Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning

The UDL Guidelines are a tool that is used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning(UDL). It is a framework that improves and optimizes teaching and learning for all students based on scientific insights into how humans learn. The three principles of UDL are: engagement, representation, action and expression. The UDL guidelines are a set of suggestions that can be applied to reduce barriers and maximize learning opportunities for all learners. 

Guidelines that I am Currently Using

Comprehension (3)

Any time I introduce new topics, reading passages, or units, I typically share and allow my students to share, background knowledge on what they already know about the information that we will be learning about. This helps them to make connections to the content and develop a deeper meaning on the new concepts. Activating prior knowledge helps my students to build on foundational skills that they have learned in previous years. While learning and processing new information, I also highlight major patterns that are found in the information, and repeat big ideas and relationships continuously throughout the lesson. 

Expression & Communication (5)

I typically give my students many opportunities to share, express, and communicate what they have learned in many formats. At times they "Think-pair-share" and talk in small groups or with a partner. Other times for an exit ticket to check for understanding they write what they have learned, communicate through a flipgrid activity, draw, or create something with materials that I provide them with. Giving them different medias to express themselves with solidifies what they have learned, and puts into practice the knowledge that they have gained. 

Sustaining Effort and Persistence (8)

Before each lesson, I make it a point to share with my students the goals and outcomes that each lesson will provide them with. This helps as I transition between subjects, and portrays what will be completed and expected at the end of the lesson. These are everyday objectives and goals. When we set long term goals, my students might project how many Accelerated Reader points they wish to achieve in the week, month, or by the end of the year. We also set goals for district benchmarks, weekly assessments, and the STAAR tests. These goals are kept in a folder and students chart their success as the year progresses and they can see their growth as they go. As the UDL model states, "It is important to build in periodic or persistent 'reminders' of both the goal and its value in order for them to sustain effort and concentration in the face of distracters."

Language and Symbols (2)

According to the UDL guidelines, "An important instructional strategy is to ensure that alternative representations are provided not only for accessibility, but for clarity and comprehensibility across all learners." I maintain clarity in vocabulary terms, by showing prefixes and suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, multiple meaning words, and different uses of the terms in sentence structures. This allows many of my ESL students multiple opportunities to digest the new vocabulary terms. Before we dive into a new unit in any subject, I display the challenging and new vocabulary terms through a web application called Quizlet. These flash card definitions come with images and visuals to help students imbed and connect visually to the words. The Quizlet application is then used and taught at the beginning of the lesson until the unit is complete. This repetition allows my students to become experts and users of the new terms. At times we use TPR (total physical response) to make motions, actions, or songs to help students learn and remember terms, strategies, and skills. 

Executive Functions (6)

My students are constantly monitoring their goals, successes, and growth spurts throughout the school year. As mentioned previously, each student charts their major tests that they take for all subjects, and make reachable goals for the future in order to feel that they are guiding their learning in the right direction and also gaining a sense of accountability. I have constant mini conferences with each of my students on their progress and growth for every six weeks grading period. As the UDL model suggests, I constantly help my students create their individual goals that are actually obtainable, but still challenging. I use many models, checklists, and templates for each student to understand both their strengths and weaknesses so that they can target a specific goal. 

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Guidelines that I can add Right NOW

Recruiting Interest (7)

Offering learners choices can develop self-determination, pride in accomplishment, and increase the degree to which they feel connected to their learning. I think this is a crucial element in providing for students to maximize their learning. 

One suggestion that the UDL model discusses is involving learners, where and whenever possible, in setting their own personal academic and behavioral goals, and even allowing them to have input in the design of classroom activities and academic tasks. 

Perception (1)

Perception is all about how information is being presented. I can easily manipulate my lessons to include different ways that my students learn. For example, I can polish my lessons by providing the same information through different teaching techniques such as meeting the needs of my visional learners, auditorial learners, and kinesthetic learners. When texts are enlarged, sounds are added, and more opportunities are given to my students to learn kinesthetically, this will improve the comprehension levels of my students. 

Self Regulation (9)

Teaching students to self regulate is a skill that should be taught to help promote healthy expectations and beliefs that optimize self motivation. These skills can not be easily learned if they are not explicitly taught, and many students can benefit from understanding how to facilitate personal coping skills and strategies to develop healthy emotional responses when defusing anxiety or frustration. The UDL model suggests to create reminders, models, and checklists to assist learners in choosing and trying an adaptive strategy for managing and directing their emotional responses to external events. 

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Guidelines that look GREAT, but I need some help to implement

Physical Action (4)

According to the UDL model, "...properly designed curricular materials provide a seamless interface with common assistive technologies through which individuals with movement impairments can navigate and express what they know—to allow navigation or interaction with a single switch, through voice activated switches, expanded keyboards and others." In order to reach all different learners, it is crucial that I am provided the necessary equipment and programs. In order to follow this element of the UDL model, I would need the support and guidance from my school administrators to help me get the necessary tools to provide for such learners. Some of these tools might consists of an adaptive keyboard, technologies, single switch, etc. However I can easily implement instructional materials such as math and reading manipulatives for students who are needing these supplemental aids. 

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What I would like to EXPLORE more of in terms of UDL

Self Regulation (9)

I feel that self regulation is a skill that can be difficult to teach to students, and I would love to learn more about ways that I can teach coping skills, and model appropriate behaviors for my students. Many of my students do not have the tools they need to focus and pay attention, keep their emotions in check, adjust to change, or handle the frustration that is sometimes a part of interacting with others or learning something new. After I searched for extra supportive articles on self regulation I found the following guidelines to be very helpful and easy to implement in the classroom:

• create a positive environment
• set clear expectations
• instruct on study skills
• scaffold instruction
• model and practice appropriate behavior

link: https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-teach-self-regulation

I also explored a website called The Pathway 2 Success. This webpage gave me 15 strategies that could help promote student self regulation. Some of the take aways that I found useful were:

• practice self control with games
• creating a "share journal"
• use literature for models and examples of what not to do 
• creating a social script binder
• discuss scenarios
• creating a calm down space

link: https://www.thepathway2success.com/15-strategies-to-help-build-self-regulation-skills/

Executive Functions (6)

When it comes to understanding the Executive Functions from the UDL model, I would like to understand how to enhance my student's capacity for monitoring their own progress. More specifically, I wanted to locate templates that guided my students to self reflect on the quality of work that they complete on a weekly basis. At times I do see my students lack a sense of motivation and pride in the work that they complete. I found a great youtube video below for Hyper Docs!

link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g32p-dmd0Uk&feature=youtu.be

I also wanted to learn more about how students' brains develop executive functions. According to Edutopia, "Some students do not develop executive functions to the same degree as their peers. For these students with deficits, additional support in the classroom may improve their development of executive function." The website also provided a few classroom strategies to help students develop executive functions such as:

• Displaying the steps or questions that students could ask themselves in the classroom is also helpful to promote independence with a skill.
• Posting schedules can be a useful tool in developing time management skills. 
• Provide opportunities for students to review previous learning. 

link: https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-develop-executive-function-skills#:~:text=Simple%20classroom%20strategies%20can%20assist,time%20management%20and%20active%20listening.&text=Executive%20function%20is%20an%20umbrella,mental%20control%20and%20self%2Dregulation.

Resources:

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org