Universal Design for Learning in the Early Childhood Classroom “Until Learning Has No Limits” cast.org 2018

Tracey Antista Robert Richardson Elementary Flowing Wells Unified School District Tucson AZ AzCEC Special Education Teacher of the Year 2015 – for Innovative Tech Board Member AzCEC Featured in two magazines for TECH use Awarded several grants so as to continue my work National Presenter CUE Keynote Speaker ASHA State Presenter AzCEC, AzTAP, ADE, and more… aPPsFROManAPPOHOLIC.WEEBLEY.COM

What if you were the one the world needed to be designed around? A World Made For Disabilities commercial

ORIGIN OF Universal Design Before: Retrofitting After: Universal Design

ORIGIN OF UDL Classroom Before UDL Classroom After UDL Application of UD principles in educational settings Classroom Before UDL Classroom After UDL One type of final product required for all Students Technology is avaialable for all students

Similarities Access to Buildings Access to Learning

Differentiated Instruction

Universal Design

THE “WHAT” OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING UDL BASICS The Kings Path Makers

THE “WHAT” OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING UDL BASICS Building Blocks CAST UDL is an approach used in many classroom that allows children to craft, explore, and manipulate materials that will foster learning UDL is a research based set of principles to guide the design of learning environments that are accessible and effective for all

THE “WHY" OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING THE RATIONALE Based on 2 IDEA Principles That all children have a free appropriate education in a school environment that is least restrictive to the child That the education of children with disabilities is best when parents and educators have high expectations fro children with disabilities “ensuring access to the general education curriculum in the regular classroom, to the maximum extent as possible (IDEA section 1400).

THE “WHY" OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING THE EVIDENCE Improves creative thinking skills Better memory skills Better grasp of letter and word identification “Children enrolled in programs that enlist developmentally appropriate practice, including UDL, exhibit better listening skills and perform better on measures of reading comprehension” UDL: Cognitive Theory into Practice by Susan Brand

Breaking down the barriers...

What barriers do you have that keeps you from a universally designed classroom? lack of planning time lack of information/training lack of sufficient supplies, materials, and/or equipment lack of a UDL lesson template lack of modeled instruction fear/resistance to change Anstead, Mary Elizabeth Jordan. Teachers Perceptions of Barriers to Universal Design for Learning Walden University, 2016

HOW DO WE GET THERE? Become Familiar with the Guidelines http://udlguidelines.cast.org/

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT Use multiple ways to motivate learners-Choice of how to reinforce and motivate

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT The TECH to support Drawnimal Educreations Fluidity

MULTIPLE MEANS OF REPRESENTATION Present content in different ways Choice of how to best understand information

MULTIPLE MEANS OF REPRESENTATION The TECH to support Text Grabber Closed Cations Kids Doodle

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ACTION and EXPRESSION Give Learners different ways to show what they know Choice of how to express what they know

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ACTION and EXPRESSION The TECH to support My Story Book Maker Fishy Paint iTouchiLearn Life Skills DuckDuckMoose Reading

Reflect: So What is UDL? The WHY, WHAT & HOW In Learning Provide Options for motivation Provide Options to show how to best understand Provide options to show what you know

When options and choices are already built into the Universally designed curriculum, fewer modifications are needed for individual differences; Planning becomes more efficient.

CHALLENGING, BUT DOABLE: BARRIERS REMOVED

PROVIDE MORE OPTIONS Recycle Old Tech in Your Play Center You know that flip phone that’s been in your drawer forever? Now’s the time to break it out! Put out a call to friends and parents for outdated (but safe—for example, with batteries removed) technology Reuse iPad 1 and place in a literacy center with thematic photos Choose Apps That Help Children Build and Create Children love to build and create. It’s why the block corner and art center are always two of the most popular places in our classroom. An apps that promote creative thinking are Imagination Box. The apps let kids draw pictures and write stories on the iPad. Kodable is another favorite. It’s a problem-solving app that also teaches children the basics of computer programming. Encourage Kids to Collaborate With Tech The best tech is shared tech. Research has shown that children who collaborate and work in pairs on an iPad benefit more than those who work independently.

CURIOUS How they all COMPARE? Inclusive Environments Universal Design Assistive Technology The purpose of Early Childhood programs is to intentionally design environments to be responsive to all children’s needs. The purpose of UDL is to guide the design of learning environments that are assessable and effective for all. When young children at risk or with disabilities use universally designed items to participate in activities in ways children can’t interact without them, these items are considered their AT

Incorporate AT into Thematic Centers Supports for Participation in Preschool Themes (Let’s participate.org): Teachers in early childhood classrooms frequently plan activities around educational content ‘themes’. Thematic lists of available AT supports • Bugs + Insects • Colors • Compound or 2 Syllable Words • Counting • Early Science Concepts • Fairy Tales • Growing Things • Oceans • Rhyming • Safety First! • Sets, Sorting + Half-whole • Spatial, Shape + Size • Transportation • Zoo

SOLUTIONS CHECKLISTS Universally Designed Environments: Checklist & Tools: Center on Technology and Disability (CTD) Universal Design for Learning: A Checklist for Early Childhood Environments UDL/AT Classroom Checklists Presentation

Tracey Antista Email: Tracey.Antista@fwusd.org Website: https://appsfromanappoholic.weebly.com/udlealychildhood.html