Universal Design for Learning

 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a learning structure used to help students, or people in general, learn in the most effective way possible by using scientific insights into the methods which people use to learn. These guidelines include Engagement, Representation, and Action/Expression cross sectioned with Access, Support, and Executive Function. 

Currently, I am already using the Executive Function in all three aspects of Engagement, Representation, and Action/Expression. When I am teaching math, I always aware of how I am teaching the information and taking in students' body language and informal assessments to see if they are understanding the material or getting lost in the delivery and then adjusting based on their responses. As a teacher, I am also making sure that I am connecting the information when prior knowledge either from earlier in the year or from past math classes. While explaining the material, I try to give them multiple ways to solve if applicable to give them options and ensure they understand. Lastly, I try to plan for any expected challenges and am always looking for ways to improve upon my teaching. I stay open minded for any new tips and tricks on how to teach the material and change it up year to year based on new strategies or data shown. 

One guideline that I think I could add to my teaching practices right now is in the Sustaining Effort & Persistence under the Engagement and Support category. Specifically, clarify the meaning and purpose of goals and foster belonging and community. Of course I tell the students that what they're learning is important, but it's hard to answer the "why do we need to know this" question when they most likely actually do not need to know this for their future careers or classes. There's the superficial answer of "to graduate" or "to pass the class", but those answers don't resonate any meaning with the students or ignite any curiosity. I could do better at finding real answers for them to help their interest in the subject grow rather than diminish. I mentioned the other factor of belonging and building community because I attempted to do that this year and fell short. I started a class competition in the beginning of the year to help them work together as a team and be engaged in the lessons, and I unfortunately did not stick with it the second semester. I think it was fun and was helping them buy in to the material, but because of my lack of consistency it has been abandoned. Next year, I would like to stick with it and make improvements in general that would help me be better at keeping up with the competition.

The guideline that looks great, but I might need some help implementing would be the Engagement Access option. I want to be able to optimize their choice and autonomy and nurture their joy in my classroom. Math is a difficult subject for a lot of students and creating a class that isn't boring or repetitive feels like an uphill battle sometimes. I have to go over certain material and only have a certain time to do it and most of math is me modeling and the students repeating. Every now and then I pick what I consider to be fun activities, but I would like to put the learning in the students hands more. Modeling is great, but isn't the only method out there but is the only method that I'm familiar with. Along with changing up students learning styles, I'd like to offer them more selection in activities related to the lesson. I need help with this though because I don't know what works best or what options there are out there.

What I would like to explore more about UDL is how to implement it in secondary classes. When learning about how to implement UDL, there was a lot of generic information or information about elementary classrooms. For me, it was harder to find articles and videos specifically about the secondary level, so I focused my exploration there. I found this one video showing an example of a secondary level classroom using UDL, and the teachers explained what they did, which helped me think of my own ideas.

I continued exploring and found a list of links that help implement the Universal Design of Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Classrooms. There are a variety of links listed that would help with UDL in distance learning, design instruction, and the digital age. Additionally, I found this research article that goes through the study that they conducted and concluded that UDL did show an increase in performance when implemented at the secondary level. The study was conducted in a special education classroom, but the methods used could be adapted for a general education classroom. 

While researching and understanding UDL, one of the most important points that was repeatedly made was that implementation takes more than one day. It could take a few years before you would be able to truly see results or become comfortable with the new method. It also might be better in general to implement a little here and there rather than changing up your entire classroom at once.