UDL Helpful Resources

This section of the CAST website is a great resource for teachers to gain more insight about the UDL guidelines. When completing my lesson pre-assessment, I wanted more detail about each of the checkpoints to know whether or not I included them in my lesson. This resource allowed me to click on the specific guideline and checkpoint I wanted to learn more about to acquire a better understanding of each. Once I clicked on the checkpoint, both a brief description of the checkpoint and examples of how teachers can implement it in instruction is included. I would highly recommend this resource to teachers when creating UDL lesson plans.

Checkpoint 2.2 Clarify syntax and structure

Single elements of meaning (like words or numbers) can be combined to make new meanings.  Those new meanings, however, depend upon understanding the rules or structures (like syntax in a sentence or the properties of equations) of how those elements are combined.  When the syntax of a sentence or the structure of a graphical representation is not obvious or familiar to learners, comprehension suffers. To ensure that all learners have equal access to information, provide alternative representations that clarify, or make more explicit, the syntactic or structural relationships between elements of meaning.

Tell Me More!

• Clarify unfamiliar syntax (in language or in math formulas) or underlying structure (in diagrams, graphs, illustrations, extended expositions or narratives) through alternatives that:
  • Highlight structural relations or make them more explicit
  • Make connections to previously learned structures
  • Make relationships between elements explicit (e.g., highlighting the transition words in an essay, links between ideas in a concept map, etc.)

 Checkpoint 2.2: View examples and resources

CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA:Author

CAST Professional Learning offers ways to increase your professional learning on the topic of UDL. Its services include online learning courses for individuals and small groups, as well as free UDL webinars and newsletters on the most up-to-date information about UDL.

UDL102: Applying Universal Design for Learning to Instructional Practice in Content Areas

UDL102M: Applying Universal Design for Learning to Instructional Practice in Content Areas (Mathematics Emphasis)

UDL Exchange is a place where teachers can browse resources and lessons guided by the UDL principles. They can also share lesson plans and findings with other educators and colleagues. Everything is organized in an area that is easily accessible to users.

Planning for All Learners (PAL) uses the UDL principle to plan and develop curriculum that promotes participation and progress for all learners. The PAL toolkit provides planning steps, guidance, mentoring, lesson examples, templates, resources, and links to other educator's PAL lesson plans (to see how they have applied it in the classroom).

The PDF fact sheet about UDL and elements of good teaching begins by giving a brief description of UDL. It lists the principles of UDL and who benefits from them. The Common Teaching Methods section gives strengths, limitations, and preparation for a variety of teaching methods. This helped me decide on what methods work best for my students. I also thought the section on implementation was extremely helpful to see exactly how to implement methods that promote UDL into instruction.

Heward, William. "Fast Facts for Faculty". Ohio State University. Retrieved on 9/21/2014 from http://ada.osu.edu/resources/fastfacts/Universal-Design-FF.pdf

UDL Strengths and Challenges

My ultimate goal is to be able to create lessons that incorporate all of the UDL guidelines, so I'm able to meet the needs of all of my students. I have taken a previous math lesson (exploring perimeter and area) that I've taught and used the UDL guidelines and checkpoints to pre-assess it. Through this pre-assessment, I have discovered my strongest UDL areas and those that require further development.

Strengths: 

• Offer ways of customizing the display of information
• Clarifying vocabulary and symbols
• Varying methods for response and navigation
• Use multiple tools for construction and composition
• Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity
• Minimize threats and distractions

Weaknesses: 

• Offer alternatives for auditory/visual information
• Activating background knowledge
• Providing options for self-regulating (self-assessment/reflection)
• Providing options for sustaining effort and persistence
• Guiding appropriate goal setting

A specific UDL objective I want to focus closely on is providing options for developing self-assessment and reflection. I want my students to recognize their own progress towards mastery of a concept or skill. This self-regulation promotes higher levels of achievement and motivation. I want to offer my students multiple self-assessment techniques, so they can choose the one that works best for them.

Curriculum Barriers

The Curriculum Barriers template on the CAST website helped me analyze potential barriers a student in my class may face. I was able to see the materials I was offering the student, his qualities/characteristics when presented with the materials, and potential barriers and missed opportunities he may encounter. Completing this template helped me view how I'm teaching students and ways to minimize barriers that may present themselves in any subject.

Below is a Curriculum Barriers template I created for a student in my class. This student is an ESL learner who struggles in math. His language barrier and low achievement level have an affect on his overall math ability.

Materials and Methods	Student Qualities	Potential Barriers/Missed Opportunities
Subject Matter	Poor self-confidence regarding math	Does not apply himself. Often requires reassurance.
Discussion (whole class/small group)	Does not participate in whole class discussions and has difficulty paying attention (even when students are brought to the carpet instead of working at their desks). He participates and stays focused in small group discussions with teacher guidance.	Does not understand the concept of the lesson. Unable to apply what he has learned independently. None
Individual Assignments/Activities (centers)	He enjoys moving and completing a variety of activities in the class.	Easy for him to become distracted with the atmosphere of the room. Requires teacher check-in and guidance.
Manipulatives (choice)	Responds well to having a choice of manipulatives that work best for him. Uses them to complete problems more easily.	None
Textbook	He has trouble following along a in a textbook and transferring answers to questions in his notebook.	Does not transfer problems/answers for textbook correctly. Misses important concepts of the lesson.
Homework	Forgotten or completed with many errors. Parents speak Spanish at home and are unable to provide assistance if needed.	Parents only speak Spanish and are unable to provide much assistance if needed. Without teacher/parent review, work is completed incorrectly. Is not getting the necessary practice at home of the skills/concepts learned that day.
Chapter Test	Struggles with reading questions and directions independently. Testing needs to be chunked so that he is not completing at one time.	He has difficulty reading the questions and understanding what is being asked due to being an ESL student. He will answer problems incorrectly due to not understanding the language not because he didn't know the answer. He becomes overwhelmed with the amount of questions requiring completion.

Teaching Every Student

The CAST website helped to discover more about practicing Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The Basics section has videos that offer information on diverse learners. As a teacher, I need to re-think critical elements in education such as goals, materials, methods, and assessments, and customize them to reach each student. The UDL guidelines are also available for reference on this website.

I completed an interactivity that allowed me to see strengths and challenges in a specific area (cooking an Indian dinner). These strengths and challenges will shape the way I learn most effectively. These strengths and challenges will also affect my willingness to engage in certain tasks. By completing this activity about myself, I have a better understanding of how to apply it to my students.

The case story, Reading Challenges in Social Studies, laid out how a UDL lesson should look. I was able to see the traditional approach and the UDL approach to each section of a lesson plan. This will serve as a great guide and resource when I'm trying to structure a lesson around UDL.

The 3 Primary Brain Networks

This website offers information on UDL and why it's necessary in the classroom. The site states that student learning differences "are as varied and unique as our DNA or fingerprints." This great comparison emphasizes the idea that students bring a variety of skills, needs, and interests to the classroom; and not any one student is the same. Three major networks in the brain are important to understand when using the UDL model:

The recognition networks are the "what" of learning. When students categorize what they see, hear, and read, they are using this network of the brain. The teacher's role is to present content in different ways.

The strategic networks are the "how" of learning. The teacher needs to see how students are organizing and expressing their ideas. The teacher's role is to differentiate the ways in which students can communicate what they know.

The affective networks are the "why" of learning. Students need to be engaged and challenged. They need to see why something they are learning is worthwhile and how they can apply it to the real world. The teacher's role is to fuel interest and motivation within their students.

It is essential to know and understand these networks in order to help all students achieve and succeed to their fullest potential.

UDL Technology Toolkit

The UDL Technology Toolkit offers free tools to promote academic success for not only struggling learners, but for all learners. Some of the tools include graphic organizers, math tools, literacy tools, audio books, collaborative tools, and much more! These resources are easily accessible and are no cost to the teacher. Through exploration of these resources, I discovered tools that I would use in my own classroom.

I would use graphic organizers to present information to students who would benefit from a visual representation of information. These organizers can also help students organize their thoughts more easily when focusing on a concept in class.

During math instruction, I often have students working in centers. The math tools provide games I can use in one of my centers. I created an account on SumDogMath, a math game website, and plan to incorporate it next week! I  believe this will be a fun way for students to reinforce skills and concepts learned during a lesson.

In third grade, our language arts block consists primarily of Daily 5 and CAFE instruction. One of the choices, during Daily 5, is listening to reading. The Story Online site, in the audio books section, allows students to listen to stories read by Screen Actors Guild members. I am thrilled that this site offers an activity guide for each story. I will use this for extension activities on a story.

I am excited to begin using the tools on this site. I believe they will help promote UDL in my classroom.

Click here to explore the site!

The Beginning

This blog will illustrate my professional journey and exploration in learning about Assistive Technology, with a strong emphasis on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in elementary and special education classrooms. For many years, students were expected to learn and communicate in the same way. Society did not realize students enter the classroom with a variety of learning abilities, and many students require special education services to help them become successful during their educational experience. Within the school district I work in, inclusion is now a model used in all classrooms. It becomes necessary for the teacher to meet the needs of every student in their classroom by offering multiple means of engagement and providing them with equal opportunities to learn among their peers. Everyone has something valuable to offer; and given the right tools and services, success is possible for all. I want to be able to implement a Universal Design for Learning in my classroom to support all of my students.