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Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Build your UDL Classroom

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Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Build your UDL Classroom

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Would you want to be a learner in your classroom? That's not a trick question-think about it. Perhaps some of the activities and lessons wouldn't resonate if you were sitting behind a desk listening to them yourself. This may be especially true in classrooms where material is presented in a one-size-fits-all format. After all, the more options students are given to complete assignments, the more likely it is they'll find one that interests them.

Such an approach is nothing new. Many educators know it as the building blocks behind Universal Design for Learning, or UDL. Developed by CAST, UDL is comprised of three guiding principles that seek to increase engagement and accessibility: Providing learners with multiple means of engagement; representation; and action and expression.

What does that mean: engagement, representation and action and expression? First, engagement looks at ways the learner regulates their learning while sustaining interest, effort and motivation. Representation is focused on how the information is presented to the learner, in order to to promote understanding. Finally, action and expression focuses on the ways the learner can demonstrate their mastery of the subject and respond to the activity.

UDL is not a special ed thing or even a general ed thing. It's just an ed thing. It is a way to connect every student to the learning experience, and a way at looking at learning that is fully inclusive and promotes success for all learners, regardless of ability.

According to educator and author Todd Rose (watch his TEDtalk The Myth of Average), everyone has a "jagged learning profile." That is, we have both strengths and weaknesses. Educators who employ UDL principles in their classroom are taking a proactive approach to learning and working to ensure that every learner has the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and use their strengths to be successful. Every student can be an expert in something, and the UDL principles can help them show it.

That's because the ultimate goal of UDL is to develop expert learners, which CAST defines as "purposeful and motivated; resourceful and knowledgeable; and, strategic and goal directed."

Intrigued? Let's dig deeper into the three principles and discuss some real world classroom applications to lead to a more inclusive learning experience for all students.

Engagement

Let's start with engagement, or finding ways to motivate learners and promote persistence as they move through the learning activities. Getting students to help design the learning experience can also increase engagement-as can strategies that help them become more invested in what's being taught.

One tool that demonstrates this idea of engagement is Flipgrid. This free video response tool, recently acquired by Microsoft, allows students to respond to questions through video. Students who may not be comfortable participating in whole-group activities may be more inclined to participate via pre-recorded video. Students can also leave video comments for classmates and engage in deeper discussions.

It's not all high-tech tools, though. Some no-tech examples of engagement could include using sticky notes as an exit ticket to check for understanding, a daily reflection journal and classroom expectation checklists.

One important thing to remember about engagement is that it's OK for a learner to disengage during an activity. Think about it: you do that throughout your day, right? You stop an activity to check email or perform another task. The critical component here is fostering an environment that promotes re-engagement. How can I bring a learner back to the activity and provide support to facilitate success?

Representation

For many students who learn differently, their days are filed with worksheets and other print materials that they are unable to read. Why not provide some options beyond text to promote understanding?

Providing text in a digital format will increase opportunities for accessibility and flexibility for all learners. Apps like Seeing AI, Claro Scan Pen and Prizmo Go use the camera on your mobile device to take a picture of text and then read it aloud. (Check out this YouTube playlist to see how these tools look in action.)

How about providing an audio recording of the materials? Any audio recording app will work. Look around your school and find an old tape recorder. Make this a classroom job for students to read materials into the recorder and produce audio clips. I have worked in schools where volunteers have created audio materials for students to use. (Would you prefer to listen to this article read by the author? Follow this link to listen to the audio version of the article, which was recorded using Anchor. This free app/web tool can provide a platform for audio recording and podcasting.)

Low-to-no tech examples of representation include teachers posting infographics around the classroom that share important information and using a graphic novel instead of a text-heavy work of fiction. The pictures below show Moby Dick in two very different formats. Both share the same information but each format offers an opportunity to connect with different learners.

Want to create your own digital versions of print materials? One of the most powerful digital creation tools is Book Creator. Available as an iOS app or web-based tool (which works well on Chromebooks), educators or students can create engaging digital books that can feature text, pictures and embedded multimedia through the use of audio and video clips.

Other great tools include KWL charts (a form of graphic organizer), as well as visuals posted in the classroom for vocabulary and writing strategies and manipulatives for math equations.

Action & Expression

As we move into this last focus area of UDL, note that many of the tools and strategies mentioned above can also be used by students to provide options for action and expression. Students can use video as a response to an assignment instead of writing, create a comic strip using a tool like StoryboardThat to complete a writing task or produce an audio podcast. Presentations can be a powerful way for students to share their voice. From Pages to Google Slides to Microsoft Sway, there are plenty of edtech tools available in our classrooms to amplify student voice.

As with the other areas of UDL, technology is not necessary to provide options. Students can draw their own comic strip for a writing task or use a word wall (with words/pictures) to compile work.

These are just some examples of learning options the can be integrated into our learning environments to support all students. There are so many other options we can use to promote inclusive learning environments. Do you have an idea you used in your classroom? Share it via this Flipgrid. Like our students, we all get better when we share.

What are some immediate steps you can take to promote an inclusive UDL learning environment? Be intentional as you design learning experiences. Ask yourself: Am I providing options during this learning experience? You won't be able to infuse all areas of UDL into every lesson. That's OK. Start small. Find ways to infuse UDL into learning activities. Build on your successes. And keep moving in a positive direction and watch your students succeed.

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Tips, Tricks and Tools to Build Your Inclusive Classroom Through UDL - EdSurge News

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Would you want to be a learner in your classroom? That's not a trick question-think about it. Perhaps some of the activities and lessons wouldn't ...

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Advocates for Special Quality Physical Education!

