You’ll notice that we’ve intentionally labeled these guidelines as Version 1.0 with the hope that you will contribute suggestions and we will be able to revise and vastly improve the guidelines in future “editions.”
We’ve set up the blog so you can comment on each of the guidelines separately but perhaps you have comments to share on the guidelines as a whole. Here is a place for you to do that.
Some questions to provoke your thinking and that we would very much like to hear from you about…
Which of the guidelines are relatively easy to apply to your lesson planning, instructional materials, or teaching practices? Which ones do you find particularly challenging to apply? For the ones that are difficult to apply, what would help you?
Are any of the guidelines more important to you than the others? Why?
Are there web-based curricular materials or lessons you feel are good examples of the application of the 3 UDL principles? Which ones?
Do you have examples to add to any of our guidelines?
Have you shared the guidelines with others? If so, in what context? What was the reaction?
We look forward to hearing from you!
June 18, 2008 at 9:33 pm |
I think in my lesson plans Principle I & II, guidelines 1-6, are relatively easy to apply, once I have recognized what the student needs to learn best. I believe all still have motivation to learn and once I as the teacher have found what motivates them best and provide materials accordingly using all and any multimedia available, especially digital technology. Principle III becomes a bit more challenging. What I have found is that usually, (there have been occasions – depending on the student) if I as the teacher haven’t found a medium to address the emotional concerns of the students, it becomes more challenging to apply principles I and II, although the student will try, but there will be days/ups and downs.
June 13, 2009 at 11:54 pm |
Of all the Principles I agree that Principle I & II are easier for me to apply to my lesson planning, for me as a new teacher, I am learning how to incorporate Principle III and successfully support and meet the needs of all the learners in the classroom. Currently I am focusing on Principle I & II, and utilizing Powerpoint, Video Clips, and Audio and Television.
I have also found using WebQuests, to outline online research helps direct research efforts. I am trilled to see all of the Word tools, and Digital Text book tools to support learning- these are tools I would like to incorporate into my lessons!
August 9, 2008 at 8:24 am |
I very much appreciate these guidelines, which help me to use different ways to reach students. I find myself needing to do a lot of imagination work, while reading through the guidelines. I am wandering if it is possible to put some real life application movie or snapshot clips along these guidelines. It will help visual thinker like myself much easier to grasp the concepts. Just a thought!
September 29, 2008 at 3:34 pm |
As I work to implement the principles of UDL in my district, I wish there was policy (law,even) in place just as there is in architecture.
Learners need protection from long-held biases of our classrooms, systems and governements.
Are you doing work to transfer these principles to policy?
The part that stands out for me is that these principles are for all learners and that the adaptations to curricula must be for everyone so that no one feels singled out and feels bad for needing them. We don’t send someone in a wheelchair to the back of the building; however, we send our learning disabled to the computer to access text differently.
Thoughts?
September 29, 2008 at 3:44 pm |
Hi Kerry,
Funny you should mention your wish for ways to transfer UDL principles into sensible policies to improve access to learning….join us on October 6th for a kick-off webinar on this very topic!
Your voice can be heard in Washington beginning on Monday, October 6th
Calling all Educators, SPED Directors, and School, District, and State Administrators interested in shaping policy related to UDL Implementation
We want to hear from those of you out in the field working to implement UDL
Participate in a Virtual Forum to discuss challenges to the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with colleagues at the federal, state, district and school levels across the nation. Your conversations will inform a small core team’s work at a future face-to-face forum as they develop UDL policy recommendations.
CAST and Project Forum at NASDSE (National Association of State Directors of Special Education) are pleased to host a free webinar on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a kick-off event for a month-long online policy forum on UDL implementation. The webinar will provide you with background on UDL and start the conversation on issues related to UDL implementation in schools, districts and states.
Date: Monday, October 6th
Time: 2:00-4:00PM Eastern Standard Time
Presenter: David H. Rose, Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and a pioneer of the field of UDL.
Link to the webinar: Universal Design for Learning (UDL): Policy Issues http://www.projectforum.org/
No pre-registration required. You will need to perform a systems check on your PC prior to 2:00PM. For technical assistance prior to 2pm, email jgronneberg@cast.org.
November 1, 2008 at 8:21 pm |
I care passionately about teaching and am enjoying this review. I work at a university that seems so uncommitted to teaching excellence. My students tell me, “Dr. Caldwell, I have never been asked to write research papers in my business classes. I don’t know how to do research.”
I help them succeed and require them to work closely with our Writing Center. I review provided rubrics carefully. But it seems so ironic that most of our faculty do not demonstrate that they care a hoot! Forty percent of our graduating MBA students failed to meet our writing requirements last spring.
April 15, 2009 at 1:51 pm |
If you want to hear a reader’s feedback
, I rate this article for 4/5. Detailed info, but I just have to go to that damn msn to find the missed bits. Thank you, anyway!
June 29, 2009 at 11:36 am |
I am a student teacher and very new to the concept of UDL. Thank you for the informative articles. I have been working with several students who have great difficulty in processing language onto paper and one with oral processing difficulties. And very recently, my grandson has been diagnosed with ASD. Hence, the opportunity for so many options to be incorporated into the strategies for learning is amazing. I have already used quite a few, but I am excited to explore the many new options you have illustrated in Windows, Thank you and I will be investigating further.
June 29, 2009 at 3:09 pm |
As a pre-service teacher graduating in December, I found this UDL presentation highly applicable to my future teaching practice. I love technology and appreciate and marvel at the wonder of it all. I find that many teachers today are disconnected and that students like technology but maybe don’t know how to use it to their advantage.
I implemented as much technology as I could in my last practicum (secondary). I created WebQuests, used PowerPoint and online videos, and created sites for the students to direct them in their learning. The feedback I got was positive from the students, not only because we were going to go on the computers but also because the resources they had were appropriate for them and they didn’t need to waste time searching this vast information network to find something they could understand.
I realize there are more tools out there and I am just getting started, but I look forward to implementing and utilizing more technology as I further my career. Lifelong learning is what it is about!
October 18, 2009 at 4:37 pm |
From working in an educational setting for about 2 years now, (which I recognize is probably very minimal for some of you) I found myself agreeing with many of the guidelines presented. I feel as though we could sum up several of them by simply addressing why the students are learning certain things.
In a math class for instance, we are focusing on teaching the students how to make change. But why do they need to make change? Because at one point, the student will go into a convenience store and purchase a bag of chips, or a soda, and it is up to them to recognize if they have received the correct amount back. If the soda costs 1.25$ and they pay with a 20 dollar bill, what should they expect to receive? Recognize the importance of learning how to correctly make change and also, what other doors being able to count back and receive change can open. What types of jobs and situations will they run into as adults where they are required to count back money, and write out checks and so on and so forth. If we simply stick them on a computer and have recognize the difference between 5 cents and 50 cents, what are they really learning?