Friday’s Reflection

Based on what I have learned about Universal Design for Learning, I believe the world, specifically education, will be very different in the year 2013.  I believe that with enough exposure and attention, this universal perspective way of looking at education can change the way individuals learn everything and anything.  With technology moving forward everyday the future holds endless teaching and learning opportunities for all.  Incorporating the three principles of UDL allows everyone the opportunity to learn which is responsible and socially just. 

As an educator who is still in the classroom, I plan to consider and incorporate the UDL principles into my curriculum, teaching units and daily lesson plans.  Change certainly needs to be made on the system wide level but I believe I can create change within my classroom by creating a UDL friendly learning environment.  I would also like to share with colleagues the information I learned during this week and would like to continue to learn more about best practices for UDL by maintaining contact with the UDL learning community that has been established through this class.   

Wednesday Morning Assignment

I remember during my first year of college, all freshman were required to take what was called “Core Course.”  This semester long course was a seminar type course that required students to read 10 to 15 books from a variety of genres. 

The goal of the course was never defined although I believe the main objective was to gain an understanding of the different themes and genres highlighted through the assigned books.  The design of the course included students reading a book independently and discussing the content with facilitation from the professor.  Class discussions were part of our grade and students were also required to write an analytical paper related to the theme of the book.  This process was repeated for each book. 

This course’s curriculum was not Universally Designed.  The material was easily accessible for individuals who have strengths in gaining information through text and discussion.  For those of us, however, who thrive with visuals, the material was a little more difficult to grasp.  The lack of options for assessments were also not UDL friendly.  I remember reading the books, having a good idea of the themes etc., but not necessarily thriving when it came to class discussions.  The curriculum was a “one size fits all” and did not serve diverse learners.

Tuesday Morning Assignment

The quote “the ‘universal’ in universal design (for learning) does not imply one optimal solution for everyone. Rather it reflects an awareness of the unique nature of each learner and the need to accommodate differences, creating learning experiences that suit the learner and maximize his or her ability to progress.” greatly relates to my professional experiences as a special education teacher. 

While teaching in the DC Public Schools for the last five years, I worked with a very diverse population including a wide range of reading levels (Primer – high school level), varying levels of past formal education, different manifestations of many different disabilities as well as a full spectrum of learning styles.  In a full inclusion environment, as a special educator, it was my responsibility to make the general education curriculum accessible to all of my students.  This was where my training in Differentiatiated Instruction was useful. 

Rose, Meyer and Hitchcock (2005) define differentiated instruction as “an approach to teaching and learning that gives students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas”  (p154).  Differentiated Instruction focuses on three main elements including content, process and products.  It focuses on the students “zone of proximal development” which states that students must be taught material slightly ahead of their present level of mastery.  This suggests that material that is too challenging or not challenging enough is counterproductive.

The theories of differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning compliment each other.  In chapter six, Rose, Meyer and Hitchcock relate the elements of the UDL principles of Recognition, Strategic and Affective Learning to those of Differentiated Instruction stating that DI greatly promotes the ideals of UDL for all of the three principles. 

After completing the reading last night I have a better understanding of the “how” behind differentiated instruction and how it relates to UDL.  It is important to not only understand the concepts but also to understand why they are related.  DI and UDL both support the overall idea that one size does not fit all and individualized learning is essential for success. 

Personal Story on Learning

Writing has always been a challenge for me.  While I feel I can adequately communicate in writing, I have never felt written expression is a strength of mine.  Last semester, when I was told to register for a writing class for my Education Specialist degree, I became worried.  It wasn’t until the professor handed out the syllabus, however, that I became very worried. 

After reviewing the four required writing assignments for the course, I knew in order to be successful in the class, I would have to be disciplined.  I knew falling into my habit of procrastination was a possibility but one that needed to be avoided at all costs.  This was my opportunity to turn over a new leaf and attack my assignments early.

Having the liberty and freedom to chose my own topics, I knew my topic choices would greatly influence the amount of motivation I would maintain throughout the semester.  I had to choose topics that I was passionate about and which energized me to learn, learn, learn about the topic.  I wanted to be a sponge and enjoy doing so.

With a literature review as one of the assignments, I chose to review the literature on underschooled immigrants.  Working with a primarily immigrant population, I have always questioned the impact that a broken, inadequate or non-existent education has on a student.  Each and every journal article I read was fascinating. 

After successfully completing the paper and the course, I am still interested in the topic and still seek out related learning opportunities.  This experience enriched me as a learner and a teacher.  Expereiencing a love for learning is something every teacher should know and then instill in their students.   

Hello world!

Welcome to your brand new blog at Edublogs.

To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.

There’s stacks of great supporting material too! Take time to view our some helpful introductory videos, read through our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or stop by The Edublogs Forums to chat with other edubloggers.

You can also subscribe to our brilliant free publication, The Edublogger, which is jammed with helpful tips, ideas and more.

And finally, if you like Edublogs but want to be able to simply create, administer, control and manage hundreds of student and teacher blogs at your school or college, check out Edublogs Campus… it’s like Edublogs in a box, all for you.

Thanks again for signing up with Edublogs!