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Inclusive Education
Inclusive Education promotes an inclusive community and inclusive communities promote an inclusive world. I believe that children with disabilities and children without disabilities should be educated together because everyone benefits and this is the best possible education for all students. Children with disabilities benefit from being education with their typically developing peers because they receive the same education by content experts and are given the same high expectations with the support of the special educator. Inclusive education benefits students with disabilities by allowing them to socialize with their peers, making friends with same age children and raising their self-esteem because they are seen as equals. Children without disabilities learn to work AND PLAY with diverse populations and gain all of the strengths that any student can bring to class.
Universal Design for Learning
UDL is a philosophy and a research based framework that offers potential and success to an inclusive classroom through its flexibility and engaging atmosphere. UDL encourages teachers to provide multiple means of representation to teach content in a variety of ways, rather than teaching to only one learning style. UDL also allows students to engage in multiple ways that meet their needs. Some students prefer books, some prefer videos, and some prefer games; UDL allows all students to be engaged in the curriculum. My favorite part of UDL is that it allows students to demonstrate what they know and allows teachers to assess their students' understanding through multiple means of expression. Some students may otherwise appear uneducated or exempt from learning because they learn differently than what traditional assessments offer.

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Inclusive Education Inclusive Education promotes an inclusive community and inclusive communities promote an inclusive world. I believe that children with disabilities and children without...

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Watch the webinar presented by Jennifer Townsend on 4.25.2019.
By implementing a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that supports all learners, we can create a place where all learners actively engage in their learning experiences. Whether you're exploring how to foster engagement so all learners can be invested, or you're seeking ways to present information that support learner independence, developing opportunities for action and expression that support learner initiation and connection will create a pathway to success for you and your students.

Enhancing social connections within the context of learning can help you create the emotional "hook" for a learner. Here are some practical ideas for how to enhance learner engagement across various developmental stages, as outlined in the Social Emotional Learning - Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS) Quick Reference Guide. Consider incorporating some of these ideas informed by UDL and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into your educational practice.

Photo A

Part A of SEE-KS encourages educators to create opportunities that foster engagement to support learner investment. One practical idea is to provide provide access to and directly reference concrete objects within you classroom. For example, use bins of materials for specific activities and denote the steps toward completion of three tasks within the evidence-based practice of a structured work system ( Photo A). The drawers may contain items such as a learner's favorite color markers, a photo of a peer to ask to join in the task, or an invitation to be delivered to a peer. Objects such as these will provide the learner with just the right supports to engage in a learning opportunity. Remember - it's not about first work, then play. Rather, infusing your learner's high interests into an activity will result in increased enthusiasm and participation.

Photo B

We can also consider linking meaningful topics and materials to a task with a connection to daily life. For example, in Photo B two learners are intentionally paired together based on their interests. They are using an app as a map reference to provide them with information needed to complete a project. One learner has a higher interest in coloring, while the other shows a strong desire to use technology to engage in learning new information. Being proactive and intentional in the planning of this lesson provides both learners a meaningful and engaging experience in which they are both able to contribute to each other's learning.

Photo C

Let's also consider the idea that learners increase their vocabulary as they become better readers and reflect on how we tend to focus on teaching nouns to less advanced learners. What if we consider also teaching verbs and pairing these actions with peers? In this way we can ensure that the learning involves an engaging social interaction. For example, in Photo C the learner is reading the word 'hug' while looking at images of peers, creating a real-life application of a social request.

As educators, it's important for us to ask ourselves this question: how can we create optimal learning experiences that foster opportunities for learners to access, engage and connect in their learning? One of the ways we know works is through infusing UDL and Social and Emotional Learning practices into our classrooms. In this way, we can focus on ensuring learning strategies that promote access, engagement and expression of learning across all stages of development.

Jennifer C. Townsend, M.Ed., is an Educational Consultant with expertise in social emotional learning differences. She co-wrote Social Emotional Engagement Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS) to support this success. She has extensive experience working in collaboration with school districts to build capacity for educating students with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities within the public and private school settings using best practices paired with appreciative inquiry coaching and universal designs for learning. Jen has a Master's in Education from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and a postgraduate certification in Autism Spectrum Disorder from Johns Hopkins University and a Director of Special Education and Pupil Services certification from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, and is an adjunct faculty member at Carroll University School of Education in Waukesha, WI. She is a licensed educator in the state of Wisconsin as a Special Educator and Director of Special Education and Pupil Services. Jen Townsend is an active member in the field of education and believes that together we can go beyond just making a difference; we can be the difference.

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Harnessing Universal Design for Learning and SEL in Special Education - Rethink Education

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How can we create optimal learning experiences that foster opportunities for all learners to access, engage and connect in their learning? infusing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) practices into our classrooms is the solution.

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Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

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5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching aimed at meeting the needs of every student in a classroom. It can be helpful for all kids, including kids with learning and attention issues. But UDL takes careful planning by teachers. Here are just a few examples of how UDL can work in a classroom.

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Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides the opportunity for all students to access, participate in, and progress in the general-education curriculum by reducing barriers to instruction. Learn more about how UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate…

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching and learning that gives all students equal opportunity to succeed.

To understand what UDL is, it helps to understand what it's not. The word universal may throw you off. It may sound like UDL is about finding one way to teach all students. But UDL actually takes the opposite approach.

The goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove any barriers to learning. It's about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every person's strengths and needs. That's why UDL benefits all learners.

This approach to teaching or to workplace training doesn't specifically target people who learn and think differently. But it can be especially helpful for kids with these challenges - including those who have not been formally diagnosed. It can also be very helpful for English language learners.

Watch this video to see what UDL looks like in a fifth-grade classroom.

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What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a teaching approach to help all learners be successful. Read about UDL principals and the benefits of UDL for students.

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