Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning

The Universal Design for Learning Guideline is a tool used by educators on implementing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Implementing the UDL allows educators to minimize barriers and maximize learning for all students. By implementing the UDL, curriculum can be understood by all students because it is differentiated to meet the needs of all learners. Educators who implement the UDL create a flexible and welcoming learning environment for their students. 

Guidelines I am already using:

• Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies (4.2)
• This past year I had a student who was visually impaired. My student was fully capable of completing her work, but my instruction was altered to her abilities. I had to make sure that I was only changing the way instruction was being done and not the actual content being taught. One way that I found most helpful was using a magnifying machine that would magnify what was under it. My student knew exactly how to use the assistive technology and she was able to use it for handouts, workbooks, and manipulatives. Another technology source that was available to her was a 12 inch iPad. Every morning she would log into her Gmail account which I would use to connect her to my IKI through Google meet. With me doing this, she was able to follow along to my lessons on the iPad and she could zoom in and out to see more details of what I was projecting. Having these assistive technologies available to her helped maximize her learning by differentiating the way instruction was presented and not the content itself. 

• Support planning and strategy development (6.2)
• In the classroom, students expect their teachers to be perfect. They believe their teachers know all the right answers and know pretty much everything. I for one am not that teacher! I make mistakes and I forget things. When moments like that would happen, I loved pointing it out to my students. I say things like "Wait. That didn't make sense. Let me stop and think about what I am doing so I can fix my mistake". By modeling this, I often would hear my students say "Wait, I need to stop and think about this again" when working independently. Having the students do this allowed them time to reflect and plan on their next move, no matter what content material they were working on. Although it is a small gesture, it was affective nonetheless. 

• Foster collaboration and community (8.3)
• In college we communicate by discussing our "take aways" or "big ideas" in discussion boards, and this allows us to learn from one another. This same type of communicating is important for young students and I loved having my students collaborate in groups and I used strategies such as "think-pair-share". Every year I have students who love to help others (these are the students who say they want to be teachers when they grow up) so I love pairing students and having peer-tutors to read and work together. By having collaborative opportunities, students are not only learning from each other, but they are also creating a loving and caring classroom community. 

Guideline I could add right now:

• Use multiple media for communication (5.1)
• This course has inspired me with so many new technology tools and ways to incorporate them into my classroom. For example, Padlet, Animoto, and Pixton were new application tools that I learned of and thought they would be great to use in my classroom. I could use Padlet for my students to collaborate and create visual boards, Animoto to create videos, and Pixton to create comic strips. These are just some of the many tools that I am looking forward to adding into my classroom instruction. 

Guideline that looks great, but I need help to implement:

• Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge (8.2)
• Truthful hour! Differentiating instruction has always been my weakness. When it comes to reading ability, I have had 2nd grade students who could already read at a 4th grade level and some who were still at a kindergarten level. While I am able to differentiate and adjust my instruction to meet my lower level students, I struggle with doing the opposite. For my higher ability students, I catch myself struggling to make the content challenging for them. This is one guideline that I know I still have to work on. 

What I would like to explore more in terms of implementing UDL

Since I am a visional learner, I wanted to see how the guidelines can be implemented in a classroom setting. Viewing the guidelines broken up into sections is a good starting point, but in order for me to fully grasp all the information, I need to visually see it. I found two webpages from Understood.org. One webpage (Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Teacher’s Guide.) explains the guidelines for teachers to better understand how to implement the UDL in a classroom setting, and the other (What Is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?) broke down the three principals of the UDL and how UDL can still be done with students who have various learning abilities. To help with visualizations, I went to YouTube and found a few videos from the National Center on Universal Design for Learning. The videos that were helpful for me showed a teacher implementing the UDL and explaining how it was being done. Each video was captured in a different grade level classroom and during a different subject area, which was helpful for me to grasp the concept from different perspectives. For future reference I can always come back to these videos to remind myself how to implement the UDL guidelines in my classroom which will help in preparing to implement the UDL in my library. 

Resources:

Amanda Morin. (n.d.). What Is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?. Understood. 

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/educational-strategies/universal-design-for-learning-what-it-is-and-how-it-works

Allison Posey. (n.d.). Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Teacher’s Guide. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/for-educators/universal-design-for-learning/understanding-universal-design-for-learning

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2010, March 17). UDL Guidelines in Practice: Grade 1 Mathematics [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTJJQWnMaQ&t

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2010, March 17). UDL Guidelines in Practice: Grade 5 Language Arts [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE8N8bnIlgs

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2010, March 17). UDL Guidelines in Practice: Grade 6 Science [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTxFYf50l-4