11. Origins of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) CAST believes that “barriers to learning are not, in fact, inherent in the capacities of learners, but instead arise in learners' interactions with inflexible educational goals, materials, methods, and assessments.” Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age , p. vi
19. UDL and the Learning Brain One must recognize information, ideas, and concepts One must be able to apply strategies to process the information One must be engaged Vygotsky
20. UDL and the Learning Brain Task is too difficult for learner ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT Task is too easy for learner
24. Personal Learning Preferences Brain Networks Supported with funding from The K-8 Access Center at AIR http://www.k8accesscenter.org/
25. You must learn how to cook this delicious Indian Meal, for 4 people
26. Think about the ways you would and would not like to learn to do this
27. Think about the ways you would and would not like to learn to do this Affective networks enable us to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us. Strategic networks enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills. Recognition networks enable us to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts.
28. Consider the following in regard to the preparing the Indian meal Think about the three networks when answering these questions. I would not learn very well if … I would learn best if…
29. Learning Preferences Activities Your Three Brain Networks This activity highlights how the recognition, strategic, and affective networks of the brain work. Getting to Know You the UDL Way In this activity, we invite you to learn about your own three brain networks by imagining yourself working on a group project. Go to the Teaching Every Student Website, under Tools and Activities complete the following 2 activities.
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31. The Framework for UDL Supported with funding from The K-8 Access Center at AIR http://www.k8accesscenter.org/
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45. UDL and Digital Media Supported with funding from The K-8 Access Center at AIR http://www.k8accesscenter.org/
46. UDL and Digital Media Go to TES homepage and go through the presentation on digital media
Overview: The introduction provides a framework for applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to meeting the instructional needs of all learners, especially those with disabilities. Presenter Instructions: Welcome participants and present the overall goals and structure of the UDL Toolkit. Ask participants to register for a TES account at http:// www.cast.org/tes to gain full access to online TES materials and resources. UDL is an approach to teaching, learning, and assessment, drawing on new brain research and new media technologies to respond to individual learner differences.
Presenter states goals of the UDL overview session.
Current challenges include increased diversity in classrooms; high expectations for all students; high stakes testing; accountability for all students. Today’s classrooms are highly complex and pose difficult hurdles for teachers. As a result of IDEA ’97, many students who used to be excluded from general education curriculum are expected to progress in the general education classroom and curriculum. Teachers now need to be successful with a much more diverse group of students including English Language Learners, students from other cultures, and students with diverse disabilities. All students are commonly in the same schools, same classrooms, and same curriculum. Schools, teachers and students are accountable for real progress and demonstrable learning outcomes in the regular education curriculum. But the print-based curriculum is designed for a homogeneous group of students and is not flexible or adjustable for different learner needs. UDL addresses these challenges and offers increased opportunity for all students to access, participate, and progress in the general education curriculum. In this training session we present principles of UDL and show how to apply them in classroom practice.
Overview: This section identifies the foundation of Universal Design in architecture and makes connections to Universal Design in everyday life. Presenter Instructions: Follow the slides, paraphrasing the bulleted information and drawing from personal experiences of Universal Design. Highlight the inaccessibility of buildings: stairs are intended to be an access technology. However, for some individuals these present a barrier – those in wheelchairs, those on roller blades, those using carriages. Ask audience for additional examples of Universal Design. Universal Design originated in the field of architecture, based on the realization that designing buildings with built-in accessibility for everyone was an approach superior to retrofitting buildings to accommodate diverse individual needs.
Before the Universal Design movement, architects rarely addressed the mobility and communication needs of people with disabilities. The results were buildings that were inaccessible to many. Legislation mandating access (refer to resources: Legislation Impacting Physical Space ) led to extensive retrofitting with ramps, elevators, talking signs, and other access devices. But retrofitting is expensive, often aesthetically disastrous, and inadequate from a practical standpoint.
Universal Design was originated by Ron Mace (refer to resources: http:// www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/center/history/ronmace.htm ) at North Carolina State University to create physical structures that are designed from the beginning to accommodate the widest range of users, including those with disabilities. There are seven architectural Universal Design principles (refer to resources: http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/univ_design/princ_overview.htm that focus on increasing accessibility to physical space. Central to these principles is the providing of alternatives for users.
