1. 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

2. 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

3. 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] ...

4. 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

5. 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)
Center for Implementing Technology in Education
National UDL Center
NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

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

7. 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

8. NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre

9. 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
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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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

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

15. 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

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

17. Resources National Task Force on UDL www.udl4all.org
National UDL Center
Center for Applied Special Technology
NEA IDEA Special Education Resource Cadre