Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a powerful tool for learning. It assures that all students are being served where they are and in a way that connects with them.
As a practicing classroom teacher, I see the immense benefits of using UDL for student success. Below I take a look at my own teaching practices and where they fall within the the Universal Design for Learning framework:
- Which of these guidelines am I already using?
My district has a set curriculum but how we implement it in the classroom is left to the teachers to some degree. Taking at look at my own teaching I feel that I am consistently using the Engagement (the why) and Representation (the what) of the learning design framework. We use "We will, I will" statements in the classroom, putting our standards and essential standards in student friendly language so that student know what they are expected to do to show mastery or understanding of the skill. In the language arts classroom we do reading from multiple perspectives and look at texts and information in a variety of different formats such as infographics, blogs, articles, and traditional texts. I hope that by offering my students a variety of formats they are able to find the one that conveys the information to them in the easiest way. For me, these two parts of UDL are a natural part of my teaching because that is how I best learn as well.
- Which of these could I add right now to my teaching practice?
The way my curriculum is set up does not allow time for creativity of students being able to choose how they show their learning. Most of the time it is through an essay to show writing skills or a multiple choice test to show comprehension skills. There are so many other ways for students to show these skills in a way that is authentic and meaningful to them but get pushed to the side because they do not align to how the standards are tested or do not offer the "right" kind of data. Another piece of the UDL framework that I would like to find a way to strengthen for my students is their persistence and effort. My students tend to quickly give up when things are different or harder than expected and need frequent pushes to overcome even the smallest of challenges. On the flip side of this, they often rush threw work, throwing things together just to be done with it. I think by presenting them with a choices in their learning can greatly impact the second UDL factor.
- Which of these looks great, but I might need some help to implement?
I love the idea of the Action and Expression segment of the UDL. Nay teacher can attest to the difficulty of meeting the needs of every child in the classroom. I have a single class with students who are learning English, have IEPs, 504s, and have dyslexia. Being able to provide each of these students an option that works for each of them while still having them reach the rigor of the standard is a place where I would love to be able to observe a teacher who uses this method with success. It would also be a great training to get form my district. There is so much power in this framework and that state testing have driven teaching away from this and we need to find a way to reincorporate it back into the classroom.
I want to know more about strategies to effectively implement UDL in the classroom in a step by step manner. I found this article from Understood.org about Universal Design for Learning for teachers. It did a great job of breaking things down into how these could be truly supported in the classroom and at home as well, which I found interesting. I also like that it linked to the UDL Guidelines published by CAST. I found this site helpful because you can click on each part of the framework and explore each checkpoint and once you click on the link, it takes you suggestions for meeting it. This is something that I plan to explore further and incorporate into my teaching.
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