Universal Design is about providing, from the beginning, options in which people can access buildings and using products and environments of all kinds. The key purpose of UD is to create inclusive physical environments and widely usable tools.
Examples of Universal Design include ramps, curb cuts, automatic doors, and captions on television. Activity: Have the audience pair up and ask them to brainstorm for 5 minutes other examples of Universal Design. After the brainstorm session, ask audience to share ideas.
Designed from the start, Louvre Museum entry is an example of physical design that accommodates all users: those in wheelchairs, those with baby carriages, those who are tired. UD principles are used to inform and guide the design process so that all users can have access to and benefit from physical space. UD is becoming more prevalent, in part because it is more economical and more effective than retrofitting.
Overview: This section presents a shift in CAST’s understanding of the challenge of special education: not to “fix” the child who has a problem, but to “fix” the curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) so that it can meet diverse learner needs. Presenter Instructions: Provide a transition from Universal Design in architecture to Universal Design for Learning by noting that Universal Design is increasingly applied in architecture but is only recently being applied in education. Working with flexible digital media enabled CAST staff to conceptualize a whole new approach that applies Universal Design principles to developing curriculum. The concept and principles of Universal Design for Learning were created at CAST. Note: Click on the image and listen to Dr. David Rose, Co-Executive Director of CAST, talk about the shift in CAST’s thinking Show canter avi slide 10 overview
CAST has experienced a sea change in its thinking, shifting the focus on changing the curriculum (goals, methods, assessments, and materials) and not on changing the student. CAST sees the possibility of designing and delivering a curriculum that will accommodate diverse learner needs. Essentially, this will transfer the burden of change from students to the curricula they encounter in the classroom.
CAST is committed to furthering the concepts and applications of UDL. The word "universal" is sometimes misunderstood to suggest that there is a single solution that works for everyone. But the essence of UDL is flexibility and the inclusion of alternatives to adapt to the myriad variations in learner needs, styles, and preferences. UDL principles draw on brain and media research to help educators reach and teach all students by setting appropriate learning goals, choosing and developing effective methods and materials, and developing accurate and fair ways to assess students' progress. With UDL, each student is addressed as an individual with unique needs, interests, and abilities.
Overview: This section presents an overview of the learning brain. Highlights include an overview of the three interconnected neural networks and implications for the uniqueness of each learner. Presenter Instructions: Begin this section with an audio file of Dr. David Rose discussing the neuropsychology of learning and then present the slides with the caveat that you are not a neuroscientist (unless, of course, you are!). Note: Click on audio image and listen Dr. David Rose who presents an overview of the learning brain and why people learn differently. The TES book, Chapter 2 provides a review of David’s comments (refer to http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter2_2.cfm )
The brain is one large network with many smaller specialized networks that perform different tasks. These smaller networks are defined relative to function: recognition (enabling individuals to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts), strategic (enabling individuals to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills), and affective (enabling individuals to engage with tasks and learning and with the world). PET scans and other digital imaging techniques make it possible for neuroscientists to study the learning brain in action. When an individual is engaged in a learning activity, areas of the brain “light up” (“hot spot”) to indicate activity. The more active, the greater the “hot spot” is. The patterns of “hot spots” evident on the PET scan provide neuroscientists with information about the uniqueness of an individual learning brain.
The Recognition Networks, located in the back of the brain, enable us to identify and interpret sound, light, taste, smell, and touch. For example, when you answer the phone and hear a familiar voice you can easily tell who it is without having the person give his/her name. Draw other examples from your understanding of the recognition networks. In a classroom, the recognition networks are essential to learning: students are expected to identify letters, formulas, maps, ideas, cause/effect relationships, etc. Ask audience for additional classroom examples of recognition networks at work. Everyday examples of recognition networks in action include identifying ingredients for recipes, telling the difference between shampoo and shaving cream so you can wash your hair, identifying the smell of freshly cut grass, recognizing the sound of pain or joy, etc. Note: Click on the speaker image and listen to Dr. David Rose talk about the recognition network.
