Thoughts on Universal Design for Learning

Reading the descriptions of the Universal Design for Learning framework brought back thoughts of my first teaching assignment in a learning styles school. Providing choice was a predominant theme and that is what I see in the UDL model because of the emphasis on multiple means for creating opportunities for representation, action and expression, and engagement. In my own teaching, I have noticed that I naturally use several of the UDL principles while others are not as easy to incorporate. For example, two of the UDL principles I have most regularly applied are “provide options for comprehension” under REPRESENTATION and many of the subheadings under ENGAGEMENT.  As a math teacher, I was constantly focused on activating background knowledge and linking to new concepts. It is almost a natural process in teaching math to look at big ideas, develop relationships, and guide information processing. Math is very much like building a house from the ground up. You need a strong foundation, build all the rooms and put a roof on it. These inherent building blocks are easily defined and build natural pathways for students to follow. Due to this structure, teaching math requires me to help students engage with their background knowledge and guide them through the required steps for learning new skills before I can move onto the next unit or lesson. In the past few years, I have also pursued standards based grading, which falls under the Engagement heading because of its emphasis on developing mastery of goals and objectives and increasing feedback. I loved it and saw tremendous progress with students because their focus was on mastering the skill over time rather than learning the skill to make a good grade and then forgetting it. While I have found it difficult to track and keep up with all of the math standards and allow students to continue their attempts at mastery, I am still working to perfect this process because it is so obviously beneficial to my students. An area of weakness in my own teaching is with student ownership of their learning and shifting my view of this process. I quite often struggle with letting go of the reins and providing greater flexibility in the classroom. One way I plan to optimize individual choice and autonomy in the classroom is creating learning centers, in order to facilitate student choice within their own learning, and learning pathways, which provide students with choices aligned to their ability levels.

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