UDL Guidelines: Examples and Resources

Principle and Checkpoint Analyzed State the principle and checkpoint (number and description) analyzed The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principle that I have analyzed is the third principle: Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. The checkpoint number for this principle that I chose to study from the UDL guidelines - version 2.0: Examples and resources (2014) website is Checkpoint 7.1: Optimize individual choice and autonomy. Providing more than one means of engagement in the curriculum is so important because each learner in the classroom is unique in how they are motivated and engaged. There is no one size fits all engagement strategy that will work to universally engage students because some students areUDL guidelines - version 2.0: Examples and resources “highly engaged by spontaneity and novelty while other are disengaged, even frightened, by those aspects, preferring strict routine. Some learners might like to work alone, while others prefer to work with their peers.” (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, n.d.). For this reason the teacher should use various engagement strategies that will connect with all kinds of diverse of learners. In this presentation I will be elaborating on checkpoint 7.1: Optimize individual choice and autonomy: I will describe a specific example of the checkpoint, will explain how the example/resource works, will address each of the key considerations for the checkpoint, and will share an idea that I have for how this resource might be used effectively during instruction or assessment opportunities in my current classroom.

Description of Specific Example/Resource Selected Describe the specific example or resource selected (title given), the age group intended for, and the content area it covers. The specific example/resource selected is Book Adventure. The age group that Book Adventure is intended for is students ages 5-14 in grades k-8. The content area that Book Adventure covers is reading. (Book Adventure Free Reading Program, n.d.).

How the Example/Resource Works Describe the example/resource explored explaining how it works Book Adventure works to support Universal Design for Learning (UDL) because it provides students autonomy over their own learning and gives students a multitude of choices in the reading curriculum. When students can have a say in classroom activities they are highly engaged so Book Adventure really works to engage, motivate, and inspire students to learn valuable reading and literacy skills. Book Adventure allows students to choose from thousands of book titles, to be exact over 7,000 titles! This provision of choice is a great way to recruit students' interest. In the curriculum it would not be proper educational methodology to allow students to choose the actual reading common core standard and objective to be learned, however what teachers can allow students to choose is how that common core standard and objective will be learned. When teachers utilize the resource Book Adventure in the curriculum, teachers can optimize individual choice and autonomy by allowing students to choose from over 7,000 recommended book titles. Students are significantly engaged, inspired, and motivated to read when they have this plethora of choices of books to pick from. The Book Adventure resource also provides students autonomy over their own learning in that students can create and customize their own book lists. Book adventure engages students to love reading because students in grades k-8 can create their own book lists to take to the library or store, take quizzes on the books they have read, and earn great prizes. The prizes that students can earn is an engaging feature of Book Adventure. In summary, book Adventure works to engage students in the reading curriculum by giving them the freedom to choose from over 7,000 book titles, allowing them the autonomy to create their very own customized book lists, and rewarding academic achievement with prizes. Book Adventure works to help teachers support the third principle of UDL because it engages, motivates, and inspires students to read and develop significant reading and literacy skills. Here is a link to the Book Adventure website: (Book Adventure, Free Reading Program, n.d)

“Key Considerations” for the Checkpoint Address each of the “Key Considerations” for the checkpoint. How does this help learners meet the goal? Optimizing student autonomy and offering learners choices can help develop self-determination and pride in accomplishment which motivates learners to achieve the learning goal. How does this account for the variability of all learners? Provisioning varied choices accounts for variability of all learners because one design does not fit all and so the curriculum must have many choices to make learning significant and relevant to the variety of learners whom have varying aptitudes, varying learning styles, varying intelligences, varying interests, varying skills, and so forth. Are learners being given the right amount of choice? In order to support UDL teachers must provide more than just one set of choices and must allow for a plethora of varied choices that diverse learners will be motivated by. A “universal” and varied group of students that have differing learning styles are accounted for when the teacher provides varied choices in the classroom such as allowing students to choose the level of perceived challenge, the type of rewards or recognition available, the context or content used for practicing and assessing skills, the tools used for information gathering or production, the color, design, or graphics of layouts, etc., and the sequence or timing for completion of subcomponents of tasks. (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, n.d.).

My Idea of How I will Effectively Incorporate this Resource During Instruction and Assessment Opportunities in my Current Classroom Share an idea you have for how this resource might be used effectively during instruction or assessment opportunities in your current classroom or your future practice I am so inspired to utilize the Book Adventure resource in my classroom to help students achieve the reading common core standards! Some of my third grade students are avid readers and love to read a book title while other students are not so eager about reading the book title and so getting all of my students to be motivated about reading has been a challenge. I think that using the Book Adventure resource to offer students choices of the book titles they select will help students develop a love of reading and is absolutely ingenious! The idea that I have for how Book Adventure might be used effectively during instruction opportunities in my current third grade classroom is that at the beginning of the academic school year during the first week I will provision the students autonomy over selecting the books that they want to read throughout the academic year. They will be allowed to choose from over 7,000 book titles. I will teach students how to use Book Adventure to create their own custom book lists. So the students will be given “ownership of their own learning” from the very first week of class. The students will then be given the choice of what order they want to read the books on their book list in. They will have autonomy in what order the books titles are completed as long as they are completed by the due dates on the calendar. So students will have the opportunity to read the book titles at their own pace as long as the due dates for completing the book titles, taking the quiz, and final assessment are completed on time. Students will then have a choice to complete a either a book report on the book title or to create an art work that represents something important they learned in the book. The art work can be a drawing, painting, sculpture, mobile, paper mache, etc. Another idea that I have for my classroom to motivate the students to read more books than the required and motivate them to be avid readers is that I will offer prizes. For each book a student completes and passes the required quizzes/tests for five stars will be issued to the student. Once the student has achieved 25 stars (the equivalent of reading 5 books) the student can redeem the stars for a prize in the 25 stars prize bin or can wait to accumulate more stars. There will be three prize bins, one that has prizes redeemable for 25 stars, one bin that has prizes redeemable for 50 stars, and one bin that has ultimate prizes redeemable for 75 stars. Because students will know that the quality of prizes that can choose from increases with the amount of stars the students has to redeem, students will be motivated to complete more books to redeem the ultimate prize. The purpose of this prize system is to motivate students to read more than the minimum required books on their book list which will help them become advanced readers.

References National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). UDL guidelines - version 2.0: Examples and resources. Retrieved from guidelines - version 2.0: Examples and resourceshttp:// Book Adventure, Free Reading Program. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2015.