The strategic networks are located in the front part of the brain and enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills. In learning situations, the strategic networks are critical. Examples of the strategic networks at work include: doing a project, taking a test, taking notes, listening to a lecture They work in tandem with recognition networks to learn to read, compute, write, solve problems, plan and execute compositions and complete projects. Everyday examples of the strategic networks in action include cooking a meal, planning an outing, executing a golf swing, driving a car, etc. Note: Click on the speaker image and listen to Dr. David Rose discuss the strategic network .
The affective networks are located at the core of the brain and enable us to engage with tasks and influence our motivation to learn. They are responsible for developing preferences and establishing priorities and interests. In learning situations, affective networks are essential to wanting to learn. Visualize a high school classroom, the night before the prom: “Are students’ affective networks helping focus on the algebra lesson or on the party after the prom?” Visualize the student who has had years of reading failure in a 9th grade English class: “Is this student motivated to read The Odyssey?” Everyday examples of the affective networks in action include being motivated to get up extra early to wrap presents for a child, wanting to run to the grocery store to shop for a special dinner after a busy day at work, being nervous before a business presentation, etc. Of course, the affective network does not work in isolation from either the recognition or strategic networks. Note: Click on the speaker image and listen to Dr. David Rose present information on the affective network.
The activities of the three brain networks (recognition, strategic, and affective) parallel Vygotsky’s three prerequisites for learning: One must recognize patterns in perceptual information One must have strategies for acting upon the perceived patterns One must be engaged by the task Lev Vygotsky (1896 – 1934), a Russian psychologist whose works were released after the Cold War, developed the theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. (Refer to resources: The Learning Brain Resources )
Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) suggests that learning occurs when there is an appropriate level of challenge and support to learn the task. In classroom learning situations, this means providing learning tasks that are too difficult to do independently, but are within reach with support. The task should stretch the learner past his current level of knowledge. Visualize your own personal encounters in learning situations and think about one where you were bored, inattentive or distracted: Was your inattention due to lack of challenge or inadequate support to understand the content? In either case, you were not learning in your “zone.”
This picture of the young boy riding a bicycle illustrates the ZPD. His father is providing the right amount of support for the youngster until he is ready to take off and ride alone. Engagement and motivation are high; challenge is appropriate, and support is just right. All three prerequisites are in place for learning to occur.
Summarize UDL and the Learning Brain and note implications for classroom practice. Some key points: Understanding the learning brain in terms of recognition, strategic, and affective networks forms a framework for thinking about learner differences. There are no “regular” education students; categorization by ability or disability does not represent the reality of each student’s uniqueness. Note: Click on the speaker image and listen to Dr. David Rose summarize what we have learned about the brain and learning in the classroom .
Overview: This section provides a personal understanding of individual learning preferences as they relate to the three brain networks (recognition, strategic, and affective). Presenter Instructions: Introduce the activity, “Cooking an Indian Meal”, and organize participants into cooperative groups. The groups will complete the activity and share their results with the whole group. Use the group responses to facilitate a discussion of learning preferences as related to the recognition, strategic, and affective networks. Conclude by connecting the personal responses to the abilities and needs of diverse students in today’s classrooms. Presenter may choose to use the online version of the Indian Meal activity http:// www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/tools/main.cfm?t_id =12
Imagine you are preparing an Indian meal for some friends. You have unlimited resources in order to accomplish this task. All necessary resources (e.g. ingredients, expertise) are readily available.
Consider the ways you would learn best. What background, skills and interests do you bring to the project? Where would you need scaffolding, support, or instruction?
The three brain networks provide a framework for understanding how we learn and what we bring to a particular task or goal. Considering characteristics across the brain networks that each individual brings to a learning task helps us understand learners’ strengths and interests as well as their challenges. Thinking about learners in light of the three brain networks helps us realize that students do not inherently fall into broad categories such as "disabled" or "bright," but instead possess a range of abilities in many domains that fall along a very large number of continua.
