Final Project

1. School built on UDL
principles
By Tiffany Lauzon
SPED 6334

2. UDL is the idea of built-in flexibility to the educational curriculum which
gives support to improved access of information within classrooms and
improved access to learning. It offers options for how information is
presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills
and how students are engaged in learning by facilitating the design and
implementation of a curriculum that is flexible. UDL is a means of
identifying and removing barriers in the curriculum while building scaffolds,
supports, and alternatives that meet the learning needs of a wide range of
students.
I am designing an elementary school that will be based on UDL principles. It
will house Kindergarten-4th grade students.

3. Structure of School
 My school would have one floor.
 Ramps with hand rails for mobility devices to easily access all doors that enter the
school.
 Ramps with hand rails to get on and off the auditorium stage.
 Space in classrooms for mobility device seating.
 Classroom/lab/bathroom doors wide enough for mobility devices to enter and exit.
 Accessible bathrooms that are at least five by five feet in area with a toilet no higher
than 17 inches.

4. Structure of School continued
 A Playground that is accessible to students with mobility and cognitive impairment.
The equipment will be mixed in with the regular equipment. This will allow all
students to interact with each other.
 Proper air circulation/ventilation throughout the school so students are not too
cold or too hot. Poor air quality can cause respiratory infections, aggravates allergies,
causes drowsiness and shorter attention spans.
 Classroom lighting- Each classroom would a have a window to bring in natural light.
According to research daylight fosters higher achievement.
 Classroom desk that can be adjusted by height.

5. Class groupings
 Classes will be heterogeneous with students of diverse backgrounds, skills,
experiences and interests. Some of the students may be in the special
education program with an IEP or BIP plan. Some students may be ELL
learners, others are in the GT program. Some of the students may be
struggling readers.
 Grouping will be flexible. It must be a dynamic process, changing with the
content, project, and on-going evaluations.

6. Class groupings continued
 Students will interact and work together as they learn new content. To
introduce content teachers may use whole-class discussions followed by small
group or paired work. Student groups may have a student leader coaching
the group or by the teacher to complete the assignment.
 There will be a Life Skills classroom that teaches functional academics, daily
living skills and social skills. The classroom will also utilize a curriculum with
UDL principles.

7. Personnel
 Principal
 Assistant Principal
 Front Office Staff-secretary, secretary to the Principal
 Counselor
 Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator
 RTI Specialist
 Reading Specialist
 UDL Coach-one for each grade level. This would be a teacher who has been trained in UDL and is currently
using UDL successfully in the classroom.. They should be able to model, answer questions, find resources
and support teachers.

8. Personnel Continued
 General Education Teachers- 6 teachers per grade level. Class sizes will be 22-25. Will hire another teacher
if class sizes get too big.
 Special Education Teachers- at least one for each grade level. The General Education and Special Education
Teacher will meet weekly to decide how they will teach the lessons so that all students reach the goals and are
interested in learning.
 Life Skills Teacher
 At least two PE Coaches
 Technology Teacher
 Music Teacher
 Paraprofessionals/Aides
 Speech Language Pathologist

9. Personnel Continued
 Occupational Therapist
 Educational Diagnostician or LSSP
 Cafeteria Staff
 Custodians
 PEIMS Coordinator
 Nurse
 Librarian

10. Instruction
 The teacher will use the three principles of UDL.
 Recognition Learning
 Provide multiple, flexible methods of presenting the curriculum. Teachers use several materials
or examples to support instructional content. I would suggest my teachers have their students
interact with any given lesson several different times, in several different ways. So text, a video, an
object lesson, an audio version, hands-on activity, a lab, an activity with a partner. Also, large and
small group activities would be important. I believe this would maximize the opportunities for
the students. With the lesson given to students in multiple ways, they are able to interact with that
information and make it their own.

11. Instruction continued
 Provide multiple media and formats. There is a wide range of tools available for
presenting content digitally that teachers can utilize. It allows them to manipulate size,
color contrasts, and other features to develop examples in multiple media and formats.
 Highlight Critical Features. Digital media allows teachers to highlight key features
through animation, color highlighting, graphic elements that add emphasis are a few
examples
 Support Background Knowledge-Teachers evaluate what students know about a
content before designing instruction. This allows teachers to better support students’
knowledge base, scaffolding instruction in a very important way.

12. Instruction continued
 Strategic Network
 Provide Flexible Models of Skilled Performance-Teachers present models of processes in a
variety of contexts (one-on-one instruction, small or whole group), using a variety of media
(video, speech, text, diagram, animation). This is an effective way to help learners refine the
critical features of the process, different ways to accomplish it, and create opportunities to
add their own creative means to the end.
 Provide Opportunities to Practice with Supports-Students are able to split up a complex skill
into components that are manageable and fully master them. Differentiated instruction
promotes this by encouraging students to be active and responsible learners, and by asking
teachers to respect individual differences and scaffold students as they move from initial
learning to practiced, less supported skills mastery.

