Inclusive Assessment Task 2 – Case Study

Using the universal design for learning framework (UDL) this essay will look at the case study

of a student I observed and taught during my first professional practice in early 2018. One of my

classes during my practicum was a very low functioning year 8 class. This class consisted of a range

of personalities with specific needs both behavioural and cognitive. The focus of this case study will

be a particular student in this class who for the most part was a well-behaved student but struggled

to engage with and complete the tasks put to him. This student has an EALD background and as such

I believe that this could be a major contributing factor to his disengagement and poor learning

outcomes. For the intents of this essay this student will be given the pseudonym Tim to protect his

identity and privacy. It is my goal in this essay to highlight specific inclusive activities, approaches

and adjustments that can be made to improve not only the achievement and school experience of

Tim but also his classmates. For this case study to be effective and reach these outcomes Loreman,

Deppeler and Harvey (2011) argue that teachers need to assess the barriers that exist for our

students particularly when it comes to participation, instructional strategies and meeting learning

outcomes. It is evident that Tim is affected by all there of these barriers, as such Tim is isolated by

the instructional strategies that do not consider his background and therefore kept from engaging

with his peers and meeting the legislated outcomes of the syllabus. In an ideal world UDL would be

worked into the curriculum from the outset to accommodate the needs of all students (Lopes-

Murphy, 2012). The NSW history syllabus is structured in a way that the outcomes and content to be

covered are prescriptive enough for teachers to take the lead and teach to their student needs.

According to Loreman, Deppeler and Harvey, (2011) it is the role of a dedicated and

professional teacher to utilise the mandated syllabus in a way that provides all students with access

to acquire the knowledge, skills and outcomes through activities that are meaningful and relevant.

As an EALD student Tim’s English proficiency is limited and is a significant factor in limiting his

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interaction with classroom activities and his peers. Lopes-Murphy argues that any approaches to

meet the needs of an English learner is that activities need to be “multisensory” (2012, p.227). One

specific adjustment that can be made to help Tim, is the use of scaffolding to assist him in

understanding tasks and concepts. In the history classroom there are many historical concepts that a

student needs to understand and apply in their learning. Scaffolds can be used to provide students

with the structure and foregrounding they need to assimilate new knowledge and further their

understanding. In the history classroom often scaffolds appear to be in the form of PEEL templates

for essay writing, vocabulary tasks, and inquiry-based learning tasks including; source analysis and

research tasks. According to Voet and De Wever (2016) for history teaching to be engaging and

meaningful to students they need to be able to engage with history not only by knowing history but

also by doing history. This engagement with history requires students to develop a greater

understanding of the concepts, skills and nature of historical investigation. Therefore, it is no wonder

that Inquiry based learning is a staple of a history teacher’s educational arsenal because it provides

history teachers with a framework to structure activities that give students the chance to develop

their own ideas and conclusions about the past through meaningful engagement with historical

sources (Voet and De Wever, 2016).

Loreman et.al. argues that there are three layers to effective universal design for learning

(2011). Within the classroom these are firstly providing students with content in a variety of forms,

and then secondly, helping students to produce and express their learning and understanding in a

range of meaningful, engaging and relevant ways. Lastly, teachers need to find a range of ways to

engage students with the lesson content by playing to their students’ strengths and interests (Hall

et.al. 2015). The first layer of the UDL framework provides teachers with the prompt to assess how

they disseminate knowledge and classroom content to their students. It is clear that students have

different learning styles and are better suited to learning styles that provide them with the means to

further their understanding and learn classroom content in a way that they find easier for them.

