UDL - Universal Design for Learning

This Parent Advocacy Brief will help parents learn the basics about the UDL (universal design for learning) approach and offers helpful tips for talking with your school about it.

 

Most parents will agree that both teaching and learning today are full of enormous challenges. Teachers face classrooms full of students with a wide range of abilities, speaking an array of languages, and coming from very diverse backgrounds.

 

Students face increased learning expectations as the nation's schools work to improve their academic achievement and enhance their long-term success. For students with learning disabilities (LD), learning in today's environment is daunting, even when provided with specialized instruction, accommodations, and assistive technology."

 

Fortunately, there is an approach to teaching and learning that can reduce these challenges, for all students, not only for those with LD. This approach, called Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is a concept that, if embraced by the field of education, can dramatically change the school experiences and success of students with LD.

On May 18th, authors and educators Kathleen C. Sadao, Ed.D. of the Sacramento County Office of Education and Nancy B. Robinson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP of San Francisco State University will address concerns of special education directors, early childhood interventionists and other administrators related to the implementation, uses and benefits of UDL and AT.

 

"By attending the webinar, participants will learn the basics of UDL implementation and how to incorporate AT tools from the initial phases of classroom design. In addition, presenters will discuss how to apply the AT toolkit concept to specific school and classroom needs, provide examples of how AT tools can provide access to the general education curriculum for students, and help attendees understand the roles of the special educator in promoting the application of AT toolkits for curriculum support."

ISTE is offering an online course:  Universal Design for Learning & Assistive Technology from March 12th through April 20th.  Participants can experience this course using their preferred learning style:  audio, text, video and visual. 

 

Here are the learning objectives and links to the learning styles for the course.

 

Learning Objectives

 

1. Participants will become familiar with Universal Design for Learning as a framework for designing instruction.

2. Participants will become familiar with a number of web tools and their varied uses as methods for providing teachers multiple ways to represent content, providing students with multiple ways to express what they know, and providing students with engaging (high-interest and authentic) learning experiences.

3. Participants will develop an understanding of how to create a lesson using the Universal Design for Learning framework.

 

Experience how this course is designed using your preferred learning style. Choose one or more of the following options:

 

Audio – Click here to listen to a podcast episode - http://bit.ly/udl4onlinecourses

Text – Click here to read an article - http://bit.ly/codeudl4onlinecourses

Video – Click here to watch a video about UDL – http://bit.ly/udlexplained1

Visual – Click here to experience a comic - http://bit.ly/udlonlinecomic

Sonoma State University has provided their faculty resources and professional development to implement UDL at the post-secondary level.  Here is what their commitment is to the faculty.

 

"UDL-U supports postsecondary faculty and staff by providing resources and examples to improve postsecondary education for all students, including those with disabilities. UDL-U is designed to be useful for individual inquiries related to small UDL topics, issues, or problems, as well as scalable to larger faculty development efforts (e.g., Faculty Learning Communities). UDL-U frames course redesign as a three-tier professional development process:

 

> Application of UDL principles to enhance teaching and learning
> Utilization of accessible instructional media and practices
> Awareness of assistive technology enablers and barriers"