This week focused on learning networks. Affective, Strategic, and Recognition networks as well as the tools and strategies that help teachers meet the goals of Universally Designed Lessons. This week was also extremely busy on my part, and consisted of a lot of hands on learning. I created a lesson, made an eBook, and helped to refine a strategy that I can use to support teachers as an educational technology coach. Rose and Meyer (2002) gave me quite a bit to think about this week. I took the information that they provided and broke it out into 5 fundamentals that I used this week to help formulate both my UDL lesson and my underlying philosophy of the course.
The first fundamental that Rose and Meyer (2002) gave is not only a UDL principle but it is also echoed in multiple readings across course. The teacher needs to provide multiple formats to help students learn. This is a simple statement but simplifies the UDL principles that are in play perfectly. It helps to diversify the content allowing the instructor to come at the information from multiple sides.
The second point from the week was to allow different assessment techniques to allow for demonstration of skill. It is worth mentioning that the assessment that you give the student is only as good as the students ability to work within that medium. This is important here because it allows for students to demonstrate learning in multiple ways. Pitler, Hubble, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) echo this sentiment in formative assessment showing different tools that can be used to give constructive feedback that accomplishes the goal of enriching the learning process (p. 41).
The third point from the week is to provide flexibility in showing results both in a formative assessment and in summative assessments. This can be anything from blogs to presentations and movies. This ties into the fourth point, which is to provide choice for the student, which leads to increased motivation. This was a piece that I had already had in place in my classroom and had seen good results from.
The final point, and probably the hardest for teachers, is to provide adjustable challenges to students in the classroom. Rose and Meyers (2002) emphasize this as a big help in a truly universally designed classroom. This is a piece that allows students of varying levels to exist within the same echo system. From a practical perspective it also really helps to decrease distractions. Both the lower students that are not getting it; while the higher-level students are board cause some distractions. This was a point that I have only begun to experiment with in my classroom. Allowing for adjustable challenges is an art form. My own experiments have had mixed results, but the dialog that this reading has opened up has got me thinking.
This week has been a really intense week and one of the hardest of the class. However the information contained is not only practical, but it also helps to underline the importance of creating lessons that speak to the strengths of the student population that you teach.
References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 41-58, 217-225.
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/
The first fundamental that Rose and Meyer (2002) gave is not only a UDL principle but it is also echoed in multiple readings across course. The teacher needs to provide multiple formats to help students learn. This is a simple statement but simplifies the UDL principles that are in play perfectly. It helps to diversify the content allowing the instructor to come at the information from multiple sides.
The second point from the week was to allow different assessment techniques to allow for demonstration of skill. It is worth mentioning that the assessment that you give the student is only as good as the students ability to work within that medium. This is important here because it allows for students to demonstrate learning in multiple ways. Pitler, Hubble, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) echo this sentiment in formative assessment showing different tools that can be used to give constructive feedback that accomplishes the goal of enriching the learning process (p. 41).
The third point from the week is to provide flexibility in showing results both in a formative assessment and in summative assessments. This can be anything from blogs to presentations and movies. This ties into the fourth point, which is to provide choice for the student, which leads to increased motivation. This was a piece that I had already had in place in my classroom and had seen good results from.
The final point, and probably the hardest for teachers, is to provide adjustable challenges to students in the classroom. Rose and Meyers (2002) emphasize this as a big help in a truly universally designed classroom. This is a piece that allows students of varying levels to exist within the same echo system. From a practical perspective it also really helps to decrease distractions. Both the lower students that are not getting it; while the higher-level students are board cause some distractions. This was a point that I have only begun to experiment with in my classroom. Allowing for adjustable challenges is an art form. My own experiments have had mixed results, but the dialog that this reading has opened up has got me thinking.
This week has been a really intense week and one of the hardest of the class. However the information contained is not only practical, but it also helps to underline the importance of creating lessons that speak to the strengths of the student population that you teach.
References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 41-58, 217-225.
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 6. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/