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

2. 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

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

4. ORIGIN OF Universal Design
Before: Retrofitting
After: Universal Design

5. 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

6. Similarities
Access to Buildings
Access to Learning

7. Differentiated Instruction

8. Universal Design

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

10. 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

11. 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).

12. 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

13. Breaking down the barriers...

14. 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

15. HOW DO WE GET THERE? Become Familiar with the Guidelines

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

17. MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT
The TECH to support
Drawnimal
Educreations
Fluidity

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

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

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

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

22. 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

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

24. CHALLENGING, BUT DOABLE: BARRIERS REMOVED

25. 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.

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Tracey Antista
Website: