UDL: Educators' Guidelines

In my last post, I examined the Curriculum Barriers Tutorial and created my own using the template offered on CAST.org. Those resources are extremely beneficial to creating a room with an emphasis on UDL. Another fantastic resource is the CAST' Educator Guidelines. The checklist displays the numerous strategies teachers may  use to differentiate lessons in the classroom based on representation, expression, and expression. Please view the video What Are the UDL Guidelines? by clicking on the link for more information on the guidelines and how to use them.


Using the educator guidelines, I analyzed a previous created lesson plan. I was able to go through each individual aspect of the UDL model and locate the areas I need to improve. The self assessment of my own lesson plan in regards to UDL opened my eyes in ways I was not ready. Surprisingly, I had incorporated many of the important sections of the model without realizing it however there is always room for improvement. In my lesson on Earth Science, there were many opportunities for differentiation that I took advantage of to assist in learning.  I offered alternatives for auditory information by letting the students listen to the story on a CD, provided pictures to help with comprehending new vocabulary words, and tapped into prior knowledge in the beginning of the lesson. These different aspects of my lesson were beneficial to all learners. The areas for improvement incorporated: supporting memory and transfer, developing a self-assessment and reflection, heightening salience of goals and objectives. Below is a snapshot of the lesson I updated to make it stronger with the help of the UDL Educators' Guidelines. 

 

In the updated lesson, I incorporated more technology by displaying the communication board on the smartboard.To heighten the salience of foals and objective, the students and I will read the goal together so they know the purpose of the lesson. It is important to support memory and transfer throughout the lesson. The students are able to express the reasons for thinking it is a certain season before reading, after doing a picture walk, and after reading. It is important to acknowledge the information gathered throughout the lesson to help students retain it.

In this lesson, I was not able to develop self-assessment and reflections or facilitate managing information and resources. In the future, these are aspects I would like to include in my lesson planning to make learning universal for all students. I hope you have learned as much as I have in this post and are able to use the educators' guidelines to improve your lessons!

Until Next Time!

UDL and Curriculum Barriers

My last post focused on two different toolkits that help educators use UDL in the classroom. Today, we will begin to focus on the Curriculum Barriers Tutorial (CBT) and how the use assist in making learning universal for all students. The CBT gives you practice in using the UDL framework to analyze hidden barriers in the curriculum in light of students' strengths, needs, and interests for each individual student in each individual subject. 

The tutorial helps educators organize all their students needs and potential barriers in one place. An example of the curriculum barrier template is below. After reading over it, one can see how the organization of all students needs, qualities, and potential barriers can help teachers plan their lessons to benefit all their students needs and interest. 
 
The recommendation is for teachers to create a template for every subject because students abilities change based on whats being asked of them. Some feel this may be very time consuming in the but I believe it will be more beneficial in the long run. The initial time in creating the template will save time in the future as all your students needs are laid out simply to assist in easy lesson planning. In my classroom, I hope to utilize the template to insure I am planning to reach all my students in every subject. Anything that will help me organize my thoughts, plan more efficiently for all the student sin my classroom, and benefit my students academically is a win, win. The Curriculum Barrier template is a great tool for all educators and the tutorial helps teachers in creating the template by offering universal ideas to help students across the board. 

My Research Put To Work  

As apart of my recommendation to you to use the Curriculum Barrier template, I have created one of my own for one of my students, Marvin. The template will focus on Mathematics skill of multiplication.

Multiplication is a hard concept for most students to understand in the beginning. The template allows me as the teacher to think of the barriers that may hinder Marvin before I begin to teach and plan accommodations for them. Marvin has problems reading material close together and multiplication charts are small but he likes to draw. He could use the multiplication template given to all the students to create one on his own. His interest in drawing has been tapped and he can create his own multiplication chart to use in the classroom. Marvin has difficulty understanding directions due to his limited English comprehension. He speaks English well but has problems when reading directions. During seat work, he does not start right away due to not understanding the directions. As the teacher,I will take the time to explicitly explain directions, ask for questions, and make the effort to stop by Marvin's desk.

With the help of the Curriculum Barriers template, I was able to pre plan for the potential barriers Marvin may run into during an multiplication lesson. It will make me a better teacher because I have planned ahead of time with Marvin's needs in mind. It also makes the learning easier for him and puts him at an advantage to understand the material easier. After creating a template for only one student, I am a future Curriculum Barrier template user.  I feel more prepared to handle the issues that may occur in the classroom. Until Next time!