Personal Reflections on UDLs

Personal Reflections on UDLs

I had actually never heard of the UDL or KWHL chart before I began this course.  As someone who went through Alternative Certification, as well as someone who has not even been certified for a year, I was not aware of this concept or the design at all.  The funny thing is, I had always been told that whatever a teacher does should be for the benefit of the students, as well as that every student learns differently, and lessons need to be diversified for that intent.  The problem is, I was never told how to do that.  For that reason, the UDL concept and lesson builder presented this week were both challenging to fulfill and fascinating. 

The U in UDL means universal, which to me means everything under the sun.  In this case, that means every learner, and since no two students learn alike, modifications and accommodations must be made to reach every student, from the G/T students to the students with exceptionalities who are in the Least Restrictive Environment.  As teachers, we are responsible for providing every student with the best possible education, and to do this, we must have knowledge of different educational tools and processes.  The UDL concept requires teachers to plan for everything, including assessments, accommodations, technology and recognition activities.  The entire concept revolves around the teacher remaining flexible, and focusing on how to reach each student while fulfilling the curricula.   

The UDL creation in itself was, and is, difficult, as it has so many different parts to be fulfilled.  Multiple examples must be provided, and prior knowledge must be accessed.  I like this, because it taps into a knowledge reserve most students have but are hesitant to use for fear of making themselves look foolish in front of their peers.  This lesson design not only brings out this knowledge, it also makes learning more relevant and fun because of it.  Students will become more engaged, learn more, and perform better in class because of higher levels of thinking and engagement.  Supplemented with technology, and in fact designed specifically for technology education, the UDL model brings the auditory, visual and kinesthetic learning styles together into one classroom, thereby accomplishing one task that has perplexed teachers for years: how to reach every student in the classroom. 

This week, I used the UDL model to create a lesson on the Middle East, in an attempt to solve a scenario of reaching every student in a multi-learning style classroom.  It was definately a challenge, as I had not only never been in a classroom with that diverse a student population, but also never had students with exceptionalities.  I had never used adaptive technology or put everything into categories.  That was more of a challenge than anything, but it got me very excited about using this with my students.  I definitely see using the UDL for every unit I plan as a teacher