Universal Design for Learning by David Poeschl

This month's podcast, Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, is about something many parents of kids with special needs have never heard about. But UDL is the embodiment of the product, I guess you could say, of the practices in general education classrooms that allow students with learning differences to succeed. You know the accommodations on your child's IEP or 504 plan, the ones the school offered to help your student access the general education curriculum like shortened assignments, extra time, preferred seating, you know, the ones with all accommodations.

What they do is they allow a student with learning differences to be able to access their education to the same degree as their neurotypical or physically typical classmates. Accommodations allow students to learn using their strongest modalities, be a visual, auditory, tactile, or some combination. UDL embeds accommodations into general education classrooms for all students. They get what they need to learn.

One reason why the practice of UDL is needed is that most teachers use language to learn. They generally learn by hearing and processing language. Of course, this is a generalization many teachers learn visually or tactically, Tactically. But the field is dominated by language based instructional materials and concepts of teaching. Although strides have been made to include different modalities in teaching materials, it still takes a teacher to integrate it into practice.

Most people in the general population are visual learners. Estimates are that about 65% of people learn best when they can see something. That's something extends beyond seeing words. It includes visual representations of ideas. The point is there should be a non language component in classroom instruction. The same applies for learners who get knowledge from physically interacting with concrete examples of the concept.

Usually keep in mind, although all of us have a preferred way of learning, we aren't tied to that for everything in all circumstances. Almost everyone uses all modalities to learn in one way or another. We all just have one that works best. Now let's look at a way to think about UDL. Every student stands in front of doors that block them from the knowledge they need to learn.

For some students, the doors open with the turn of the knob. For others, the door may be hard to open, or it could even be locked. UDL uses the strings every student possesses to help them open their doors. UDL provides the key or the kit to the door to allow every student to go through to the knowledge on the other side as to its origins.

UDL is based on scientific research that looks at what factors and areas of the brain are responsible for different aspects of learning. Dr. David Rose, a neuropsychologist and longtime lecturer at Harvard University, developed the UDL concept in the 1990s. He went on to create the primary organizing for research and promotion of the concept of UDL cast S.A.T., which stands for the Center for Applied Special Technology.

Dr. Rose's first idea for the use of UDL was, of course, for students with disabilities. In the written form of this podcast, you'll find links to UDL information. I urge you to learn more about UDL so you can better determine if and how your child's school is implementing it or implementing it correctly. Specifically, Cast describes the components of UDL as why, what and how of learning.

The why has to do with engaging students in the learning experience by, among other things, optimizing choice and relevance. An example of choice could be one student likes to listen to the information, while another may like to read another, watch a video on the topic. The what of learning is related to the different ways students perceive and comprehend information.

This relates to the why in that the way a student prefers to receive information is probably also the way they best understand and learn it. The how of learning is related to the way students express what they have learned. All students have a favorite and strength based way of showing what they know. One thing to emphasize is that UDL is embedded in the classroom for all students, not just students with special needs.

This has the advantage of everyone getting what they need. No one stands out as getting something that no one else can get. It makes it easier for kids with special needs to fit into their environment. We don't have time to go into further detail on this podcast, into the components of the concepts of UDL. However, we can take a quick peek at a UDL classroom.

Let's look at two students in a third grade classroom who have learning issues and are lucky enough to attend a school in a UDL enhanced classroom. Let's see if the UDL umbrella of supports includes them. We'll look at two students with special needs for our examples. Robert is a student with ADHD. He's qualified for special education services under the category of other health impaired.

He qualified due to his issues with attention and focus. Robert is a bit of a class clown. He also has a tough time sitting for long and will begin to distract those around him when unfocused. Robert also has another issue that significantly affects his ability to learn a language processing disorder that complicate and slows down Robert's ability to use language efficiently.

Rosa is a student with high functioning autism and has an IEP. She has already mastered the third grade curriculum. So Rose's issues have to do with getting along with others in a socially appropriate way and learning to deal with the sometimes chaotic nature of the third grade classroom. The fact that she is ahead of most of the other kids academically can prove challenging to Rosa's teacher.

Rosa also has difficulty with language based instruction. She learns best by what Dr. Temple Grandin, who's an author, scientist and activism activist who has autism calls seeing in pictures. What sort of accommodations do each of these students need? Their IEPs list and the classroom teacher was responsible for implementing them. The problem in a traditional classroom is that the accommodations for individual children may be unique to them.

