Thoughts on Universal Design for Learning

Like some of my EDUC 525 colleagues, I am also very new to the elementary classroom environment. I have just recently begun student teaching in a 4/5th grade self-contained 12:1:1 setting, which also includes several ELL students. Due to the setting that I work in, I was intrigued by the author's description of the principles of UDL. The idea that UDL has "built-in flexibility" and "adapts to the student, rather than the other way around" really resonates with me as a special educator who believes strongly in inclusion.

This past Friday in my student teaching placement, my cooperating teacher decided to start doing a "Spanish Club" with the students, introducing the monolingual students to Spanish as a second language. Using the Promethean board, she showed them short cartoon video clips which demonstrated Spanish vocabulary words within fun stories. The students then took turns playing vocabulary games on the board, as the other students watched and shouted out the answers when the player needed support. I was reminded of this activity when the author mentioned that some students may prefer to "learn vocabulary by playing a game in a race against the clock." Rather than having students memorize vocabulary words in a rote, repetitive style, they were exposed to words in a meaningful way and had the opportunities to apply them in a way that truly motivated them. Furthermore, since each student had the option to choose the difficulty level of the game (Easy, Hard, or Pro), it was adaptable to fit students' individual needs and the students had an opportunity to reflect on their own learning needs in order to make that choice.

Unfortunately, we have not made use of many other UDL strategies yet. I really like the idea of having students complete assignments in various formats in order to demonstrate their understanding without being constrained by formats that are difficult for them. As of right now, there are three students in the class who are not yet reading or writing. For writing assignments, the teacher has them dictate what they want to write to an adult, who then writes it down so those students can copy it. After reading this article, I plan to have a conversation with my cooperating teacher about ways that we can support those students to be involved at a level that is more appropriate for them.