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UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING

Jamie Linn Gunderson, Ph.D.

UDL

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AGENDA & LEARNING GOALS

UDL OVERVIEW - LESSON DEMONSTRATION

KNOWNS, UNKNOWNS & WANT-TO-KNOWS

LEGAL PROGRESSION & PERSPECTIVES

LEARNER VARIABILITY EXPLORATION

PRINCIPLES, GUIDELINES & CHECKPOINTS

UDL RECOGNITION - LESSON DEBRIEF

UDL IMPLEMENTATION ( +1 STRATEGY)

CULTIVATING A CULTURE OF UDL

TOGETHER, WE WILL...

develop and/or strengthen our understanding of UDL,
identify UDL Principles, Guidelines, and Checkpoints within a lesson demonstration, and
explore ideas and resources to support future UDL implementation.

AGENDA

GOALS

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WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT UDL?

BUT FIRST...

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AND SOME RELEVANCE...

UDL LEGAL PROGRESSION

2008 HEOA ACT

2015 ESSA

2016 FUTURE READY LEARNING

Before we dive-in, I want to provide some relevance and legal context for UDL.

Fun fact! The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was the first federal legislation to define and endorse UDL, back in 2008. The HEOA spelled out a number of ways that UDL should be incorporated into preservice preparation of teachers, in-service teacher training, and in postsecondary instruction. Not only is UDL encouraged and defined in the HEOA, but it is also important to recognize that many of our current learners and most of our future learners will have been exposed to UDL as the concept is threaded into K-12 education - please note the following law and initiative:

In 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and for the first time, the nation’s general K-12 education law defines and endorses Universal Design for Learning. ESSA is the seventh reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was originally passed to address the need for greater equity and opportunity in public schools.
UDL is also included in the 2016 National Education Technology Plan entitled, Future Ready Learning. In this plan, UDL is emphasized as a means of personalizing learning and as a framework and language for designing and deploying educational technologies in effective, meaningful ways.

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UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL)

Gunderson, 2019

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LEARNER VARIABILITY & THE LEARNING BRAIN

UDL

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LEARNER VARIABILITY - EXPLORATION

OPTION I - READ

OPTION II - WATCH

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NEURODIVERSITY

NEURON

CONNECTOME

USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute

LET’S TALK MORE ABOUT VARIABILITY...

We know that our learners vary in strengths, weaknesses, thinking, and creativity, but do we understand why they differ? Humans are neurodiverse! The brain is a complex organ with a genetic predisposition to personality. We know that organs are made of cells and the cells in the our brains are called neurons. Our brains have about 100 billion neurons, that communicate to one another using chemical and electrical impulses - this firing and wiring of neurons create connections that form neural pathways which allow our brains to process and connect information to our prior knowledge, beliefs, and experiences (*schema) - these neural pathways are learning and the more we access these pathways, the stronger the connections become (*a process called mylineation) - Hebb’s Rule, 1929.

Scientists have discovered that each of our 100 billion neurons can connect to thousands upon thousands of other neurons forming an estimated 100 trillion neuropathways. Theses trillions upon trillions of neuropathic connections combine to form the connectome - the blueprint for how we act, react, and interact within our environments and the headquarters for learning, personality, and culture.

OUR LEARNING AND EXPERIENCES CREATE OUR CONNECTOMES WHICH ARE AS UNIQUE AS OUR FINGERPRINTS - THIS EXPLAINS LEARNER VARIABILITY!

This neurodiversity or learner variability is important for educators to understand, as it highlights learning as a process requiring many parts of the brain working together to function within a given context. While the idea of neurodiversity can be somewhat overwhelming for educators in terms of planning lessons and designing assessments that meet the needs of individual learners, but this variability is predictable and can be organized across brain networks.

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THE LEARNING BRAIN

LEARNING PROCESS

AFFECTIVE NETWORK - MOTIVATION

RECOGNITION NETWORK - INPUT

STRATEGIC NETWORK - OUTPUT

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PRINCIPLES, GUIDELINES & CHECKPOINTS

UDL

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UDL PRINCIPLES

MULTIPLE MEANS OF ENGAGEMENT

MULTIPLE MEANS OF REPRESENTATION

MULTIPLE MEANS OF EXPRESSIONS

MOTIVATION

AFFECTIVE NETWORK

RECOGNITION NETWORK

STRATEGIC NETWORK

INPUT

OUTPUT

Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and Practice. Wakefield, MA: CAST Professional Publishing.

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UDL GUIDELINES & CHECKPOINTS

CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA.

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HOW WELL ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING SO FAR?

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LESSON DEMONSTRATION DEBRIEF

UDL

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HOW WELL ARE YOU UNDERSTANDING UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING NOW?

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APPLYING UDL - PLUS-ONE STRATEGY

Tobin, T.J,. & Behling K.,T. (2018). Reach everyone, teach everyone: Universal design for learning in higher education. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press.

RECOGNIZE IMPLEMENTATION!

BRAINSTORM - BE CREATIVE!

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CULTIVATING A UDL CULTURE!

TOUR RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH CAST

https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

VIEW THE UDL ACADEMY VIDEOS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION

https://udla.lacoe.edu

Recruiting Interest - https://youtu.be/atT5irSdsXo

Perception - https://youtu.be/AK5xMZYnf24

Physical Action - https://youtu.be/XKob82_Mfpw

Sustaining Effort & Persistence - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l7lb3lQO5E

Language & Symbols - https://youtu.be/rmnPiU6dMns

Expression & Communication - https://youtu.be/6TupyBVkR7w

Self Regulation - https://youtu.be/t9ArHaVm6jQ

Comprehension - https://youtu.be/FVYSMtw9PBE

Executive Functions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nui__r-vzQ

ASYNCHRONOUS

RESOURCE TOUR

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REFERENCES & RESOURCES

THANK YOU!