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Durdan

ORIGINAL POST On Universal Design: Meeting Diverse Needs: 5 UDL Principles

1. Providing leveled choices in every day lessons. For example, in a math lesson you could put three questions up on the board of varying levels of difficulty and then you would ask the class to select a problem to solve. This gives every student an opportunity to answer a problem that they are capable of, and to share their answer without feeling like they are being given less difficult work. 2. Providing options for texts. Students should be given the opportunity to read individually, or in group settings, to read with the teacher, or to listen to the text. They may even be given an opportunity to do a number of these options. Having a recorded copy of the text can help those with language disabilities, with a student who has attention difficulties, or with a student who is having a bad day and needs additional supports. 3. Breaking the material down. By providing step-by-step instruction students are able to see the steps involved and can get a better understanding of the process. Teachers are able to see at what point a students understanding ends and can scaffold accordingly. Providing the steps both visually and verbally offers opportunities for different types of learners to understand the material. 4. Involving movement into the class. Students who are very kinesthetic and hands-on need to get up and move. Providing a portion of each lesson where they are able to move about to do activities will help them to learn. (Ex. 4 corner activities, jigsaws, gallery walks, human number lines, work stations,). 5. All students must have access to classroom materials. The classroom should be set up in a way that is conducive to learning, group work and discussion. All materials should be placed in areas that every student can reach. The classroom environment should be inviting and allow room for the teacher and students to circulate. It should also incorporate a quiet work area for students who need a calm place to work or for those who cant concentrate in a group setting.
February 8 at 10:52 PM Hi Amanda, I like your principle #3. This is extremely important when teaching math. My first step is to provide the learning goal - What the student will learn. I then provide the success criteria - how the student will learn it. I then give students the exact steps that they need to follow to achieve the expectation of the lesson. This process encourages independent learners as they are able to see each step that they need to take in order to arrive at the solution. At the end, I try to revisit the success criteria and with the input of the students, re-word it if needed in a manner that is easily understood by the students. - Jagjit

February 9 at 1:21 PM Amanda,

A. Durdan

I feel that your #4 is very important, especially in the upper grades (Grade 7/8) as it is like changing gears or just provides them a break from their desk or regular desk mates. I often find that my students get restless if they don't have options to move around in the classroom, performing different tasks in different locations. I too incorporate different activities or at the very least, different work sites (i.e. people working on their story, work at the back table, people working on math work at the manipulative table, those reading, by the classroom door....etc). Rodger

February 10 at 2:27 PM Hi Rodger, I work mainly with students who have learning disabilities so the academic tasks are very demanding for them. They tend to be the branch of students who don't love school because it drains so much energy from them. Having the break or getting them moving can get their motivation up. I just find that it is hard with a fifty minute period, I wish my classes were longer so that the students could have a few movement breaks and not lose too much time in the class. Amanda