Did you know that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) started out in the 1950s with a focus on removing physical barriers in building construction (Robinson, 2017)? Then, in the 1960s and 1970s, it "evolved to integrating all people in architectural and environmental designs" (Robinson, 2017, p. 57). It wasn't until 2008 that the Higher Education opportunity Act defined UDL as a framework for education, and it wasn't until 2015 that the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) endorsed UDL.
So what exactly does this mean in the school setting? According to Robinson (2017), UDL "provides flexibility in ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged" (p. 57). It also "reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodation, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are limited English proficient" (Robinson, 2017, p. 57).
Given that pretty much every teacher in today's education system teaches a class (or classes) made up of 20-30 unique students, UDL is something all educators should be implementing with every lesson and activity. However, in order to be effective and continue to grow, educators must reflect on what they are doing and how they can improve, as well as address areas where help might be needed from others in the field.
Let's take a look at my own personal reflection with regards to UDL and my eight years of experience as a 4th grade language arts teacher:
What am I already using?
Providing Multiple Means of Engagement
Guideline 8: Sustaining Effort and Persistence - Throughout the learning process, I am constantly conferencing one-on-one and in small groups to emphasize the process students are going through, admire the effort they are putting in, showcasing the improvements they are making towards reaching their individual goals, and providing feedback in a frequent, timely, and specific manner. Additionally, I am very proud of the collaboration and sense of community that takes place in my classroom. Students always have one to three partners they can turn to throughout lessons and activities with the expectations of group work clearly defined by means of a rubric and peer interactions encouraged daily through verbal and written reminders.
Guideline 9: Self Regulation - While I have been fortunate to encounter many students who do not need a lot of guidance with self regulation, I have had my fair share of students that have benefitted from additional supports such as verbal and non-verbal prompts for on-task reminders, daily check-ins for self-reflection, positive feedback when managing frustrations, modeling internal controls for extreme emotions, and various versions of behavior charts that allow students to monitor their own behavior and its changes.
Providing Multiple Means of Representation
Guideline 2: Language & Symbols - Having a strong background in teaching literacy for the last eight years has given me many tools to provide options when it comes to language and symbols in my classroom. Some of these examples include: pre-teaching vocabulary, highlighting root words for more complex terms, making connections to previously taught structures, highlighting transition words in essays, allowing the use of text-to-speech, providing electronic and paper copies of bilingual dictionaries, embedding visual supports for clarification, and using nonfiction text features to present key concepts.
Guideline 3: Comprehension - This is an area I have not always been stellar at providing in multiple ways, but it has been my personal, professional goal for several years. I now feel that I do a much better job of using advanced organizers, making explicit cross-curricular connections, emphasizing key elements in texts/graphics, using both examples and non-examples, providing multiple pathways through content when researching, chunking information, removing unnecessary distractions, and providing checklists and sticky notes.
Providing Multiple Means of Action & Expression
Guideline 6: Executive Functions - In my classroom, goal setting has always been at the forefront of our units. I provide models and examples of the goal-setting process, as well as checklists to help scaffold the steps needed to reach the goals. Additionally, I provide various graphic organizers and note-taking guides that students can use as they see fit. Finally, I provide different types of self-assessment strategies and scoring rubrics, with examples, that students use to monitor their own progress and mastery.
What could I add to my teaching practice right now?
Providing Multiple Means of Representation
Guideline 1: Perception - This is an area that I feel I can add to my current teaching practice as we kick off the new school year. While many of these things are done for students with IEPs and 504s, I plan to work on making these available for all students by displaying information in a flexible format that allows for variations in text size, color use, volume rate/sound, and font styles. Additionally, I will work to make more resources available with automated speech-to-text and providing alternatives for both visual and sound elements.
Providing Multiple Means of Action & Expression
Guideline 5: Expression & Communication - While I have made some progress in this area of my teaching practice, I could definitely take time to focus in on this area and provide my students with more options for expressing themselves and communicating. For example, I can allow them to use multiple medias to compose their unit projects and interact via social media or an interactive web tool. Additionally, I can expand my 504 accommodations to all students including spell checkers, word prediction software, and recording devices.
What do I need help implementing?
Providing Multiple Means of Engagement
Guideline 7: Recruiting Interest - I am not a "one-size-fits-all" kind of teacher with regards to the ways I attempt to engage my students with each lesson. In fact, I feel my "hooks" vary day-to-day, which means I grasp the attention of different groups of students each day. However, my creativity lacks when it comes to recruiting interest in multiple ways for one lesson or activity. I'm all for collaborating with others on my team, teachers within my district, and those on social media/blog platforms when it comes to finding ways to empower my students to take charge of their own learning, connecting their learning to experiences that are meaningful and valuable, and fostering a safe space to learn and take risks.
