Universal Design of Learning

Universal Design of LearningEDUC7109

Inspiration

What is UDL?

How has it been defined?

• « Means a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that :• Provides flexibility in the ways students

respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged; and

• Reduces Barriers in Instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students who are limited English profient. » Higher Education Act of 2008 HEOA

UDL exists in our living environment

• Right Handed and Left Handed Mouse

• Wheel Chair accessibility• Engineered cars to transport

disabled• Hearing aids• Reading or Seeing Glasses• Artificial Limbs

History Behind Universal Design for Learning

Three Neural Networks Of UDL

• Recognition Networks – the What of Learning Present Information and content in different ways

• Strategic Networks – the How of learning Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know.

• Affective Networks - the Why of Learning Stimulate interest and motivation in learning.

Translate into Instructional methods for each principle

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Link to Examples

Central Role of Technology

• Digital media provides flexibility in their ability to meet the needs of the diverse learners.

• UDL Toolkit:• Digital Content in the Classroom• Examples• Resources

Central Role of Technology

• Allows students to access content in a variety of ways to best suit their learning needs.

• Allows students the freedom to creatively interact with content using adaptive technologies and web 2.0 collaborative tools.

Examples of Technologies

• Computer Input devices such as a keyboard with large letters and numbers

• Speech recognition device• Translation software• Audio devices• Calculators• Word Processors

Potential Impact of UDLon Student Learning in my workplace

• A differentiated approach to learning. • Less frustrated students.• Happy Instructors who have a toolbox of strategies, ideas• and model lessons to draw from.• Supportive staff, parents students who have common • Language and goals.• No Longer a one size fits all model!

Brain Research Tells Us about Learner Differences

• Learning is distributed across three interconnected networks.

• Learners have weaknesses and strengths that make them each unique.

Implications for those differences for instruction and learning

• Teaching to both bottom–up and top-down processes to reach recognition, strategic and affective networks.

• Being aware of the differences across the networks.

• Recognize patterns of strength and weaknesses acoss the networks.

How does UDL support cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and academic diversity?• UDL supports a diversity in the

classroom by using an analysis of each student’s learning profile, regardless of the differences.

• UDL reduces the barriers in the classroom that prevents students to engage in learning.

• UDL provides flexibility through the use of technology.

A CAST online tool

Three CAST online tools and ResourcesLesson Builder

Provides educators and instructors with background information about UDL, model UDL Lesson Plans and a template to create, edit and save original lesson plans. The instructors need to but into the adoption of this tool by immersing themselves in guided practice and by viewing model lesson plans to see what a succesful plan looks like.

A CAST online tool

UDL Curriculum Self-Check

This online tool helps an instructor to check curriculum and explore resources to build options and flexibility into each lesson design. Checks: UDL Goals, UDL Methods, UDL Materials and UDL Assessments.Our district could implement this immediately to begin an analysis of current teaching strategies and to address the RTI district goals.

A CAST online tool

UDL Solutions FinderThis tool provides the instructor with practice in applying CAST’s three UDL principles.The focus is to remove the barriers from teaching by providing an expansion of teaching tools. Our workplace can complete both the barrier and solutions finder to help identify the best varied approach to instuction.

Resources:

• http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/udlsolutionsfinder.cfm

• http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/• http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/• http://udlselfcheck.cast.org/• http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html• http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/toolkits/tk_intro

duction.cfm?tk_id=41

• http://prezi.com/zvehbf95tho8/universal-design-for-learning/

• http://www.udlcenter.org/implementation/examples