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When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, teachers around the United States shifted to distance learning practically overnight. In both general education and special education, many teachers did not have tools or strategies in place to provide deaf students with accessible lessons and support. Teachers needed to change their materials quickly and clearly in order to meet the needs of all their students in the new distance format. The unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing students meant that unique accommodations and solutions needed to be considered and used for the distance learning formats.
Examples of Universal Design for Learning in Classrooms
This is an area in which we greatly encourage contributions from the field. By providing different avenues for students to interact with the curriculum, UDL aims to heighten motivation and commitment to learning. This principle seeks to capture the diverse ways in which students can become invested and involved, thereby enriching their educational experiences. The inclusion of interactive tools that teach specific concepts, like narrative structures, and resources that enhance writing skills reflects this principle in action. By embracing these varied methods, students are given the opportunity to use their strengths and preferences to show their learning. In this article, we will delve into the essence of UDL, outlining its principles and the significant advantages it introduces to education.
Universal Design for Learning: What Educators Need to Know
Educators empowered with UDL guidelines can create responsive curriculum and instruction that meaningfully accommodates the nuances of a diverse student body. Classrooms today are a tapestry of differences - in abilities, cultural backgrounds, and learning preferences. Teachers face the challenge of honoring high expectations for all, while also recognizing this diversity. UDL is about being proactive, not reactive; it's about designing with the foresight of these needs in mind. It is through adherence to these principles that UDL successfully fosters an inclusive learning atmosphere where barriers are systematically identified and dismantled.
Strategies to Support Decoding
Promising lines of research include work identifying the specific practices that are critical to meeting the challenge of individual differences—research that has been amassed over decades and by many different researchers. These studies are labeled as “promising” because they appear to fit within the UDL framework, but they have not been tested in a UDL environment or using the framework. It is important that these practices are studied within a UDL environment for them to be considered effective UDL practices.
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Start by offering multiple options for teachers to interact with the content. Books, podcasts, videos, and discussion groups offer choices that align with personal preferences and offer variety in learning. Allow for feedback through multiple methods such as online surveys, exit questionnaires, team and one-on-one meetings, and journaling.
UDL's principle of multiple means of action and expression suggests that students should be allowed to demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways. To cater to the varied ways students comprehend information, UDL advocates for the delivery of content through multiple means of representation. This approach acknowledges that some students may prefer visual materials, others audio, and yet others might benefit from a kinetic experience. Now that you know a little more about what the UDL framework is and how this strategy can give your students more personalized support, let’s discuss how to get started. You can use the following strategies to incorporate Universal Design for Learning tools into your classroom.
I realized that many students needed clearer directions, checklists, and check-ins, so I created systems within our classroom to address this. Teachers can encourage high school students’ success by focusing on learner variability and creating customizable learning experiences. The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. 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. UDL is a powerful approach because from the very start of your lesson, it helps you anticipate and plan for all your learners.
You don’t need specific tools or technologies to follow UDL’s principles either. Instead, your students choose from the tools and resources you already have. If you use materials not explicitly designed for UDL, you may need to modify them to make them more accessible and inclusive. This could include changing the font size, adding alternate text, and increasing the contrast of colors. UDL helps to make learning more engaging and exciting for all students. When students are actively engaged in their learning, they are more likely to succeed.
Similarly, learners in geography need to understand how to interpret maps. Likewise, many science classes involve diagrams that learners need to read or reproduce. In addition, learners first reading Braille need to recognize each letter by touch.
Innovating for inclusion Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight - UNICEF
Innovating for inclusion Innocenti Global Office of Research and Foresight.
Posted: Thu, 14 Mar 2024 02:08:54 GMT [source]
These principles serve as the scaffolding for an educational framework that is adept at handling the unique complexities of how individuals learn. By building on these pillars, educators are equipped to design instructional experiences that can reach and resonate with each student in a diverse classroom. The overarching framework of UDL motivated many stakeholders in the field to begin rethinking the design of their environments and curricula through a UDL lens. However, CAST often received feedback that applying UDL to practice felt overwhelming. In 2009, we developed the first version of the UDL Guidelines in response to this important feedback.
Some say, too, that providing accommodations for all can reduce stigma students may feel about using accommodations. The primary focus is on teaching the subject matter students need to learn. Based on our 2-day in-person workshop, this course will support participants to learn everything they need to begin their UDL journey. The course contains content in a variety of formats, review exercises to reinforce learning, and quizzes to ensure you have the foundational knowledge to move through the sections.
Closed captions make television accessible to people who are deaf or who have hearing loss, as well as people at the gym or spouses who can’t agree whether or not to keep the TV on at night. In any class, you know there’s a wide range of enthusiasm, background, and skills among your students. When you plan with this range in mind, you can approach the lesson in several ways. Finally, one of the best ways to use UDL in your classroom is to encourage student participation.
UDL supports all children, including infants and toddlers with disabilities, to help them engage more fully in learning. It doesn't take the place of individualized curriculum modifications necessary for particular children. For more information on individualized curriculum modifications, see these helpful Curriculum Modifications resources.
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