Universal Design for Learning

Presented by Shonda Schlotfeldt

Inspiration for Universal Design

Ronald Mace 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 the built environment to be aesthetic and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life.”

http://design.ncsu.edu/alumni-friends/alumni-profiles/ronald-mace

Opportunities in Our Physical World

A ramp, stairs, and elevators are all ways or products that are designed to get into a building or move from floor to floor within a building.

These are all examples of designs that are built in our environment to meet the needs of many people. Each design provides an opportunity for choice.

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

Three Principals of Universal Design

Principle 1: To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation. Instructional examples include: larger, formatted, and highlighted text, chunking, scaffolding, and

utilization of supplemental resources. Principle 2: To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship. Instructional examples include: alternative keyboards, digital text, and programs that record

voices, draw, or write text. Principle 3: To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for engagement. Instructional examples include: digital text, choices of media for interaction, and multimedia

presentation programs.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4_3.cfm

Brain ResearchThree 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)

Student Differences

We are all different. We all come from various backgrounds and environments. UDL focuses on embracing these differences. By incorporating technology with UDL strategies in mind, we can teach our students better. Instead of being limited to one textbook for learning, students can use digital media. Using this digital media opens the door for: Increased font size or color for vision impairments Access to online glossaries and dictionaries for increasing vocabulary

comprehension Online resources for further exploration or challenge Text reader options Many more educational possibilities

What is the Role of technology in UDL?

“Much of the art of teaching patterns lies in selecting and presenting numerous, effective examples. Digital media and tools can facilitate finding and presenting these examples in the form of text, image, sound, or video.“(Rose & Meyer, 2002) Technology plays a key part in the implementation of UDL. Technology tools can be used to provide choices and differentiation in student learning.

Examples of Technology Tools: Hearing aids Glare-reduction screens Voice-recognition software Computer software Calculators Internet programs Interactive books Blogs Wikis Iphoto imovie

Impact of UDL on Student Learning

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.

CAST Online Tools and Resources “By collecting a variety of good software programs, Web sites, and digital content, teachers can gradually build the capacity to individualize instruction for every student in the class.” (Rose & Meyer, 2002) Below are just a few resources that I believe will be beneficial to our school:http://www.cast.org/learningtools/lesson_builder/index.html This is a free web site for teachers to create lessons that are aligned with curriculum and standards.http://www.cast.org/learningtools/book_builder/index.htmlThis is a free site to create and build digital books for ages 3 and up.http://www.cast.org/pd/tes/index.htmlThis is an interactive website for further exploration of UDL lessons, activities, and information. http://www.udlcenter.org/resource_library/videos/udlcenter/udl#video0 This is a short YouTube video that give a short overview of UDL.

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