As a learner inside of a classroom, my identities played a large role in how I perceived myself within a classroom as well as how others perceived me. All throughout my K-12 experience, I was always afraid to speak up when a question was asked, out of fear that what was going to come out of my mouth was going to be incorrect. Within my culture, the idea of"never speaking out unless spoken to” or the “only speak up unless you know it is the correct answer” are situations that have dimmed my intellectual light. I would say, it wasn’t until the last part of high school and even going into undergrad, where I was always shy to speak up in a group of students, because in the back of my mind I believed that I by saying something incorrect it oswald give off the connotation that I am not “intelligent enough”. When I would hear another student in my classroom respond in a similar way that I wanted to answer, I kept feeling this “ugh, if only I raised my hand, then the teacher would know I understood the work”. Even just writing this now, teacher validation and being the top-performing student inside of the class is a belief that kept me from voicing out what I had to say. Because in my schooling years, even throughout college, I was in a classroom where I was many times the only Hispanic in the room, let alone only Latina, I had this preconceived notion that I had to prove myself the majority, which were white folks, mainly white men. I believed that if I had to prove that I was “smart enough” to be in a classroom alongside them, which is absurd now reflecting on it! Why does their validation or acceptance matter? Looking back, and putting into practice the type of environment I want to set up in my classroom, I certainly do not want to make anyone afraid of speaking up. Because I felt that my quietness dimmed my curiosity, I want to have a classroom where all voices are heard and just overall create a welcoming place where everyone can feel at peace with speaking their truth, without being looked down upon or feel less than the rest. Inclusivity and interdependence within a classroom is something I hope to have a better grasp off going into my second year of teaching!

Another pattern that I noticed from the architectural design of the building was the color pattern, neutrality of the design, and the lighting throughout the lobby. When you enter the building you are met with a grey and white color palette with touches of wood and cement, that can cause certain people to feel welcomed in the space. The possibility of including artwork, or photographs of the work being carried out by students and faculty would have produced a more inclusive environment. For example, being a person of color, seeing no visuals of someone who looks like me or someone who is almost a person of color, would lead me to feel more welcome in a space that otherwise lends itself to a modern, neutral aesthetic leaves little room for creativity and inclusivity. This experience would fit in with the Universal Design Principles of Flexibility in Use and Simple Intuitive Use. By stepping into the building without any prior knowledge, I wouldn’t know it's the School of Education and Public Health Building. The need for more artwork or photographs that would lead a new person into the building, would aid in their understanding of what is being done in the building. This idea might just be hinting at the idea of a more preferable experience, but because we all intake information differently, opening up the space to be more inviting by showing images of different folks, can instantly make someone feel more comfortable in the space.

This approach makes me rethink the way I as a teacher can create an accessible learning environment, in ways that I had never thought about before. In thinking of my first year of teaching experience from last year, I could have easily created more posters in Spanish because I had a large group of International students, where they were still in the process of learning in English. Not only posters, but using technology as an aid. In reading the first chapter of “Applying Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom”, the use of technology in the classroom could have worked to my advantage, where I could set up online links to resources that would help  these students further understand the topics that were being taught in my class. It would take me ages trying to learn to translate all the mathematical language that I was speaking about, and then making sense of it to them, when I could have done some research about different outlets that offered this at my disposal.  Another way that I would see this play out in my classroom is physically designing my classroom, in which when students step in they feel a sense of comfort and belonging. I admit that this year, due to the fact that I began teaching mid way through the school year, that was the least of my worries in terms of teaching my students. But in partaking in the BWW inventory, I realized that first impressions are very important and lasting, especially in the youth. So if I wanted my teaching to embody who I am as an educator, alongside with my multiple identities, I needed to step in the shoes of my students and look back to see how they visualize my classroom setup. A few things that could have been easy fixes would be incorporating their work either throughout the classroom or outside in the hallways, so that they would know that their hard work was validated and appreciated. Also, by including more colors and posters hung all over the classroom walls, students would feel inspired to produce high-quality work. Oftentimes, I forget that even though I am teaching high school students, at the end of the day they are children and if I do not provide a friendly receptive environment, they will be more likely to zone out and give you the attention that as an educator is crucial to building their skills.

In reflecting on my K-12 education, I thought of a time in my AP Calculus class. I took that class my senior year, and on that day we were learning about limits. The class was set up in groups of four, and I was part of a group that had only Latino students. Meanwhile, the remainder of the class was all white students, and they were all grouped together. The class began with a mini lecture, through the format of a slide deck, from the teacher about limits that included the definitions and a few examples. I remember she only talked for about 5-10 minutes and for the remainder of the day, she gave the class a few classwork assignments to get through. The expectation was that you finish those classwork assignments, so that you could get a head start on the homework because typically it was made up of a bunch of practice found in the problems. 

