Universal Design for Learning and Our Classroom

UDL and our Classroom

Week 10 Discussion- 7724

Select a lesson or topic that you are teaching or have taught in the past. Utilizing the concept of UDL (Universal Design for Learning) identify the materials that you currently use that may not be barrier free. What alternatives may be available to you (currently or with the addition of AT devices) that might mitigate the barriers presented by these material in order to improve the learning experience for all students?

UDL of Universal Design for Learning has three main principles to help assist both the teachers and the students. These three principles are having multiple methods of presentations, multiple options for participation and lastly multiple means of expression. Along with the readings for this week, this video also helped me understand what UDL is. Through the Universal Design for Learning, each student, no matter of their learning styles with experiences and techniques throughout the lessons. The UDL also serves as a learning tools so all learners are capable of understanding the material no matter what it entails.

After looking at my classroom setting and a lesson I have taught in the past I decided to focus on nutrition.  I choose this because it is a very large unit with many different areas students can personalize their learning. During the lesson, the students need to compile a week long list of meals they have eaten at home.  Once they compile the meals they the student must analyze the differences between what they have eaten in comparison to what they should be eating based on the state recommendations.  The purpose of the unit is to provide students with the opportunity to showcase their understanding of the RDA through various programs.  The students can showcase their learning through a visual display, essay form, or another creative program the students would like.  

Not only does the unit accommodate students of various learning styles, the unit provides many opportunities for students who require assistive technology.  For example, I had a student who was autistic and needed to have more of a hands on experience.  The student worked with myself and their adaptive classroom to compile a cut out of different pictures they ate.  From there, the student would pair up with another classmate and they would use the pictures to place in the program popplet.  The student was able to showcase their ideas and thoughts through the visual demonstration.  Other students used the Choose My Plate program and some students choose to use Prezi or an essay format.  Regardless of the program each student choose, they were able to learn the same information and use 21st century skills to assess the different foods.

Technology helps my students organize their thoughts and provide a platform for expressing their ideas.  Programs such as Popplet, Prezi, Choose my Plate, or Google Docs, the students are able to use UDL to learn the information as well as provide an explanation on whether or not they were meeting the RDA. Technology allows my students an application of the information we are discussing during class.  Without the use of technology, the application might not give some of my students an opportunity to fully understand the topic.