UDL & Differentiation Sherry Leach EDU 673 Dr. Cristie McClendon September 17, 2014

Compare and Contrast Differentiation Instruction and Universal Design for Learning are two theories that refer to preparing students for learning at their level, assuring that their needs are being met. They both allow students fair options to learn the same curriculum. They are designed to help all children including those with disabilities. UDL helps students to become more independent in their learning. With UDL, teachers have less learning to modify due to students working more independently on their needs. There is a difference the quality of the theories. Students may learn from the same curriculum but not at the same time.

Explain how you envision blending the concepts in your current or future classroom? Blending both of them into my classroom would be to first learn and know the students and their learning style. It would be up to the teacher to make sure that their needs at the right level. The students would have complete access to digital materials such as computers, iPads, and interactive games. The students will be able to work in small groups as well as independently. The three UDL principles:  Providing multiple means of representation  Provide multiple means of action and expression  Provide multiple means of engagement They can be actually accomplished by altering the process, product, and content of the work, thereby incorporating three key elements of differentiated instruction (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2011).

Similarities & Differences DI UDL  Accommodate all students Scaffolding  Emphasis an formative assessment Different learning styles  High expectations for all students Accommodate all students  Scaffolding High expectations for all students  Embrace student differences Explore student differences  Support Support  Different learning styles Emphasis on formative assessments

How will you present new information? Using hands-on experience Assistive technology devices and tools like the Smart boards, computers, and iPads Providing essential questions about Bloom’s Taxonomy Clarify key concepts and generalizations Use assessment as a teaching tool to extend rather than merely measure instruction. Emphasize critical and creative thinking as a goal in lesson design.

How students will demonstrate their prior background knowledge? Using the KWL chart Collaborating Think pair-share Journal keeping Readiness Interest Learning Profile I can observe and learn as well as gain a better understanding of what the students already know, their strengths and weakness and how to discover better ways of helping them reach their goals.

Your strategies to engage and motivate students To make sure that there is a balance between student and teacher instructional learning. Set the classroom for small- group projects as well as oral presentations. I will use the I do, we do, and you do teaching strategies Students will have the opportunity to be creative and to think critically about what kind of information that will be taught by the teacher. Use the sum-it-up for post learning Post-a-point during learning Artifacts box for pre-learning Teaching-up Think-Tac-Toe Web Quests Tiering

Conclusion Both are similar concepts that share many of the same goals, ideas about learning, and even classroom practices. They can work together and complement one another in a successful classroom. Both approaches share a common end goal: to help all students to learn and achieve the most they possibly can. Both UDL and differentiated instruction believe that instruction should be adjusted in order to accommodate all students. They have high expectations for all students and embrace difference. They both have a learning environment in both approaches include a lot of support and appropriate amounts of scaffolding. Both place an emphasis on the fact that individual students learn in different ways that work best for him/her and are at an appropriate level (Thousand, Villa, Nervin, 2007).

Conclusion Continued They differ a bit in the ways in which the go about achieving. Differentiated Instructions places a lot of emphasis on formative assessments, which make the basis for many instructional decisions. The key here is to be constantly assessing students, determining what they need, and then adjusting instruction in order to meet those needs. UDL look at adjusting instruction in a different way. When an architect is designing a building, he/she does not wait for someone in a wheelchair to try to access the building before installing a ramp (Holdheide & Reschly, 2008).

Resources Dickey, A. (2007). Differentiating Instruction: Collaborative Planning and Teaching for Universally Designed Learning American Secondary Education, 36(1), Retrieved from ?accountid=32521 Hall, T., Strangman, N. & Meyer, A. (2011, January 14). Differentiated instruction and implications for udl implementation. Retrieved from aim.cast.org/files/DI_UDL pdf Puckett, K. (2013). Differentiating Instruction: A Practical Guide San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education

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