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Universal Design for Learning

School design based on a PK – 4th

grade campus

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What is Universal Design for Learning?

UDL is a framework that addresses the primary barrier to fostering expert learners within instructional environments. UDL helps address learner variability by suggesting flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments that empower educators to meet these varied needs. The UDL framework encourages creating flexible designs from the start that have customizable options, which allow all learners to progress from where they are and now where we would have imagined them to be. The options for accomplishing this are varied enough to provide effective instruction to all learners.

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UDL Structure

• Should promote a spirit of engagement and motivation to learn

• Should have no visual or auditory distractions (too many posters on walls and too many children in one area can be distracting)

• Should have a versatile layout that supports a place to work independently and in a group. An open-concept structure that can also be walled off if quiet small space is needed (petitions)

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UDL Structure cont.

• Flexible work spaces to accommodate varied interaction with materials

• Eliminate out-of-date content, materials that don’t support current learning (birthday charts), information that isn’t clear and concise, unnecessary décor, and clutter.

• Student work and work spaces need to be clearly labeled

• Directions and task expectations need to be clearly displayed

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UDL Structure cont.

• Use color coding or some other system of visual organization

• Display only materials for students that are a resource, a reminder, or facilitates their current work

• Set up independent work areas that are intuitive and easy to use

• Use furniture that is adjustable. If not available, provide accommodations (seat foot stools, wedges, and easels)

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UDL Structure cont.

• Bulletin boards should have solid backgrounds, no borders

• Space needs to be set up for functional use for large group activities, small group activities, and for transitioning to and from different kinds of activities.

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Grouping students

• Students will be grouped according to how they will be the most successful. They can be grouped with different aged children if that is where they prove to have the most success.

• Flexible grouping will be used to meet instructional needs. They will be grouped and regrouped according to specific goals, activities, and individual needs.

• Groups can be teacher-led (whole class instruction, small-group instruction, or students can work alone in teacher-directed activities).

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Grouping Students cont.

• Groups can be student-led (collaborative groups, circle sharing)

• Groups can be performance based (group study)

• Groups can be in dyads or pairs (partner turns; think, pair, share)

• There are no limits to how students can be grouped as long as they prove to be successful.

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Personnel

• Personnel will be that of a typical school. A principal, assistant principal, counselor, diagnostician, instructional coaches, intervention specialists, teachers, teaching assistants, secretaries, school nurse, cafeteria staff, and custodians will all be needed to run a UDL campus efficiently. The main thing to keep in mind is that each of these titles are important and are needed in order for each student to be successful. For this to happen, all of these positions need to be flexible and each employee needs to be willing to go above and beyond their job description. If you are of the mindset that “It takes a village to raise a child”, you are more likely to show progress. An ideal school setting is one where even the custodian is helping to make each child successful, whether it be as a reading buddy, a mentor, or even just a positive role-model.

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Instruction

• Provide multiple means of representation Most every student requires different ways of approaching content. Learning and transfer of learning occurs when multiple representations are used, because it allows students to make connections within, as well as between, concepts. Provide options for perception by: 1. Providing the same information through different modalities

(vision, hearing, touch); 2. Provide information in a format that will allow for adjustability

by the user (enlarged text, amplified sounds)3. Clarify vocabulary, symbols, syntax and structure4. Promote understanding across languages5. Illustrate through multiple media6. Activate or supply background knowledge7. Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships8. Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation9. Maximize transfer and generalization

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Instruction cont.

Provide multiple means of action and expression-provide options for physical action-vary the methods for response and navigation-optimize access to tools and assistive technologies-provide options for expression and communication-use multiple media for communication-use multiple tools for construction and composition-build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance-provide options for executive functions-guide appropriate goal setting-support planning and strategy development-facilitate managing information and resources-enhance capacity for monitoring progress

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Instruction cont.

Provide multiple means of engagement-provide options for recruiting interest-optimize individual choice and autonomy-optimize relevance, value, and authenticity-minimize threats and distractions-provide options for sustaining effort and persistence-heighten salience of goals and objectives-vary demands and resources to optimize challenge-foster collaboration and community-increase mastery oriented feedback-provide options for self-regulation-promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation-facilitate personal coping skills and strategies-develop self-assessment and reflection

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Curriculum

• A successful school can have a general curriculum, but should also be open to a curriculum that addresses each student’s educational needs and individual differences.

• This will be based on an individual bases.• Click on http://udlselfcheck.cast.org/check.php to help you

expand your teaching palette to reach all learners. You can choose a unit or lesson that is ineffective for some of your students and use the UDL self-check to help you overcome barriers your curriculum may pose for your students. Evaluate each curriculum element, think about them, and write self-reflections as you work.

• The main goal is to enable all individuals to gain knowledge, skills and enthusiasm for learning. If you are not accomplishing that with the general curriculum, then it is probably time to take a different avenue than what the general curriculum is providing.

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Technology

• Technology should include ANYTHING that will help a child to be an expert learner.

• Technology needs to be carefully planned into the curriculum as a way to achieve the goals.

• Technology can include but is not limited to: assistive devices (wheel chairs, hearing aids, etc.; iPads, computers, smartboards, Nabis, language masters, text to speech devices, CD players, calculators)

• Some new emerging technologies that can help students are: Flashnotes, Lore, Study Blue, LEAP motion, Papertab, Chromebooks, Celly, Flipped Classroom, Snagit, Jing, Camtasia, Lesson Cast, Kid Blog, Glogster, Live Binders, and Knewton.

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Assessment

• Assessment is a source of meaningful information that enables educators to plan flexible learning activities that support student learning.

• Assessment methods should be flexible and accessible.

• Provide strategies and tools to students so they can best demonstrate their learning.

• Students should know exactly how they will be assessed and what knowledge or skills they are responsible for demonstrating. They should know what mastery level understanding looks like and how to achieve it.

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Assessment cont.

• Transparency in assessment methods will not only result in a better overall learning outcome for students, it will also reduce the students’ stress and anxiety that is normally associated with assessment.

• Provide an additional activity that enhances the students’ learning experience while simultaneously providing the teacher with the information needed to provide subsequent learning activities.

• Shift from assessing the learning product to assessing attainment of the learning outcomes.

• Use the lesson’s “big idea” and essential questions to form the basis of the learning outcomes to be assessed.

• Involve students in the determination of the assessment criteria.

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Resources

• Rose, DH., & Meyer, A. (2002) Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age. Universal Design for Learning. Associations for supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria Virginia.

• www.udlcenter.org/implementation• www.teachthought.com/technology/15-examples-of-n

ew-technology• www.udlselfcheck.cast.org• www.udlresource.ca• www.eduplace.com/science/profdev/articles• www.webcache.googleuser.content.com/search