There are many ways a teacher can present information to their classroom these include through

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both teacher-based and student-based direction, including direct instruction and dissemination of

information from the teacher to the students either as a whole or through individual student

interaction as well as through group work and peer-based learning activities. This also operates on

another level that being the presentation of information either via written form, kinaesthetic forms

as experienced through source analysis, the most prominent and relevant form regarding historical

inquiry, as well as through visual and auditory forms including the use of images, videos, storytelling

and music. I found that in Tim’s case tasks that required him to read or write extensively particularly

when the stakes were high caused him great anxiety and tended to alienate him from the rest of the

classroom. I therefore, took to providing the class and in effect Tim with the content through a range

of resources that played to Tim strengths while also engaging and including the rest of the class as to

not further alienate Tim from the content or school community. These included the use of video,

visual sources, and group discussions that were based on a variety of inquiry questions including:

what do you see? What is happening in this image? Why is this important?. This approach makes the

curriculum and lesson content accessible to Tim in a way that is meaningful to all students and still

meets the requirements and outcomes set in the curriculum.

During my practicum I was given access to the NAPLAN results of Tim to discern the specific

areas of his literacy that he needed help improving. Looking at the data it was clear that Tim was

particularly lacking skills in relation to comprehension and decoding, both of which are enormously

pertinent to historiography and the analysis of sources. Loreman et.al. (2011) looks at UDL through

the lens of the educational environment, identifying five areas of the classroom experience that a

teacher should adjust to meet the needs of their students these include the physical environment,

the materials environment, the resources environment, as well as instructional strategies and

learning outcomes. As discussed earlier it is clear that one of the main barriers faced by Tim is his

ability to engage with the materials given to him. This is particularly true when given written

materials. Loreman et.al. (2011) suggests that the most effective way to involve students learning a

new language in your classroom is to provide reading and writing materials with more consideration

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to the size and font of the writing as well as use of visual prompts like pictures to aid in decoding and

comprehending what they are reading. This approach is not just beneficial for Tim but also for the

other student in Tim’s class that may also have difficulty with comprehension or just may be more

engaged with visual sources. Teachers can also aid their students by modifying materials to contain

only the most essential knowledge relevant to meeting the outcomes of the syllabus and then

looking at supplementary knowledge once key ideas and understandings have been developed

(Loreman et.al., 2011).

The second layer to universal design for learning encompasses teachers finding ways that

give their students the ability to express their ideas and demonstrate not only what they already

know but what they have learnt, building upon their prior understanding. In Tim’s case he responds

very well to using technologies in the lesson, and as such was a focus of my lesson planning. I found

ways to introduce the use of Chromebooks within the lesson so that my students were able to

engage with resources that were more engaging and had a greater impact at playing to the strengths

of my students including their technological knowledge and their ability to engage with programs

and devices that made their learning more accessible. According to Edyburn (2010) technology is an

essential component to the UDL framework. This is because it provides teachers with the flexibility

and supports to meet the needs of all students. Of course, a YouTube video or website that presents

the same information as a worksheet is going to be far more engaging and have a more lasting

impact on the learning of a student. Evidently the modern world is a more interconnected place than

it has ever been and is extremely reliant on technology, as such our classrooms should reflect this

and prepare all students to interact and adapt with the technologies they will use throughout their

lives (Edyburn, 2010). This is furthered by Hall et.al. who recognises the diverse ways students learn

and express what they know. This is particularly highlighted using technologies to present their

learning multimodally. This allows students to focus on their learning and play to their strengths.

This could be an interesting and more engaging way of providing students with assessment tasks. As

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students can be given tasks that provide them with choices on how they present their learning and

fosters a greater sense of agency and engagement with the task put to them.

The third layer of UDL highlights the need to tap into students interests by setting activities

that challenge and motivate students. However, this one can be a little bit trickier because

something that interests and motivates one student may do the opposite for another (Hall, et.al.

2015). As such Hall et.al. argues that student outcomes can be improved by ascertaining the

interests of the whole class and encouraging effort, persistence and self-regulation within students.

Howard (2003) highlights that the use of technology to ensure student engagement by giving

students tasks that allow them to explore topics and ideas in ways that envelops their imaginations

and places them at the centre of their own learning.

In this case study I have show a range of adjustments and accommodations a history teacher

an put in place to meet the needs of all their students by Using the universal design for learning

framework (UDL) this essay has utilised my experiences during prac as a basis for meeting the needs

of an EALD student in my class. I have used the UDL framework to address the areas of the

classroom environment that can have the most significant impact upon not only the learning and

outcomes of Tim but all students.

