Title

UDL PowerPoint for Enhancing Small Group Instruction

Content&

Description

The purpose of this artifact was to develop a solution based presentation that identifies challenges in my school. Through the educator checklist, goals and solutions were developed in order to connect to the UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principles. Woodholme Elementary’s School Improvement plan consists of integrating common core standards into rigorous, small group instruction. By implementing these new goals into daily instruction, new challenges and barriers arose within the classroom.

The prominent barrier for successfully integrating common core standards through small group instruction was students being heterogeneously grouped throughout each grade level. With heterogeneous grouped classes, there is a wide variety of learning styles and abilities. In addition, there‘s very little time and resources available to accommodate to students’ needs and curricular demands. “Keeping up to date with technological developments can easily become overwhelming to time-starved teachers” (Harris et al., p. 398).

Time&

Collaboration

This PowerPoint presentation was developed in my SPED 644 course; UDL and Differentiated Instruction, Fall 2013. I created this artifact utilizing information learned from previous theoretical courses, such as the UDL principles and ‘flexible’ instruction, and goals already set in place by my School Improvement Team. “Flexible teaching is providing several activities that can tier content, vary interest levels, utilizing many means of representation to fit individual learning styles.” (Hall, 2012.)

Justification&

Reflection

A hallmark of the UDL approach is that flexibility is built into the curriculum – at the development stage – for all students as opposed to teachers having continually design multiple lesson plans that adjust instruction for only a few individual students. The three main tenets of UDL are:

Multiple means of representation, to give divers learners options for acquiring information and knowledge.

Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners options for demonstrating what they know.

Multiple means or engagement, to tap into learners’ interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation (Center for Applied Special Technology, www.cast.org)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL principles also support test design and instructional material selection that will support all learners. UDL is based on neuroscience that reveals individuals learn in different ways. For example, some learners require visual representations of concepts, others prefer text, others learn best by engaging in practical activities, and some require a combination of these and other techniques. UDL provides multiple ideas for teachers in

the following areas: representation of content, how students demonstrate learning, and student engagement in the lessons.

Understanding pedagogical practices such as ‘flexible’ teaching reduces the need for instructional change by embedding strategies and tools that are already accessible. According to the National Center on Universal Design for Learning, the UDL framework “provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone –not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.”

Many teachers are unaware of the preexisting resources and methods that they utilize daily. The PowerPoint demonstrates my knowledge of low-tech and hi-tech supports, and assistive technologies accessible in the classroom that tend to diverse needs and abilities. Many teachers are unaware of the preexisting resources and methods that they utilize daily. Teachers will be more successful in teaching small group instruction motivated to adapt the UDL principles by providing these “flexible” solutions in UDL principles and assistive technologies, Woodholme staff will be more motivated and successful in meeting their 2013-2014 School Improvement Goals.

Teachers must be equipped to help every student be successful, but this can be difficult, when faced with a class of diverse learners. This artifact demonstrated my knowledge of …. trained in the Universal Design for Learning principles will help teachers to tackle this monumental challenge. According to Edyburn (2010), “The term 'universal design' means a concept or philosophy for designing and delivering products and services that are usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities” (p. 34). UDL provides multiple ideas for teachers in the following areas: representation of content, how students demonstrate learning, and student engagement in the lessons.

The Baltimore County Public Schools Blueprint for Progress states that “The Baltimore County Public Schools’ mission is to provide a quality education that develops the content knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable all students to reach their maximum potential as responsible, life-long learners and productive citizens.” Providing staff development on UDL addresses the first performance goal on the Blueprint for Progress.

In order for each and every child to be successful, they must be able to access the content that has been taught. No two children learn in the same way as vast differences vast differences exist among their learning styles.