Working in your groups, discuss the ways you would and would not learn best. Consider the three brain networks - recognition, strategic, and affective - during your discussion. Remember that recognition networks enable us to recognize patterns – the what of learning; strategic networks allow us to develop and execute plans – the how of learning; and affective networks make it possible for us to engage with tasks and the world around us – the why of learning. Please select a note taker, time keeper, and presenter. Then re-group in approximately 10 minutes to share findings. Note: Leave this slide on screen while groups are working. Participants can use the following templates to facilitate their group work: How Would You Learn Best (dot) (pdf) Networks Information (dot) (pdf)
Give handout about brain networks
Overview: This section presents the three principles of UDL and new assumptions about UDL. Presenter Instructions: Follow the sequence of slides, connecting the upcoming information with previous slides. All students have appropriate instructional goals, methods, assessments, and materials so that they participate and make progress in the general educational curriculum. This will take into account the uniqueness of each learner and capitalize on their strengths, preferences, interests, backgrounds, etc.
Given that the three brain networks are involved in learning, that each individual is unique, that learning is multifaceted, and that barriers may interfere with one’s learning, CAST proposes the following three UDL principles that are formed to minimize barriers and maximize learning through flexibility: Provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation to support recognition learning Provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship to support strategic learning Provide multiple, flexible options for engagement to support affective learning Common to the three principles is flexibility, choice, alternatives, and options. Note: Click on the speaker image and listen to Dr. David Rose as he identifies the three principles of UDL.
UDL shifts old assumptions about teaching and learning in fundamental ways. The "universal" in Universal Design for Learning does not imply one optimal solution for everyone. Rather, it means flexibility and alternatives; not “one size fits all.” Assumptions: Students with disabilities fall along multiple continua of learning differences, rather than in separate categories of disabilities or abilities Typical classes are highly diverse. Teacher adjustments benefit all learners and not just those with disabilities. Curriculum needs fixing, not the students (curriculum materials should be varied and diverse including digital and online resources, rather than centering on a single textbook). Curriculum materials must be flexible, varied, and diverse (instead of remediating students so that they can learn from a set curriculum, curriculum should be made flexible to accommodate learner differences). General education and special education teachers plan curriculum (curriculum planning capitalizes on the collective expertise of the general and special educations teachers).
Overview: This section highlights different instructional approaches for teaching information, the “what” of learning. Presenter Instructions: Follow the sequence of slides, providing multiple examples for each of the teaching methods and asking the audience for input from their own practice. Introduce the following two questions to be addressed in this section: Which methods of teaching are most effective with the ways that each brain network functions? What kinds of flexibility must instructional materials have to address the uniqueness of each learner?
Applying what we know about the recognition networks and what we know about the flexibility of digital media, we can design instruction to support recognition learning by considering appropriate teaching methods. The next few slides will illustrate some teaching methods for supporting recognition learning.
This instructional goal focuses on understanding the distinction between living and non-living things. In order to support all learners, it is important to provide multiple examples and non-examples of the concepts being taught.
In teaching new concepts, learners benefit from pointing out the critical features of the new idea, pattern, or concept. Note in the example, the teacher wants students to be able to identify characteristics of birds, therefore, the teacher explicitly draws the students’ attention to distinguishing features of birds, i.e. wings, beaks, feathers.
Presenting new information in many formats and media increases options for all learners and consequently increases chances of success for all learners.
Overview: This section highlights different instructional approaches for teaching skills and strategies, the “how” of learning. Presenter Instructions Follow the sequence of slides, providing multiple examples for each of the teaching methods and asking the audience for input from their own practice. Given what we know about the uniqueness of each individual, we need to provide learners with multiple and varied ways for learning new strategies and for demonstrating skilled performance. The following methods are examples of how teachers can support strategic learning.
Visualize a first grade class as children are learning to read. The teacher presents many models of expert reading: reading aloud, listening to tapes, choral reading, reading with another peer, listening to a computer read, etc. Ask the audience to think and share successful models of a skilled performance and non-examples of a skilled performance.
