Assignment 5 B

Review the Guidelines for Universal Design for Learning.

b) Ms. Randall's Case Study of using UDL in a Math Class

What are the three principles of Universal Design for Learning? Describe where each of these principles were used in these classrooms. How might this apply to your classroom?

• Principle I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation (the "what" of learning). "Students differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them." This principle was demonstrated through class discussions, teacher demonstration, working in pairs, visual representation through computer projection and worksheets/assignments. The concept of using multiple means of representation seems like a simple concept however, I think as new teachers it would be easy to fall into routines. Every student grasp information differently either through visual or auditory means or printed text. "In reality, there is no one means of representation that will be optimal for all students; providing options in representation is essential."
• Principle II: Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression (the "how" of learning). "Students differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express what they know." Initially the teacher leads a class discussion to help students develop a base knowledge. After the students were given a set of questions to facilitate their own thinking and developing hypothesis. They used the Sodor digital spinner to explore theoretical and experimental probability using structured questions to guide their explorations. This method of instruction can be useful in most situations; however, there are times when simply explaining concepts, ideas, methods or techniques is of more benefit. "Some may be able to express themselves well in writing text but not oral speech, and vice versa. In reality, there is no one means of expression that will be optimal for all students; providing options for expression is essential."
• Principle III: Provide Multiple Means of Engagement (the "why" of learning). "Students differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated to learn." This exercise was unique in that the students were able to formulate their own hypothesis and test their predictions to better understand probability. Giving students the opportunity to test ideas on the subject material is a very powerful way of learning. Rather than simply explain or lecture on probability formulas, the students became motivated by actually applying probability rather than receiveing direct instruction. "Some students are highly engaged by spontaneity and novelty while other are disengaged, even frightened, by those aspects, preferring strict routine. In reality, there is no one means of representation that will be optimal for all students; providing multiple options for engagement is essential."

CAST Universal Design for Learning. (2009). Universal design for learning (UDL) guidelines - Version 1.0. Retrieved Feb 18, 2009, from http://www.cast.org/publications/UDLguidelines/version1.html

Differentiated Instruction

We discussed how differentiated instruction is not developed overnight and I firmly believe that is true. In addition, I believe that differentiated instruction is never fully "mastered". There are many ways to incorporate differentiated instruction into the classroom and one method of differentiated instruction may not be better than another form of instruction. Also, students from one year are never the same at the next. I believe that for these two reasons, differentiated instruction is never fully mastered.
That being said, using differential instruction can be used very effectively and teachers can be very good at utilizing it. When beginning teachers first try differentiated instruction, I believe that the three key ares they need to focus on are 1) Preparation, 2) Classroom Management and 3) Assessment.
Preparation is probably the most important area for new teachers to focus on when using differentiated instruction. Teachers must plan every detail of the instruction, from what they will be working on, who they will be working with, how they will work, how long they will work and what the final working product should look like (exemplars). Although this may require a lot of work on the teachers part, the results from the class or lesson will be much more successful. If careful planning is not done, the lesson will fall apart and you will lose class time which is much more important than time out of school.
Classroom management for most beginning teachers is difficult and therefore using differentiated instruction will only make it harder. Teachers must have a firm understanding of each students characteristics, learning abilities and performing abilities. Managing the time within differentiated instruction is most important, making sure that students are not wasting time sitting around wondering what they are suppose to be doing. The other aspect of differentiated instruction is managing who will be working with who, perhaps switching groups up depending on the level of the student for the particular activity and managing the level of difficulty is required for the student to be challenged.
The last important area of differentiated instruction is maintaining constant assessment of the students understanding. Assessing the students at the end of the unit or project will only be disastrous for the students as well as for the teacher. The benefit of differentiated instruction is that the level of instruction or pace of instruction is based on the students understanding of the learning outcomes. Therefore, it is important for beginning teachers to assess the students understanding at the beginning of the topic, during and after, this can simply be done using exit slips, questioning, small quizzes, thumbs up/down, etc.