There were a few things that I can pinpoint, in which I felt my learning was not fully supported and I never felt a sense of belonging. In looking at the UDL Considerations, the consideration 7.4 (addresses biases, threats and distractions), was something that the lesson did not include. During classwork time, she never came around to help facilitate group discussion, and was not willing to answer the students questions. The teacher would constantly tell us that because we're in an advanced math class you should be able to workout the problems on our own or within the group The majority of the class was afraid to go up to her desk and ask her questions because she was never willing to hear to students explain their thought process and where they were stuck. As a student, I felt that making mistakes and not understanding the question was unacceptable in a class where there should be little to no room for error. Also, a consideration that was not being addressed in the lesson was consideration 1.2, support multiple ways to perceive information. The small lecture that was presented in the beginning of the class, contained no videos or animations that would give a holistic view of the topic of a limit in Calculus. The slidedeck lacked variation in ways that would target different preferences of retaining the information. In helping understand the topic, rather than just taking notes in a notebook and copying down the information, I could have  benefitted from the use of a graphic organizer(consideration 6.3- organize information and resources). In particular in high school math, the use of templates or graphic organizers to categorize and break down the dense information are frequently neglected. I think the bias (consideration 3,3- cultivate multiple ways of knowing and making meaning) that many many high school teachers have of, “ you guys should know this because you took class xyz”, prevents them from building on previous knowledge, and comes with pre-conceived notion that all students learn best through a pacific type of mode in which the information is presented in.  Something was discussed in the whole class discussion of how the uniformity in assessment prohibits the accurate measure of the students understanding of the material. 

I think the main idea in looking back at how my AP Calculus teacher set up the classroom and having examined it through the perspective of UDL principles, is that there are many assumptions of how classrooms should be run and in return how students should respond that prevents learning and curiosity in the classroom. As an educator, I must be conscious that just because the method of teaching that I have used has worked for other classes, doesn’t mean it is applicable to the rest, specifically if it is not being carried out through a UDL approach. In accounting all the different learners in my classroom and building a classroom that represents this variety, I can cultivate greater knowledge because of the lack of barriers that students see or feel with how the class is structured and what is being taught. Making my classroom setup, norms, and curriculum adaptable through use of all these UDL considerations will lead to a more positive teaching experience for myself and a positive learning experience for my students. 

A pattern that I used in my embodied activism demonstration was the rhythmic way in which I kept on repeating phrases. On my first round, it felt very monotone, and as I was reciting something with which I had no connection to, but the more I started repeating, the more it felt in my body. Also with the rounds of repetition of the demonstration, I began to add a few more movements that I did not include in my video recording. I noticed that the more I followed where my body and soul was leading me, the more natural I felt in performing it for my home group. It is truly incredible what certain activities do to make you more aware of what's happening inside of your body. A belief that I was enacting in my performance was the gratitude I felt in sharing the same racial identity as the student protestors in the walkouts. I wanted my movements and words to depict that I am another generation of Mexican-American and that their struggles are something that is very in light with current events that are happening everyday under the current administration. I wanted my moves to show that regardless of how racist people are trying to instill white supremacy throughout the country, my people are not afraid to stand up for injustices that are continually being faced now and back then as well.

In terms of the compass, this places me on all parts of it! I am in the emotional side as I am describing the reason why my identity play an influential part in my teaching. By tapping into my racial identity I came to the realization that I want to change the dynamic a classroom in undeserved, predominantly brown and black community, and to show them what quality education looks like. Yes I love math and I love kids! But that was a placeholder for why I really wanted to be an educator. Then, I am feeling like I am in the moral part of the compass because I am realizing how it is that my pedagogy of teaching can tap through my students curiosity and identity. Holding on tight to my purpose for teaching, makes me believe that I can create a classroom environment where my students they truly believe and and envision their capabilities. In terms of the relational parts of the compass, I can see how powerful being in tune your body evokes emotion like no other way. The embodiment of the historical image allowed me to connect with someone who I share no familial connection but somehow I can still feel their cry for justice. Lastly, in terms of the intellectual section of the compass, my mind is pondering on the fact if how I can incorporate such meaningful learning essences in a subject that is often misunderstood as boring and impractical in real world. Through arts integration, I now realize that I am able to provide my students enriching connections from the subject material to daily occurrences or events, but it is my responsibility to to show up for my students and show them that I care, if I want to create a space of open dialogue and curiosity.