The most effective type of feedback is ongoing so that learners can build their confidence and that any misconceptions can be corrected along the way to ensure that the learner is on the right course. In this example, students using a CAST developed program called Thinking Reader receive context specific feedback when they send their work to the work log. The Thinking Reader is a computer-supported reading environment designed to support students as they learn to read for understanding. Thinking Reader provides embedded instructional strategies within digital versions of text. These strategies prompt students to construct meaning as they read by having students clarify their thinking by asking questions, making predictions about what will happen in the story, visualizing events, and summarizing what they have read. Thinking Reader provides students with feedback specific to the content as they work within the program. When students send work to the work log, they receive immediate feedback that tells them they are correct and to move on, or that they need to re-think their answer. The feedback guides the students and informs them about points they might have missed or how they might need to direct their thinking. This is only one example of how ongoing feedback can be used to support students’ strategic networks.
Overview: This section highlights different instructional approaches for helping students to love learning, the “why” of learning. Presenter Instructions: Follow the sequence of slides, providing multiple examples for each of the teaching methods and asking the audience for input from their own practice. Our understanding of the relevance of the three networks clearly indicates that instruction needs to support affective learning. Motivation, interest, engagement, desire, curiosity, and preference are essential to learning. Divide the audience into small groups and assign each group one teaching method from slide 12. Allow ten minutes for the groups to brainstorm different ways for students to achieve the instructional goals, while supporting affective learning. After ten minutes, ask each group to share their ideas with the audience. Presenter takes notes on a computer connected to a projector so that information can be saved and printed for the audience.
Overview : Presents a summary of the UDL approach. Diversity is the norm and should be anticipated in all aspects of instruction and learning. Applying the principles of Universal Design for Learning in education is enabled by: Appropriate goals for learning and performance (separating means from the goal); Flexible and supportive digital materials usable with new electronic tools for access and learning; Flexible and diverse methods while applying appropriate challenges and support; and Accessible and flexible assessments that measure what needs to be measured.
Overview: This section is designed to increase understanding of ways new classroom media can be adjusted for different individuals and can open doors to learning for all learners. Presenter Instructions: Begin this section with a video clip of David Rose discussing the new technologies that impact classroom practice and then present information about digital media and materials. Presenter may choose to use the online presentation “Digital Text in the Classroom” http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/presentations/digitaltext.cfm (Information from slides 37 – 42 are taken directly from the online “Digital Text in the Classroom” presentation.) Advantages of print materials: Distribution of knowledge is in the same form and can be accessed by millions of people. Disadvantage of print materials: Content and display are inseparable; it is permanent and cannot be adjusted to individual learners. Consequently, “one size does not fit all”. Digital media also presents information through text, sound, and images, yet, this is where the similarities end. Digital media is flexible and can meet the needs of diverse learning styles. Four aspects of digital media's flexibility are particularly beneficial for classroom application: versatility, transformability, the ability to be marked, and the ability to be networked. Let's examine each in turn. Click on Dr. David Rose’s picture as David offers examples of using digital media in the classroom. PowerPoint® Users: Directions for downloading audio clip and embedding audio clip on slide (doc).
Digital media are versatile. Versatility means the same content can be displayed in multiple formats - still image, sound, moving image, combinations of text on video, sound in text, video in text, and more. For example, the “I Have a Dream” speech can be listened to on audio tape, can be watched and listened to on video tape, can be read from print, or any combination of these. With this flexibility in the medium, an individual can choose his/her preferred format without changing the content.
Traditional media for teaching include speech (lecture format), text (text books, trade books, articles), and images (graphs, charts, diagrams, photographs, videos). These media have shaped the way we teach and are not flexible to address the varied learning needs, strengths, etc. that are represented in today’s classroom. Each media may present barriers for some students and provide opportunities for others. Think of today’s classrooms: print is the primary vehicle of instruction. This is obviously a barrier for some students. Ask the audience to identify students for whom print is a barrier. (Examples: students with visual impairments, ELL, reading disabilities, etc.) What are the alternatives to print? Not more of the same media, but better, more flexible media that will provide all students an opportunity to learn. Digital media—available now—can help overcome the limitations of traditional instructional formats.
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