You must be so tired of all the new-fangled methods for teaching. Your already maxed-out brain is tired from terms like differentiated instruction, experiential/ problem-based/ project-based learning… you want to say, just stop already! How many strategies do you expect me to try?!
Well, I wish I could tell you to skip my blog (DON’T!) and continue about your business, but unfortunately, I can’t. You chose to be part of the dynamic field of education that centers around the ‘science’ of teaching and learning. And like science, education is CONSTANTLY evolving.
The Centre for Applied Special Technology (hereafter called CAST) recognized this reality, and created the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework. The Centre also provided guidelines for how to apply the concept. I love their tagline ‘Until learning has no limits’, because isn’t that every educator’s dream?
So why does UDL have its own framework? And why can’t we just sweep it up under a strategy that already exists (like differentiated instruction)? Because essentially, they’re not the same thing, as much as we’d like to believe they are.
UDL is much more predictive, in that you go into the planning and preparation of your lessons, already catering for diversity and differences. You’re not waiting to see IF you have a student who needs assistive tech, more visuals, a translator app ... .you already accept this is going to be the reality of your classroom, and you build in the FLEXIBILITY needed, to deliver the curriculum, from the get-go. You make peace with the fact that your instruction and assessment will not, or rather, should not, look the same for every learner. You get comfy with the words “multiple methods” when it comes to words like “representation”, “action & expression” and “engagement” ( Kluth, 2020).
Representation: the WHAT of learning
Action & Expression: the HOW of learning
Engagement: the WHY of learning
Representation: We already know that what we teach has to be presented in multiple ways. We have learners with “sensory disabilities, learning disabilities, cultural differences”- there is no ‘one size fits all’ for the learners in our classroom. So we have to cater for that. We include graphic stimuli, enable captions on our presentations, support print material with a video and most importantly, don’t make assumptions.
Why do I include that? I think back to when I was teaching ‘At a restaurant’ in French. I assumed that all my students had been to a fine-dining restaurant, only to realize, rather guiltily, that I’d excluded students who came from lower income bracket households. They looked at me blankly when I introduced dining ‘à la carte’ as opposed to choosing a set meal. I saw their embarrassed faces when their more ‘well-off’ classmates raised eyebrows at them, for not relating to what I was teaching. Needless to say, I shouldn’t have just distributed printed menus and expected them to know how to order. A video on fine dining might have helped, probably a movie clip with some humor and the caption/ translation enabled. But I was young in my teaching career and I didn’t know about UDL and how critical it is, in promoting inclusivity.
Action & Expression: The way students demonstrate their learning and understanding in the classroom is not the same. Ever had a student write an amazing essay on a topic, but when you ask him/her to give a speech on the same thing, it’s a dismal showing of what he/she has grasped? Or maybe there’s a Spanish-speaker in your class who has completed all the algebra problems accurately, and in record time, but he/she can’t explain his/her steps to a peer (or you) because there’s a language barrier. Does that mean the student isn’t as knowledgeable as his/her classmates? Of course not. Simply put, there are multiple ways to achieve the learning goal and as educators, we have to allow our students to take the learning path that best suits them. How do we do this? We remove the barriers that we sometimes place on their routes: “You HAVE TO submit a 500 word essay on this.” “You HAVE TO deliver an oral presentation for 5 minutes.” Give them options: spoken word, video recording, written piece, skit...think Frank Sinatra’s song “I did it my way”, but change it to “I LEARNT it my way.” (excuse the corniness, but it’s just a very easy way to remember this point).
Engagement: This ties in with the affective domain of learning. Your ‘WHY’ for learning, is not necessarily my ‘WHY’ for learning. And that’s perfectly okay. Every student who enters your classroom, has different motivations for learning and frankly, different brains. Each student has his/ her own opinions, biases, personal experience and background. And guess what? You the teacher? You do too! (Remember my restaurant fiasco?)
I’m sure many of us have had the experience of a student asking you, “Why do I need to learn this?” or sometimes it comes across more like: ‘Miss/ Sir, I don’t care ‘bout that. Why do I have to learn about _____________ (insert topic here)? I won’t ever use that!
And yes, I know the comment rankles us to the very core, but personal relevance contributes to student engagement.
So to stick to the restaurant example, let’s say a budding footballer who shows no interest in French, decides to shoot the above comment at me. After I count to 10 ( really 20), and bring my blood pressure back down to 120/80 (thereabouts anyway), I point out: “You support PSG right?” After his initial shock that I know about PSG, he asks,” Miss what that has to do with anything?” That’s when I launch my missile with no regret: “Well, imagine you were offered a contract to play for the club but you have to meet with the club manager and his scout. They fly you out to Paris and decide to discuss the terms of your contract over lunch/ dinner.” “Where do you think they’ll take you? To Mcdonalds or a fine dining establishment?” (No offense to Mcdo).
You know what I get? Buy- in. From the student. Suddenly, he has his ‘WHY’ for learning.
As always, I’ve tried to break down the topic in a way that’s useful to you. But in no way, does this blog seek to oversimplify UDL. Admittedly, it’s a vast topic and during the course of the week, we’ll be sharing resources that explain it, demonstrate how to implement it, but most importantly, encourage you to EMBRACE it. It’s a critical design in 21st Century education that promotes inclusivity and celebrates diversity: two things that I’m sure you’ll agree we don’t just need in education, but in our world.
For more info on UDL, click on the link: About Universal Design for Learning and of course, stay tuned to 21st Century Educators for a week of valuable resources!