Dr. Patti Ralabate, UDL Fellow CAST & Boston College December 1, 2010 Universal Design for Learning: A framework for meeting the needs of all students Dr. Patti Ralabate, UDL Fellow CAST & Boston College December 1, 2010 NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

The Challenge All students have different learning needs, abilities, and preferences As any educator knows, learners of all ages have different needs, abilities, and preferences. Their strengths are not always obvious – and neither are the barriers they face. They may struggle to learn for a wide variety of reasons. Sensory and physical disabilities English language barriers Lack of interest or engagement Lack of appropriate background knowledge Learning disabilities such as dyslexia or ADHD Emotional or behavioral problems

Universal Design for Learning “A scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice” (Source: Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008) The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 defines UDL as follows [read slide] ...

Why UDL? Too many students Diverse student needs Lack of instructional time Lack of resources & supports Rigid curriculum & instructional materials Cost of time & money for retro-fitting NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Access & Equity is Built-in Designed from the outset to meet the needs of all students UDL addresses ALL aspects of general education for ALL students: Standards/Goals, Curriculum, Instructional Methods & Strategies , Instructional Materials and Assessments. Frameworks such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and methods such as Differentiated Instruction can be used to ensure that all instruction is accessible, equitable, and universally designed. Excellent resources include Center for Applied Technology (CAST) www.cast.org Center for Implementing Technology in Education www.cited.org National UDL Center http://www.udlcenter.org NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Based on brain research 3 Networks Recognition – What of learning Strategic – How of learning Affective – Why of learning

Principles of UDL Multiple - CAST - means of representation means of action and expression means of engagement - CAST - UDL principles are based on research on how we learn – the neural networks used for learning. Representation: The greater the variety of modalities through which students learn, the greater their access to content (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic) Expression: The more ways students can demonstrate and apply what they’re learning, the more they are able to express the full extent of their mastery. If you’re only allowing one mode for students to express their knowledge in, you might be missing their mastery. (i.e.. Only allowing an oral presentation will limit a student who struggles in this modality from showing what they know). Engagement: The more choices students have for ways to engage in the content, the more links they can make to their personal experiences, their background knowledge, and to other content connections. This leads to greater motivation, which helps cement learning. We believe this applies to all students, not just those who have been identified as having disabilities. NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Multiple Means of Representation Examples Read aloud Highlight phrases Listen to audiotape Text-to-speech Built-in talking glossary Built-in language translation Many of these are viewed as accommodations and are in typical use in many classrooms today The difference between current use and UDL is the expanded use from those who are identified as needing such accommodations and for which the use is documented, to providing such access to any and all students in need of different ways to access information --- one student may need different ways to access different content areas Audiotape - (standard media through Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, for students who are blind or learning disabled) Teacher reads aloud Text-to-speech: Language of the text reads aloud to the student, word-for-word, phrase-by-phrase, or larger chunks of text. (Benefit: For students with decoding problems who need to access their social studies textbook content, this overcomes a barrier that keeps them from reaching a curricular objective). Good example – Read please program which is free to download www.readplease.com Highlighted text: As speech to text is working, specific words, phrases, and/or chunks of text are highlighted. (Benefit: students learn to track text while reading---provides a fluency building scaffold) Built-in talking glossary: key words that would prevent comprehension of the text, are defined at point of use (Benefit: ELL students, students with limited background knowledge, anyone unfamiliar with the specialized vocabulary) Font-size, style, and background color on demand: Certain fonts work better for certain learners, esp. students with low vision/dyslexic students need clear foreground-background color distinctions, for e.g.. Yellow text on a black background) Audio and visual reinforcement: animated graphics that help illustrate a concept (i.e.. a talking timeline is very beneficial for blind students) Built-in literacy coaches: At an opportune point in the text, a coach provides support for using comprehension strategies such as: monitor, predict, summarize, and question generating. (Benefit: for struggling readers, the support is right where they need it, immediately and with scaffolding built-in). Textbook represented in different reading levels: Student or teacher can choose to represent the same content in the most appropriate reading level. (benefits; reading level is no longer a barrier to learning the core content; facilitates engagement and appropriate level of challenge, b/c the learning is now taking place in the student’s zone of proximal development) Built-in language translation for ELL students: Entire text, section, or specific words, at student discretion, can be accessed in student’s primary language. (benefits: accessing the content in a student’s first language provides a bridge for comprehending the core content; student learning in both languages can be reinforced through the interaction between them) Mentor reader reads to novice reader Teacher highlights phrases while reading from a transparency Text available on audiotape (this is standard media through Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, for students who are blind or learning disabled) NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Multiple Means of Action and Expression Written response Verbal response Visual art project Dramatic response iMovie (Macintosh) Multimedia: Power Point, Hyperstudio Like the low-tech options regarding representation of information, many of these are typical accommodations used in classrooms today The difference between current use and UDL is the expanded use from those who are identified as needing such accommodations and for which the use is documented, to providing such access to any and all students in need of different ways to demonstrate learning --- one student may be better at demonstrating learning of history by orally describing an event, another student may create a diorama, another may write and present a skit, etc. NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Multiple Means of Engagement Flexibility in use of tools to access information Keep ongoing personal journal Use archived resources Choice in means of expression Flexible grouping strategies Like the options regarding representation of information and means of expression, many of these strategies are typical in classrooms today . All students are accountable for the content of the textbook - Experiencing success through built-in supports at each student’s level increases engagement and motivationStudent keeps an ongoing personal diary (written, verbal, tape-recorded, drawn) Student interviews an expert in related field Student uses archived resources to compare to content in the textbook (websites, museums, libraries) Flexibility in the use of tools for multiple representation Choice of support tools empowers student to take ownership of their learning Element of choice supports engagement and motivation How do you want to work - small group, individually, or large group? How do you want to outline the story - text, diagram, or pictures? What do you want to work towards - free time, computer time, or homework pass? Flexible grouping strategies On skill level On interest/passion For collaboration – varied skill or talent levels NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

CONCEPTUAL SHIFT FROM: Fixing the student TO: Designing the curriculum for all students

Elementary: Ms. Bishop NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre Representation E-reader; Audio recording; Video Story webs; Outlining; Concept map Engagement Reading circle; Interest-based projects Expression Spell/grammar checks; Speech-to-text Word prediction software; Audiotape NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

Secondary: Mr. Franks - Text-to-speech - Built-in translation - Talking glossary Representation - Project-based - Interviews - Journal Engagement - iMovie - Drama - Poetry Expression

Looking for Information on UDL National UDL Center Almost 5 Million hits Almost 126,000 visitors CAST Over 22 Million hits Over 1 Million visitors Bookbuilder Over 38.5 Million hits Over 29,000 users Professional Development Nearly 2500 members of UDL Consortium Higher Ed courses – CO, CT, DC, GA, KS, LA, MA, ME, NC, RI, TN, VT, WA, WY NEA Cadre sessions – AR, AZ, CA, CT, HI, MI, MN, NJ, NY, NM, OK, OR, TX, VA, WA

UDL - framework & set of principles - ALL students with equal opportunities to learn.

Resources National Task Force on UDL www.udl4all.org National UDL Center http://www.udlcenter.org/ Center for Applied Special Technology www.cast.org NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre