Universal Design

The work of teaching and learning requires a high level of precision- how to use the most effective practices to meet the needs of students as they are learning - and balance between consistency and innovation. Becoming better is an endless pursuit in the teaching profession.”

In educational and school settings the curriculum is constantly changing, as well as the different styles of teaching pedagogies that educators use on a daily basis to match the types of learning of each child within their classroom. Educators strive to bring out the best within their pupils and through using personalised learning this can be done efficiently supplying the child with the correct type

The most effective method of differentiating is to ensure that resources and assessment methods, as well as teaching and learning approaches meet individual learner needs. According to Francis and Gould (2013) setting a single objective for a whole group will not be appropriate for all learners, due to the diversity of the group, therefore, as Gravells (2008) suggests we must identify the learning needs, styles, aspirations and potential of our learners. At this very stage, any barriers and boundaries should be identified, so the teaching and learning approaches, assessment methods and resources can be planned accordingly.

It can be argued that the more modalities employed and presented to students, the greater their chance for successful learning becomes. As educators, if we appeal to all strategies of learning, we are more likely to enhance the learning of everyone in our target audience. This may be challenging as we ourselves tend to flock to a particular learning style, and in turn, tend to teach the same way. It also may be a challenge to address each individuals learning style, as it may be difficult, or even impossible to know each and every one of their learning preferences. However, the first step in overcoming that challenge is to be well versed in our own learning preferences. If we are well versed in our own

Within the past couple of decades, scholars in education as well as those focused on disabilities have been questioning whether or not the public education system is doing enough to ensure that all students have equal access. Specifically, the concern of the scholars is with the growing number of students with disabilities within the public education system and if the educators are able to keep up with this growing number. This is a difficult situation since the educators have to find a way to make sure that both students with and without disabilities are able to have access to the same information at the same time. Most scholars within this area have completed studies to show that implementing Universal Design (UD) for both learning (UDL) and instruction (UDI) can be beneficial for both students with and without disabilities. And the scholars

As Godinho (2013) highlights, planning for teaching is a complex process and requires careful attention when selecting appropriate resources, learning experiences, teaching strategies and assessment procedures. Differentiation strategies included providing cooperative learning opportunities based on ability groupings, breaking learning down into smaller chunks to allow students to experience success and providing additional hands-on and interactive activities to assist students who needed further support (Tomlinson & McTighe,

I have learned the importance of creating a warm, friendly class environment that makes teaching and learning easier for all. The experiments they did proved to be fun and engaging and this is something I will attempt to do in future classes. As discussed with my mentor, I will use the backward design planning model of Wiggins & McTighe (2004) to structure my lesson by identifying objectives first and proceed “backward” to create a game plan on how to help students achieve those goals. I will also consider the following elements in my plan: lesson pacing, students’ learning styles and needs (differentiation); use of constructivist (student-centred learning) activities to promote problem-solving and critical thinking skills; and effective use of formative assessments to monitor student

Initial assessment is utilized to track and chart students journey in academics and see how well they are learning what is set out in the curriculum. As an educator it is imperative to diagnose and access individual students learning goals in order to be able to map their future progression and tailor activities based on their needs. It is essential that guidance is given to students in preparing their learning goals and analysis in their achievements so that they can reach their intended targets and goals. Carrying out this analysis will enable the teacher to understand the task ahead and how to meet learner’s requirements. Providing real life experiences is a form allows students to form a link and understand almost instantaneously what is

Universal Design is ensures that all children have equitable access and participation within the preschool environment, in which case I feel that “low physical effort” supports a child by having “Toys might give children feedback and encourage object interaction, but they cannot equal the complexities and richness of human contact” (Darragh, 2010, p.335) in which case a child who has an educator who engages with toys and materials with a child allows for them to explore without barriers because the toys can give interaction, feedback of all the senses, but with the interaction of an educator in can be more enriching to other ways the toys are beneficial to the child’s learning ability.

For an individual to learn they must be able to interpret the information effectively. Every student is unique and has different styles of learning. Faculty must be aware about the differences in learning styles and be able to accommodate all these in their teachings so that each student will understand and achieve success (Billings & Halstead, 2016). This paper is created in such a way that all the learning styles are considered and the objectives are formulated in meeting each needs of the students. In addition to this the learning outcome evaluation is performed on the basis of each student

I chose to read an article about Universal Design for Learning. This was a learning theory that I had not heard about before. This theory covers a wide range of learning styles for children along with multiple strategies. The Universal Design for Learning Theory ensures that students are provided with a variety of engaging strategies in order to best meet each student’s individual needs.

The universal design instructional approaches eminently design for class climates states educators “Adopt practices that reflect high values with respect to both diversity and inclusiveness. (P.4 Universal Design of Instructions) Ordinarily the learning environment pleasant and empower acceptance of diverse individuals. Consequently, learner comprehend empathy significantly ahead of participation and every student regard with appreciation. Additionally, planning for instructions every diverse group taken into consideration. Therefore, the class climate universal design instructional approached is essential as academic achievement. Nevertheless, universal design methods allocate amendment for students with disabilities and alternative special

Establishing clear learning goals is the critical first step for reaching all learners. A goal that supports differentiation needs to be clear, but not so specific that there is only one pathway to success. Diverse learners can all work towards the same goals when multiple pathways are available. Similarly, there should be multiple levels of achievement possible to enable varying degrees of performance. Clear goals allow us to offer students varied pathways to learning, including scaffolding for support and challenges to extend learning. Further, it is important that learning goals be distinct and separate from the

Approaching instruction with clear instructional goals, or to borrow a phrase popularized by Stephen Covey, beginning with the end in mind, not only makes intuitive sense but is well supported by research. In his 35 years of meta-analysis on research in education, Robert Marzano (2003) identifies a guaranteed and viable curriculum as one of 11 factors with a proven track record of increasing student achievement. Marzano (2003) defines a guaranteed and viable curriculum as one in which

The majority of my teaching career has been spent a public school that firmly believes in Jay McTighe’s backwards design model. At the beginning of the school year, my colleagues and I would explore our content standards, determine power standards, and create essential questions that would drive our units. We would plan our lesson around the skill students should know at the end of the unit and plan assessments that would test students’ knowledge. There was never any discussion on how we would differentiate these lessons for students. One thing that I have learned from Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe is that differentiation and backwards design should work in tandem to provide “powerful knowledge that works for each student” (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 3). In a conversation with both experts I would discuss the learning I have gained as a result of studying their work.