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References
Edyburn, D.L.,. (2010). WOULD YOU RECOGNIZE UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING IF YOU SAW IT?
TEN PROPOSITIONS FOR NEW DIRECTIONS FOR THE SECOND DECADE OF UDL. Learning
Disability Quarterly, 33(1), 33-41. Retrieved September 17th, 2018, from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/25701429

Hall, T.E., Cohen, N., Vue, G., & Ganley, P.,. (2015). Addressing Learning Disabilities With UDL and
Technology: Strategic Reader. Learning Disability Quarterly, 38(2), 72-83. doi:
10.1177/0731948714544375

Howard J.B.,. (2003). Universal Design For Learning. Journal of Computing in Teacher Education,
19(4), 113-118. Retrieved September 17th, 2018, from
https://doi.org/10.1080/10402454.2003.10784474

Lopes-Murphy, Solange. (2012). Universal Design for Learning: Preparing Secondary Education
Teachers in Training to Increase Academic Accessibility of High School English Learners. The
Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 85(6), 226-230.
doi:10.1080/00098655.2012.693549

Loreman. T., Deppeler, J., & Harvey, D.,. (2011). Inclusive education: Supporting diversity in the
classroom. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.

Voet, M., & De Wever, B.,. (2016). History Teachers' conceptions of inquiry based learning, beliefs
about the nature of history and their relation to the classroom context. Teaching and
Teacher Education, 55, 57-67. Retrieved September 26th, 2018, from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.12.008

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Lesson plan
Key

 Representation
 Expression
 Engagement
Topic area: The Polynesian Expansion Stage of Learner: Stage 4 Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Across the Pacific Total Number of students: 25
Outcomes
 uses evidence from sources to support historical narratives and explanations HT4-6
 uses a range of historical terms and concepts when communicating an understanding
of the past HT4-9

Time Teaching and learning actions

5 min (Learning Intention: Discovering Polynesia)

Greet students as they enter the classroom.

Tells students that there is a Do Now on the board to complete

Asks students to grab 3 post it notes as they walk in.

DO NOW: what is Polynesia and where can you find it?

- Students for write down on their post it notes an answer to the question on the board
- While students complete the task, the teacher marks the role
- Once the role is marked the teacher ask students to share their answers and place their post it
notes on the board
15 Introduction to the topic (visual and auditory)
min
- Students watch two videos showing different characteristics of Polynesian culture

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPAbx5kgCJo – discuss the significant

elements within this Moana video for example; The wakas (boats), environment
and natural features etc.

o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTwbKryrhks – what is this? (the Haka) what

culture is it from?

- Students are given select images depicting various Polynesian cultures and write on the
images what they think they are and what cultures they may be from.

Class discussion

15 Present a map of the pacific islands on the board for students to use as stimulus
min
- Discuss the island and countries that make up the Pacific

- Highlight the expanse of the Polynesian culture throughout the pacific region.

- Discuss the cultural significance of the key areas of the pacific this unit will focus on:

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 o Hawaii, NZ, Easter islands, Cook Islands and Samoa

15 Natural features of Polynesia

min
Students

- locate and label one Polynesian islands using google maps.

- On the worksheet for each island students determine the geographical and natural
features of the island – students can draw or write their answers on the worksheet
provided

Student also mark where significant sites are located and explain why they are significant.

20 Human Timeline (kinaesthetic task)

min
- Move students to the courtyard outside
- Ask for 10 volunteers to hold up a series of expansion events on a A4 paper
- The rest of the class are told to organise the events chronologically.

o The class writes the timeline down on the board from memory.
o The teacher facilitates this activity by providing hints
Once complete the students write the timeline down into their workbooks as a scaffold

20 Exit Activity
min
Using their Chrome books students choose a Polynesian island from the list on the board:

- Students: on a google document research the island they have chosen and create a small
brochure highlighting:

o five key features of the island and its people, as well as where it is, how much and
how to get there.

o They can use images and other forms of media as evidence.

- Inform the students that their brochures will be printed off and hung on the wall in the
classroom so that they can later refer to them

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