13. Instruction Continued
 Provide Ongoing, Relevant Feedback- Delivering ongoing, relevant feedback is critical when
teaching skills. Learners need to know if they are practicing effectively, and if not what do they
need to change. Feedback can comes in many forms; videos, observations, digital networks,
software tools, text-to-speech, etc.
 Offer Flexible Opportunities for Demonstrating Skill- Teachers vary requirements and
expectations for learning and expressing knowledge, including the degree of difficulty and the
means of evaluation.
 Affective Networks
 Offer Choices of Content and Tools- Giving students choices of content and tools can increase
their enthusiasm for learning. Music, video, clay modeling, trips outdoors, online virtual
simulations, online learning games, learning apps, and websites that are dedicated to providing
tools for instruction are a few examples of choices for students.

14. Instruction Continued
 Provide Adjustable Levels of Challenge-Providing choices for students makes the
process of goal-setting explicit and provides a structured opportunity for students to
practice setting goals that are realistic and challenge themselves
 Offer a Choice of Rewards- Building students awareness of their accomplishments and
progress may be an effective way to instill basic interest in students’ learning as well as
support their long-term engagement.
 Offer a Choice of Learning Content- We can offer all students an appropriate learning
context by allowing them to select materials from which to choose, each with varying
degrees of structure. The way the student learns the content is different for each
student.

15. Instruction Continued
 I would suggest teachers provide resources geared toward parents that
provides the basic guidelines of UDL and helps them use the strategies at
home. At open house the teacher would present a UDL chart and a “how
parents can help” guide to UDL. Parents can refer back to the chart during
homework time to increase their child’s engagement and allow them to have
choices in the way they learn. The school would have a meeting for parents
to come to if they had any questions or needed help with anything. Teachers
would also meet with parents if they needed help.

16. General Curriculum
 Teachers will have a basic understanding of UDL, and a commitment to make the curriculum and learning accessible for all
learners. They should keep in mind the principles of UDL when designing their lessons. Teachers knowledge of the
principles of UDL will come from professional developments and the UDL coach.
 Teachers will meet at least once a week to preplan for the following week. UDL is more about planning ahead of time for
any range of students. The UDL coach for the grade level will be the facilitator for the group.
 There will be a monthly meeting with all staff to discuss any challenges, what is working and what needs to be improved.
 Teachers will use four steps that are based on the principles of UDL to design their curriculum.
 Set goals for curriculum planning- Teachers establish the context for instruction based on state standards. This is the
knowledge, concepts and skills students need to master. Learning goals should be in a language students can
understand. Also, I would have the teachers implement a self-improvement rubric into the classroom. The rubric
would be based on UDL concepts and designed as a tool for students’ self-improvement. Students would use the
tool to assess themselves on where they need extra support and teachers can monitor where their students are to
make adjustments in the learning environment.

17. General Curriculum Continued
 Analyze the current methods of the curriculum- Look at the methods, assessments, and
materials used to teach the lesson. Do they pose barriers to learners in the classroom? Will
all students be able to access the materials? Do the materials and methods allow students to
express themselves?
 Apply UDL to the Lesson- Teachers should create the UDL lesson plan based on learning
goals, classroom profile, methods, assessment, materials and tools. Then, collect and
organize materials that support the UDL lesson.
 Teach the UDL Lesson- This will minimize barriers and bring out students strengths and
challenges they bring to learning. Challenges should be applied that are appropriate for each
learner. This allows teachers to engage more students and help all students progress. When
teaching and evaluating students work, also evaluate and revise the lesson to assure student
access and success.

18. Technology
Much of technology today has built in supports, scaffolds and challenges to help learners
understand, navigate, and engage with the learning environment. The following are examples of
technology I would have in my school.
 Teacher computer to access students’ grades, lesson plans, create PowerPoints, the World Wide
Web to project videos (YouTube, United Streaming) and learning materials on the board. The
Web has a tremendous source of free digital material and much of this material is in a multimedia
format, which can greatly improve access to students.
 Student computers. A few examples of what is available would be PowerPoint, access to the
World Wide Web, Windows Movie Maker, audio text support, learning and graphic organizer
software.
 Assistive technology to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a student
with a disability.

19. Technology continued
 Each classroom will have a SmartBoard. Before teachers begin using the board they
will attend a training to learn how to access all components of the board.
 CD-ROM Storybooks so the book can be read to students
 Text-to-Speech and Text-to-Image Program- such as CAST eReader
 Digitize print materials- which can help diversify the presentation of materials for
students with disabilities.
 School Computer Lab
 IPads- 8-10 in each classroom. Teachers should install learning game apps and
learning apps for students to use. Students can also use the Ipad for digital books.

20. Assessing Students
 Assessments will be used as a teaching tool to extend rather than just measure instruction.
Assessment should occur before, during, and following the lesson to remove some of the
emotional impact of testing and highlight its positive aspects.
 Teachers should offer multiple representations of assessments to students. This will allow them
the opportunity to express what they know, such as the option to respond to assessments by
writing, speaking, drawing, creating an animation or video, or developing a multimedia
presentation.
 Other examples of assessing students would be:
 electronic form that allows for alternative keyboard or voice recognition software.
 Virtual lab experiments for a Science assessment
 Think Reader

21. Resources
 Rose, DH., & Meyer, A. (2002) Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age.
Universal Design for Learning. Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, Alexandria Virginia.
• https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/tacir/attachments/SchFac.pdf
• http://www.udlcenter.org/sites/udlcenter.org/files/CurriculumPlanningfor
AllLearners_0.pdf
• www.cast.org/udlcourse/DifferInstruct.doc