EDLD
5364 - Week 2 Reflection
Until this week, I really had no concept
of UDL. I did not really know what it
stood for or what it meant. As I watched
the CAST videos, it dawned on me that although I may not have ever heard the
term, I had always incorporated UDL in my classroom. The quote I used in my discussion board this
week from the Rose and Meyer reading really stood out to me because it helped
me come to this conclusion.
"The challenge posed by greater diversity and greater
accountability is to enable students with widely divergent needs, skills, and
interests to attain the same high standards. To transform the pressures of
diversity into opportunities for all learners, we apply insights about learners
who don't "fit the mold" to helps us create flexible curricula and
tools that will work more effectively for everyone. In this way, the challenges
we face as educators inspire us to reconsider the way curriculum is designed
and the way schooling is conducted." (Rose & Meyer, 2002)
I have always had a diverse classroom, and I make
modifications for most, if not all, my students based on their individual
needs. Not all of them have an IEP, but
I do adjust based on the student. However,
over the years, other teachers made me think that this practice was not
okay. If I modify for students without
an IEP, how does that make my modifications for my special education students
actual modifications? After watching the
videos and reading through the chapter about UDL, I realized I have always done
what needs to be done for my students.
Another quote from the same text also had an
impact, especially after I went back and watched all four videos from the CAST
website again. “Technological advances have equipped educators with
tremendous new instructional resources in the form of computers and digital
media. New technologies offer us the opportunity to respond to the multifaceted
individual differences in our student population by providing more varied
media, tools, and methods.” (Rose & Meyer, 2002)
The first video, The Diversity of Learners,
did not really tell me anything I did not already know. Each student is unique. According to the Special Education teacher
interviewed in the clip, “One size fits all definitely doesn’t work.” I see this on a daily basis. Just helping my students log on to our
classroom computers for the first time the other day was eye opening in this
regard.
The video about brain research was very
interesting. I do not really ever think
about neuroscience, but the way Dr. David Rose explained the three brain
networks really made sense. As I was
watching the video, I was thinking back to my Accounting class on
Thursday. I watched as all but one of my
students used all three networks as we learned about how “transactions affect
the accounting equation.” Looking back,
I recognize how they first went through the recognition network. What is an asset? Then we discussed how each transaction
would affect each side of the equation and the used the strategic network. How is the equation affected? What increases? What decreases? Are both sides affected? Last, but
certainly not least, I saw their affective networks engaged. They were asking questions, taking notes, and
asking for clarification to help understand the why! A very exciting and happy day for this nerd
of an accounting teacher J
The last two videos about Universal Design and UDL
were interesting. I think the point that
stood out the most is when Dr. Anne Meyer said, “UDL mirrors the universal design
movement in architecture and product development.” She then gives a couple of examples, but the
one that stood out and actually put this entire philosophy into perspective for
me was the example of curb cuts. They
are designed for people in wheel chairs (special needs), but who else uses
them? Parents with strollers, people who
may have trouble walking but are not necessarily designated as special needs,
people pushing just about anything that they do not want to bump off the curb.
Not all of my students need extra help, but I have a lot who do for various
reasons and they do not have an IEP or 504 paperwork.
What I take away most from our readings and videos
this week is this. Technology, as it has
developed over the years, has given us as educators the opportunity to
customize our lessons for each student.
UDL practically begs us to “customize for individual differences in each
of the three brain networks.”
(lessonbuilder.cast.org)
Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). Diversity
of Learners. Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Lessonbuilder.cast.org (nd). The
Brain Research. Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Lessonbuilder.cast.org. (nd). Universal
Design and Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved from http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/window.php?src=videos
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002).
Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter
1. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/
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