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A UDL Transformation.


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Being a sophomore in Intro to Special Education class, I feel that I have not planned a lot of lessons compared to other students in the class. I am not enrolled in a methods course, and I do not take any other courses this semester where I need to have a field placement. I have experience planning for tutoring sessions--which I know is not the same, but it still involves planning activities around certain goals and objectives. I know that my future will contain multitudes of lesson plans, but I feel that I do not have a lot of experience, yet (#growthmindset).

Listening to the UDL talk that Meg Jones gave on Thursday was a treat! I really enjoyed hearing her personal experiences from her years of teaching. The UDL model opened my eyes to the importance of planning really strong lessons--I never realized that even the verbs used for planning student objectives matters. These small, intentional details are trademarks of UDL and its pedagogical practices. Supporting every student, and planning a lesson that is intended for every student, seems so logical to me. I also love the invitation for challenge that UDL creates. Since every student is targeted to understand the concept being taught, there is so much room to explore, and apply the learned concepts, giving students chances to understand more deeply. I am referring to the "most" and "some" categories on the UDL triangle. I also love that the "most" and "some" categories are open for all students to explore, not just ones labeled as gifted. Students who are in tier III can also do the "some" or challenge activities. UDL does not make anything exclusive. This is vastly different than the RTI model, which targets the average student (which doesn't exist...) and leaves the students who need supports or challenges without those supports or challenges. UDL seems to be the most logical, and supportive for all learners, in my opinion. 
 I now feel this overwhelming need to apply this newfound knowledge of UDL! I was assigned to plan a mini-lesson for my Physical Education and Health class, where I integrated a health standard and other academic standards. I am going to teach this lesson to my class of college students who will pretend to be kindergarteners, and will be graded on my teaching cues, planned activities, and how well I integrated the health standard with the academic standards. Since I have already submitted my lesson plan for the class, I cannot revise and UDL-ify the lesson, but I thought it would be interesting to transform the lesson so it fits into the UDL parameters.

 Before UDL.

 Grade: Kindergarten
Topic: Sharing
Standards: 
ELA-
RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
W.K.6 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
SL.K.1  Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.K.4 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. 
Health-
K.ICR.1.1 Explain reasons for sharing
Student Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will be able to actively engage in a large-group discussion about the read aloud book.
  • Students will be able to explain reasons for sharing
  • Students will be able to produce three classroom expectations for sharing with others.

Activities:
- Have students think about times where someone did not share with them.
- Pair-share with a partner about their experiences. What is similar about their experiences? Different?
- Read: Eleanor won't share
- Collaborate with class and decide on 3 class expectations for sharing
Image result for cinderella gif
UDL Version
Grade: Kindergarten
Topic: Sharing
Standards: 
ELA-
RL.K.10 Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and understanding.
W.K.6 With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
SL.K.1  Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
SL.K.4 Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly
K.ICR.1.1 Explain reasons for sharing
Student Learning Outcomes:
All: 
Students will able to identify and communicate reasons for sharing with others.
Students will be able to participate in group discussion.
Students will be able to recall and apply our three classroom expectations for sharing.
Most:
Students will be able to search for and successfully find other examples of sharing scenarios.
Students will be able to identify and understand the emotions felt by people who are not shared with.
Some:
Students will be able to understand sharing as fairness .
Students will be able to create a scenario that depicts sharing and not sharing.

 Activities:
Representation: 
- Have students independently think/draw/write about their sharing experiences; follow with a think-pair-share, drawing reflection, or other type of reflection about how their experiences were the same/different as another student's.

 -Read Eleanor Won't Share aloud- provide hard copies of book to those who want it, project pictures from the book on a larger screen. Then give students option to listen to audio book with headphones, take a picture walk, or watch a narrated youtube video of the book.

 Engagement: 
- Whole group discussion of Eleanor Won't Share for comprehension. Discuss how Eleanor and her friends feel when they are not being shared with; tie back to reflection on their own experiences

 - As a class, come up with three sharing expectations; Teacher will write on anchor chart, kids will have the choice to sign their name on poster.

 - Students have option to search for/think of other examples of sharing in text, media, etc.

 Expression: 
- Students will use a medium of their choice to show how they will abide by our classroom expectations, or what they will do if they see others not abiding by expectations (drawing, writing, talking, etc.)

 - Students will have the option to incorporate feelings into their work.

 -Students will have option to demonstrate/create a scenario that is considered "fair" sharing and "unfair" sharing.

 I feel like that Cinderella gif perfectly describes this blog post. The Cinderella in rags is a lesson before UDL, and the Cinderella in her ballgown is a UDL model. The UDL model ensures that every individual learner will succeed, while providing support and the opportunity for challenge to every student. I think the education world would be a much more inclusive place if all barriers were removed before the students even stepped foot into the classroom.
Image result for udl
http://www.vaniercollege.qc.ca/pdo/2014/03/teaching-tip-universal-design-for-learning-udl/

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