that is inclusive and sensitive to different identities and experiences?
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How do you ensure that your readings, activities, and assessments represent a diverse range of identities?
Design/Draft
- How will you model and create opportunities for students to use their lived name and pronouns?
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How will you develop course materials, activities, and assessments that:
- support divergent ways of expressing knowledge and participating?
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reflect on or communicate specific cultural knowledge?
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allow for individual accommodations?
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represent students’ knowledge and background in a variety of ways?
Employ/Evaluate
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How do you assess whether you have created materials and an environment that reflects equity, inclusion, representation, and anti-racism?
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How can you continue to find new resources for your course that promote access, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism?
- How can you create a class climate that addresses the conditions that oppress marginalized communities and keeps students accountable for their actions, thoughts, and behaviors?
Adaptability, Accessibility, and Universal Design for Learning
To ensure students can fully engage with your course, learn about your students’ needs and build course materials, activities, and assessments with consideration for equitable access, accessible design, and flexibility for ways students can interact with content and each other.
Research/Reflect
- How can you survey the needs of your students to adequately adapt your course?
- How can learners of all abilities meet your objectives and outcomes?
- How can you remediate, replace, or create new resources that are accessible to ALL learners?
- How does your course provide multiple ways of engaging with and demonstrating understanding of material?
Design/Draft
- What ways are materials accessible in multiple formats (e.g. audio, video, text, etc.)?
- How will activities, assessments, and content be designed to incorporate various learning preferences and abilities?
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How will you ensure all students have access to course materials and necessary technologies?
- How will you develop multiple and equitable opportunities for learners to participate in the classroom community?
Employ/Evaluate
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How will you identify gaps and implement changes related to adaptability, access, and accessibility?
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How will students provide feedback about course accessibility, content, and assessments?
Connections and Community
Ensuring an established and caring educational environment in a course helps students feel a sense of belonging and supports their success through interaction from the instructor as well as other students. Fostering this environment requires intentional actions, language, and expectations around engagement with others and includes methods for reaching out to students and providing feedback throughout the learning process.
Research/Reflect
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How will you create a class community that values various learner backgrounds?
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What engagement opportunities can you implement for your course modality and discipline?
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What kinds of group work or class norms need to be established for your students to build an engaged community of diverse learners?
- How will you be prepared to manage class conflict and microaggressions?
Design/Draft
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How do your activities, assessments, and materials allow students to engage with each other, course content, and the instructor?
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What are your expectations for engagement and how might you develop those collaboratively with students?
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How will you communicate in a way that demonstrates a tone of care, respect, dignity, and support?
Employ/Evaluate
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What avenues will you provide for students to develop a sense of community?
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How are engagement expectations communicated and valued?
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What ways do you allow students to evaluate themselves and their peers?
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How can they evaluate engagement and communication opportunities?
Outcomes and Objectives
Traditionally, creating clear, measurable course outcomes and objectives has been central to a solid instructional design plan. Likewise, these same elements bring clarity to a course and can help address accessibility, equity, and inclusion considerations.
Research/Reflect
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What standards and benchmarks are required for your program (accreditation, etc.)?
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What objectives or outcomes are students capable of meeting?
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What specific objectives or outcomes must students achieve?
Design/Draft
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What are your specific, measurable course objectives or outcomes?
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How will you articulate the relevance and importance of course objectives or outcomes in clear language for students?
- How have you addressed objectives or outcomes in multiple activities and in different formats?
Employ/Evaluate
- How will you communicate objectives and outcomes to students?
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How do you know whether or not your objectives or outcomes are being met?
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How will students connect objectives or outcomes to their current/future work and experiences?
Alignment, Assessment, and Activities
Assessments and accompanying course activities should always align with course goals, objectives, and outcomes as a way to determine student achievement and proficiency in the content area. Review the objectives and outcomes throughout this process and be open to multiple ways of conceiving how students can demonstrate their learning.
Research/Reflect
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How will you tailor types of assessments and activities to:
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learner needs?
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disciplinary expectations?
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student prior knowledge and/or experiences?
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How will you plan for formative, summative, and student self-assessment?
Design/Draft
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How will the design of activities and assessments align with learning objectives to ensure student achievement?
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How will assessments allow for multiple forms of expressing course competencies?
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How will you clearly explain and share rubrics, assessment criteria, and activity expectations with students?
Employ/Evaluate
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What mechanisms do you use for student feedback about course assessments and activities?
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How will you incorporate feedback into your assessment cycle?
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How do your materials/activities/assessments align with your course objectives?
Background
The Heuristic for Inclusive Instructional Design originated from conversations between members of the WWU Teaching and Learning Cooperative and faculty participating in the Online/Hybrid Course Development and Design workshop. In our discussions, we identified gaps and challenges with the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) traditional instructional design model and missing information from a newer model called ACE (Adaptability, Connections, and Equity) framework–despite it bringing valuable topics to the course design conversation. The TLCo-op developed the HIID in an effort to provide a more integrated method to think through the development process of inclusive course design. Using the form of questions as prompts for critical thinking around accessibility, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism helps designers and faculty create courses that value and welcome different perspectives and identities.
For more information on the HIID, review our recent chapter:
Blick, A. M., Brown, J. S., Nicandri, L., Posthumus, L. (2023). Strategies for planning, developing, and implementing a heuristic for inclusive instructional design for higher education settings. In J. Keengwe (Ed.). Handbook of research on innovative frameworks and inclusive models for online learning (pp. 147-171). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-9072-3.ch008
Resources
ACE Framework: A Guide for Decision-Making and Professional Development Planning During Times of Crisis. Open CoLab, Plymouth State University. Available: https://colab.plymouthcreate.net/ace/
Addy, T. M., Dube, D., Mitchell, K. (2021). What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching. Stylus Publishing.
Bouchrika, I. (2022). The ADDIE Model Explained: Evolution, Steps, and Applications. Research.com. Available: https://research.com/education/the-addie-model
Gamrat, C., Tiwari, S., Bekiroglu, S. O. (2022). Inclusive ADDIE: Initial Considerations for DEI Pedagogy. Educause Review. Available: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/3/inclusive-addie-initial-considerations-for-dei-pedagogy
Oleson, K. (2020). Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education: A Research-Based Pedagogical Guide for Faculty. Stylus Publishing.
License
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