UDL-Improved Access for All

I first noticed how much the word "flexibility" came up in the article by Nancy Firchow and thought about how important it is for teachers to be flexible, yet sometimes I think that flexibility falls to the side with well developed, but rigid lesson plans. I appreciate how Universal Design for Learning has it built in to the approach. It's almost impossible not to be flexible when providing such a variety of learning materials and methods while also really getting to know your students' interests and strengths. This part of Universal Design for Learning connects with my current teaching practices. My cooperating teacher and I invited each student into the classroom individually before school started so that we could spend some time getting to know them. Also, during the first week we have been observing them participate in more academic activities and notice how they respond to various lessons. We have then modified different tasks depending on what we thought would benefit them the most. However, what I would like to incorporate more into my teaching practice is providing modifications or variations to the whole class and having them decide what/how they would like to work. This element of choice seems to run strong throughout the UDL approach.

This element of choice really requires students to know themselves as learners and to be confident in understanding the ways they learn best. I am thinking about this because in my kindergarten special ed class there is a lot of copying that happens. I am worried that students would just do what their friends want to do without thinking about or even being metacognitive about how they will learn best. One problem that I see for myself is that my cooperating teacher and I kind of get caught up in always making visuals because all of the children at our school have language based learning disabilities. However, I think that is an assumption we are making in the way our students learn best and if we implemented a more UDL approach we might learn more about how our students prefer to learn and show what they know. I like that UDL brings in students' interests because I have found this to be an engaging and motivating factor for children, which gets them excited about learning. When reading about this approach I am at first concerned with students guiding their own learning so much and being in tune with what they need. However, I can also see that if all other aspects (presentation, participation, and expression) are catered to their learning styles they would be motivated through this take responsibility for their learning. Also, with practice I am sure it would get easier. No approach is just a quick answer. Students would need models and several supported experiences before they could be expected to be so independent with this approach. One last thing I am thinking about is appropriate computer technology that can be used with kindergartners. A lot of the strategies offered I feel are easily applicable and adaptable for older students, but I am still searching for and thinking about ways to integrate computer technology more into my teaching practices.