1. 2016 CEEDAR Cross-State Convening
Description of a Process for Enhancing Pre-service Programs to Better Prepare General Education Teachers to Teach Students with Disabilities
2016 CEEDAR Cross-State Convening
Stacie B. Whinnery, Ed.D.

2. Florida Blueprint
Increase the knowledge and skills of all teachers working with SWDs
Provide guidance to institutions of higher education to revise teacher preparation programs

3. Project Goals
Develop a collaborative faculty-led process to enhance teacher preparation curricula
Use the collaborative process to strengthen UDL content coverage in undergraduate teacher preparation programs

4. Guiding Question #1
What challenges might you encounter when integrating EBPs and HLPs into pre-service programs?

5. Identifying and Reducing Barriers
Accreditation fatigue Use a faculty-led process, not
an imposed process
Program ownership vs. Facilitate shared responsibility course ownership using a “critical friend” approach
Faculty time constraints Create resources and supports
Faculty feel unprepared Provide UDL PD using mediated
to teach UDL learning
Concern with overloading Facilitate understanding of links
courses with new content between UDL and existing course
content

6. Critical Components Collaborative Curriculum Enhancement
Focus on internal priorities, not external requirements
Adopt a conceptual framework for the work to promote coherence
Develop a faculty learning community (FLC)
Mediate the learning process, and provide on-going support
Introduce and model the “critical friend” approach
Celebrate and recognize the work of the group

7. CEEDAR UDL Innovation Configuration
Conceptual framework for our work
Provides a rubric for assessing UDL content coverage in teacher preparation programs
Nine Essential Components:
Four related to General Understanding of UDL
Five related to Planning Instruction Using the UDL Framework
Four implementation levels (Level 0 to Level 3)

8. Faculty Learning Community
Professional development
Deepen understanding of UDL
Mediated learning
Facilitated planning with faculty to:
Identify courses for UDL integration
Solicit faculty volunteers for enhancing courses
Provide ongoing input to guide the process
Resources and supports
Examples of UDL Essential Components
Course review forms
Mentoring from UDL Project Team

9. “Critical Friend” Approach
Faculty worked in teams during:
Curriculum review
Development of the curriculum enhancement map
Curriculum enhancement workshops
Goal: To establish culture of shared responsibility for content coverage across the programs
General and special education
Course work and clinical experiences

10. Lessons Learned Faculty-led process increased buy-in and ownership
Faculty Learning Community facilitated:
shared goals
group learning and planning
coordination across courses and clinical experiences
Faculty valued the scaffolded presentation of new material
Curriculum Review phase led to multiple positive outcomes
Exploration of UDL Essential Components (EC) at a deeper level
Identified current coverage of UDL content
Recognition of possible ways to integrate UDL into existing courses

11. Lessons Learned Part 2
Faculty-led process increased buy-in and ownership
Rating Form served multiple purposes
Initially intended to document course enhancements
Faculty valued the structure for planning
Led to increased discussions about alignment of UDL content across the programs
Shared decision-making led to positive outcomes
Early hesitancy to integrate more than one EC was replaced with comprehensive integration across courses

12. Impact on Programs/Department
Increased coverage of UDL content across the program
Development of a collaborative process that can be replicated with other curriculum enhancement efforts
Building capacity for collaborative teacher education
Coordination between general education and special education
Strengthening connections between course work and clinical experiences

13. Guiding Question #2
Considering the information presented today and your own experiences, share ideas for enhancing pre-service programs to better prepare general education teachers to teach students with disabilities.

14. Course Enhancement Examples
University of West Florida
Teacher Education

15. Applied Foundations (course enhancement example)
Syllabus enhancements:
SLOs
Define Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and identify major principles
Topics
Universal Design for Learning framework
Progress Monitoring
Assignment
UDL Quiz
Enhancement example:
IRIS UDL Module
UDL quiz based on IRIS module

16. Methods of Inclusion and Collaboration (course enhancement example)
Syllabus enhancement:
SLOs
Define UDL and identify learning barriers for students with disabilities
Identify effective UDL strategies for instructing students with disabilities
Topics
UDL, Learning Barriers, Assistive Technology, Progress Monitoring
Enhancement example:
Introduction to UDL
Video – “UDL At a Glance” (CAST )
Article – “Using a Universal Design Approach to Find Barriers and Solutions in the Curriculum”
Discussion Groups – Groups respond to guided questions related to above material
Quiz – over concepts covered

17. Teaching Science in the Elementary School (course enhancement example)
Syllabus enhancements:
SLOs
Design flexible formative assessments to determine student learning in science, and identify possible alternative conceptions/misconceptions
Using the UDL framework, identify inclusive strategies for promoting equitable participation of underrepresented populations
Topic
UDL Framework
Assignments
Next Generation Science Unit Plan
Enhancement example:
UDL Review Module (available as needed)
Research and design an inquiry science unit that engages elementary students with diverse learning needs