Providing Multiple Means of Action & Expression
Guideline 4: Physical Action - As I stated previously, many alternatives are provided to my students with IEPs and 504s with regards to physical action; however, assistance from coworkers who specialize in these areas would be needed for me to effectively implement them in my classroom. Through their help, I can provide students with tools, devices, and environments that make learning physically accessible to all.
What would I like to explore more?
As an educator who is very passionate about technology, I'd love to learn about more ways to incorporate technology into the classroom following the UDL framework. According to Jennifer Snelling (2021), UDL can be implemented without technology, but the "mindset can be optimized through thoughtful use of assistive tech." This is something I will be pushing heavily at my school by means of collaboration within teams, collaboration between grade levels, professional development sessions led by the librarian and technology specialist, and co-teaching opportunities to benefit all staff and students.
Below are some excellent resources I plan to use to further my knowledge and create a better learning environment for all my students:
- Digital Tools for Engagement - School Virtually
- Digital Tools for Representation - School Virtually
- Digital Tools for Action and Expression - School Virtually
- The New Assistive Tech: Make Learning Awesome for All! By: Christopher R. Bugaj (Purchase Here)
- 30+ Tools for Diverse Learners
References
Robinson, E. (2017). Universal design for learning and school libraries: A logical partnership. Knowledge Quest, 46(1), 56-61.
Snelling, J. (2021, October 23). Focus on UDL when using classroom technology. ISTE. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.iste.org/explore/classroom/focus-udl-when-using-classroom-technology
Thank you for your post. I believe I also posted some of the same areas that I would like to grow in. I shared with another peer that I need to work on giving the students more options or opportunities to show me what they have learned in different ways. I looked into the 30+ Tools for Diverse Learners and it has many ideas listed and explained that I will further sit down and look at it a little closer. They mention that the list includes authentic and engaging lessons and those are perfect examples of UDL. Some of the lessons will even give ideas on how students may extend their learning on a subject.
ReplyDeleteThank you sharing such an informative post! I connected with many of the statements you mentioned. I especially agree with your idea that your hooks change from day-today. I think that's a very realistic way to approach instruction. Just as teachers need additional options, sometimes students also need a little something extra on some days to accomplish their goals. There are so many variables involved that make flexibility a necessity. I, too, am also looking to improve the way I utilize technology in my classroom. I have so many tools at my disposal for both instruction and for student use. With the help of our campus technology specialist, I am looking forward to increasing the options I make available to my students! Thanks again for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned the term one-size-fits-all because it's a good example of what UDL isn't. It's easy and so not beneficial to teach whole group and not cater to specific needs of students. I love that there are so many components of this module and in a way, I was able to judge/evaluate my teaching with this. You also mentioned that you're not creative with hooks to get their attention. I'm not either, but I found that sometimes playing a quick game or putting on music will get their attention and you can go from there. Most of the time it needs to be about the content but every now and then incorporate something that you learned from the previous day and build upon that. Give each kid a block and have them understand that they will use it to build their knowledge. It can be something simple and relative.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thorough blog. Including information about the background of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was such a good idea and a great way to introduce this topic.
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that you are doing a great job implementing many UDL strategies. The areas that you feel you need to work on are areas that I am quite sure most of us could work on as well. I am like you and want to explore the technology side more as I feel students will be drawn to it, and it satisfies so many of these UDL standards.
Thanks for the digital tool links. I pulled one up and saw some resources I have used before, but many I have not tried or heard of before. One great one I have used in the past is Plickers. If you haven't looked into it or tried it, it was fun for my students. I have heard of Pear deck, but I have never personally tried it.
Like you said, we have many unique students and to address their needs, we will have to adopt a UDL mindset.
Brianne, your blog is so informative! It sounds like you are really good at already implementing UDL in the classroom for sure. I agree with one of your points that you wanted to focus on being "perception." I feel like we all almost automatically go towards those students with SPED services, IEPs, 504, or general accommodations for even those RTI students. Whereas, UDL applies to all students.
ReplyDeleteBrianne, your blog was really well put-together. It was both informative and easy to understand. It's incredible how much of the guidelines from UDL that we implement every day without realizing it. Once you really look at the framework and think about what you do, you notice that you already practice the guidelines and there's so much to it. I agree with your idea to integrate technology to enhance your UDL practices, there's so much you can do with technology that you cannot believe. I just took a training on how to use some tools and websites to implement in the classroom which helps me grow with technology to practice my skills and increase my knowledge. I hope your journey to grow more using technology and using the UDL framework really works out. Have a great year. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete