Oh am I glad I decided to click and watch the bonus video for Reflection #22 – Curb Cut:
It is both a brilliant metaphor and told succinctly, with animation (and humour “y’all”). And I would sense it works well if you just listen to it, the visuals are not essential. The takeaway idea is that designing for one student or a few with specific needs, has benefits for more, it’s so simple.
One tihng I wish was explained more was what were the design changes the narrator made for the “one student” he used as an example. It became a bit vague as to what the redesign elements included, though a few things were suggested afterward “turn and talks”, “more frequent checkins”). But maybe that’s not as important as the message of how the change for one student created better experiences for all.
I might consider though that in the case of a curb, or for that matter, all of the design affordances in the physical world. it is one design choice for all who enter a space or encounter it, while when teaching/facilitating, we can create multiple iterations.
Thanks much for this video gem!
I love this metaphor! I first heard it when someone was talking about tendencies to group, for example, those with English as a second language and those who might have language processing issues (common when I first started teaching in schools). The person delivering the talk pointed out that this was ridiculous on one hand–these are two very different cohorts with specific pedagogical needs! But, on the other hand there might be practices (curb cuts) that support both groups. It was very helpful, because it helped me (at least) focus on what each cohort needed pedagogy-wise (probably slightly different) vs some common things I could do in practice (for example, making sure my visualiser materials were organised, uncluttered and used clear language.)