UNIVERSAL DESIGN for

LEARNINGUDL

Every Child is a SnowflakeEDU 507

Susan J. Watcher

UDL LAW

• The Law and AT: AT is an important consideration in the Individualized Education Plan planning process for students with disabilities. When appropriately considered, AT plays an essential role in a student's ability to access the general education curriculum with greater success and independence. In fact, this role is so important that student use of AT is addressed in both federal legislation and state regulations.

Federal LegislationFederal Legislation: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 focuses on: Improving the academic progress of all students with disabilities. Aligning IEP content to the general education curriculum.Increasing states' accountability for the academic performance of students with disabilities by requiring their inclusion in statewide assessments.Requires that IEP teams consider the student's possible need for AT devices and services during the development of the IEP. As part of ensuring academic progress for students with disabilities, IDEA 2004 includes several provisions that specifically address the issue of AT. This important law:Provides that AT devices and services required for a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) be provided to students at no cost to the family and be available for use wherever needed.Includes definitions of AT devices and services.

The Rehabilitation ActThe Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504 also provides for students with disabilities. This section:Is a national civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.Ensures that a child with a disability has equal access to an education through accommodations and modifications.Includes fewer procedural safeguards for children with disabilities and their parents, but has a broader definition of disability. Under Section 504, individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. People with a history of, or who are regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, are also covered. Major life activities include caring for one's self, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, working, performing manual tasks and learning. Although AT is not mentioned in Section 504, case law indicates that students eligible under Section 504 may have a right to Assistive Technology if the need is proven.

Websites

The following websites have useful information about the legal requirements for AT:National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities www.nichcy.org/laws

Wrights Law http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/atech.index.htm

What is UDL?

What is Universal Design? Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL 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.• http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl

Ronald MaceThe Inspiration

• Inspiration for Universal Design came from Ronald Mace. He was an architect that had a vision to create a world that was accessible and useable by all. He coined the term "universal design" to describe the concept of designing all products and environments to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status. http://www.wix.com/smb12988/udl

Brain ResearchBrain Research: Three Brain Networks : ‘When two students perform the same academic task, the patterns of activity in their brains are as unique as their fingerprints. The uniqueness may not be visible in the overall level of brain activity, but rather lies in the pattern of activation: how the activity is distributed across different brain regions. For this reason, no one measure of brain activity-and no one learning score or variable-differentiates or describes individual learners in any meaningful way.” .“(Rose & Meyer, 2002)Recognition networks are specialized to sense and assign meaning to patterns we see; they enable us to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts. Strategic networks are specialized to generate and oversee mental and motor patterns. They enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills. Affective networks are specialized to evaluate patterns and assign them emotional significance; they enable us to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us. (Rose & Meyer, 2002

3 Principles of UDLClassroom Examples

• Representation: Provide options in perception, expression, and comprehension:Bigger, Formatted, and highlighted information-Choices of language, multimedia, and math symbols and expression- Chunking, scaffolding and utilization of supplemental resources

Action and Expression: Provide physical options such as: keyboard, mouse, and joystickProvide options for Expression such as: text, speech , mapping, journals, portfolios, Visual Representations: Provide goal settings, checklists and self reflection

Engagement provides engagement and interest in personal response and routines. Provides:Feedback, peer tutoring, and cooperative learning. Provides self management in utilizing charts, mentors, and peers.

Every Child is a Snowflake

• When we see snowflakes fall, they all have their individual differences. Students also enter our rooms bringing their own story, background, culture and understanding. The importance of meeting their needs continues to drive my instruction as an educator. UDL focuses on embracing these differences.

How will UDL impact my classroom?

How will UDL impact students within the classroom? In implementing the Universal Design within the classroom I can create:A multitude of choices to succeedAvenues to attain and accomplish at their own paceMeeting students’ strengths in all academic areas

Student Impact

• UDL allows flexibility and support in student learning which means better differentiated instruction for each individual student.

• UDL breaks away from the traditional textbooks and utilizes technology tools to reach the three brain networks in learning.

• UDL reduces the amount of barriers to get the most out of student learning

References• •References• Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital

age: Universal design for learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

• http://www.cast.org/index.html• http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

chapter4_3.cfm• http://design.ncsu.edu/alumni-friends/alumni-profiles/ronald-

mace• http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl“• The Law and AT." Maryland Learning Links. N.p., n.d. Web. 10

June 2012. <http://marylandlearninglinks.org/3383>.