How does a general education teacher with the 30 students in their classroom make sure that three or four kids with disabilities are getting their individual accommodations? And what about students not identified with the disability but have trouble accessing their education in a typical classroom environment? I would argue they usually don't. I have attended over 2500 IEP meeting, so my special education career.

I have observed scores of classroom teachers as part of my job and I've worked with hundreds of parents. It is my opinion that most IEP accommodations, other than the ones a teacher embeds into their classroom on their own, are routinely read and then forgotten. Teachers naturally act on what is in front of them, trying to remember what accommodation goes with, which with which student is very difficult.

Most of the time a teacher will use those accommodations that work with their classroom and not necessarily the ones on the IEP. UDL solves this problem if implemented correctly, although they are very different students. There is lots of overlaps in some accommodations for Robert and Rosa. Let's look at a list of common ones that will be appropriate to both visual aids, positive reinforcement and feedback.

Allowing breaks or time to move around changes to the environment to limit distraction and extra help with staying organized. Let's look at each accommodation to see if first it could be applied not only to Robert and Rosa, but to everyone in the classroom. First, what about visual aids for Rosa? This is an explicit need, although we don't know what learning modality Robert prefers.

We know his language processing issues could certainly lead one to think he prefers visual input and remember, 65% of the US population may be visual learners. The answer, to use the use of visual aids becomes obviously a good thing for our students with special needs and their classmates. How about positive reinforcement feedback? Those of you who listen to our first podcast about positive behavior support know how important it is for all of our students to be in an environment that uses PBIS as the best way to work with children.

Punishment is something to be used rarely and is basically an admission that the adults made mistakes working with their students. The basis of all interactions in the classroom is that they be based on mutual respect between students and their teacher. With the behavior management program in place from the beginning of the school year that rewards positive behaviors and views, problem behaviors from a problem solving analytical point of view.

Children need to know when they are doing the right thing, pointing out to them when this occurs helps them internalize and permanently adopt correct behaviors. So it means positive behavior support and reinforcement is something that will certainly benefit the entire classroom. Let's look next at allowing breaks or time to move around. For Robert, this is his must have.

His ADHD causes him to have a lot of problem sitting still for long. For Rosa, the noise in the classroom might get might get to be too much at times. She needs the ability to take a break in a quieter area. As to the other students in the classroom, just because they may not have disabilities, they are third graders and at that age, children need to move around.

How would the teacher implement this accommodation classroom wide? Just a couple of ideas, including assigning students classroom jobs that mirror the students needs. For example, students. Maybe Robert is a designated paper hand tutor. Maybe Rosa delivers messages to the office, which he needs a bit of quiet time. Let's look at changes to the classroom environment next. All students need an orderly, organized and structured classroom environment.

But we all know that this is sometimes not the reality with students this age. What can a teacher do to help not only Robert and Rosa, but all of their students to maximize maximizing effective learning environment?

This requires careful planning on the part of the teacher. Issues like traffic flow relating to how students move around the classroom and transitions from one activity to another are typical of the organizational plans teachers need to have. So this accommodation obviously benefits everyone, regardless of their disability status. The last accommodation on our list has to do with learning to stay organized.

This is a vital skill for all students, but Robert and Rosa may need extra help with this. Kids with ADHD are notoriously disorganized and the notoriety is often well-founded.

Not turning homework, even though they had completed, has been an issue in many IEPs I have attended. It is a very real thing for children with autism. There may be issues with having to achieve perfection on assignments. If this is the case for Rosa, she will need to help learn to differentiate between adequate and perfect and learn how to use adequate as a guide.

All students need to have organizational skills. Some students pick them up naturally from the environment. If it is orderly and predictable. But a lot of kids need explicit instruction, why all of this may seem logical and are just examples of common sense. In practice, it takes training, practice and experience to do it right. UDL is one of those examples of a concept where practitioners need to be active, forward thinking and most of all, flexible.

But it is very doable and it is evident in thousands of classrooms around the country. At IEP meetings, you should ask for proof that your child's accommodation signs are being used. While school districts are not required by law to report on the implementation of accommodations, the accommodations are still part of a legal document and need to be implemented with fidelity.

This concludes our podcast on UDL. We sincerely hope you enjoyed it. We appreciate all the feedback, both good and suggestions for improvement. And remember to contact Matrix Parent Network when you need help with the IEP process to access training or just talk with someone who has been there. Take care now.

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