Universal Design In Education

Susan Wallace (2007:114) “A key consideration in the planning of any lesson, therefore, is that it should create learning activities which are accessible to all learners and which do not make any learner feel excluded, directly or by implication”

As educators, it is important to address individual differences in students’ recognition, strategic, or affective networks, thus providing the best possible support by individualizing pathways to learning through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). A study on alternative education for children suggests oversimplifying learner differences by categorizing students into two groups, regular and special, fails to accurately represent the full diversity of learners in the classroom. ( Meo, 2010, p. 21) Therefore, UDL is a framework for designing curriculum which provides all students equal opportunities to learn, with no discrimination to individual needs. In order for students to have equal opportunity in their learning and achievement,

“Backward Design” is the name of a technique used by teachers when designing curriculum. The concept

This assignment is another opportunity to apply the principles of universal design for learning (UDL) in the design of instruction and assessment. In this assignment, a lesson plan is developed, incorporating UDL and effectively leveraging educational technologies in the classroom.

Problems might start arousing when a class is crowded with students because an LSA is not able to talk and explain in a quiet environment, students interrupt and furthermore. Classroom organization strategies can have real benefits for students like John and other students with special needs. Even the planning of the floor space and the kinds and placement of furniture used need to be considered seriously, especially when a student makes use of a wheelchair like John. For example, floors that do not have a nonslip surface or no ramps can make wheelchair difficult to move. Furniture that is not placed in a proper way can block access to other things or materials such as computers and make mobility difficult for John. In addition, stationary and books that are too placed too high up may prove inaccessible to John. The design of the classroom should be predictable to make it easy for John to interact more with his peers. This can be a problem when one makes major changes without first taking into consideration their impact on students with special needs. However Gardner says “that childhood education should not be ‘one-size fits all’. Not all children are academic but all children have the ability to learn, be successful and to teach others in their area of intelligence. As educators we need to provide learning opportunities for children that reflect their

A differentiated unit that incorporates a range of pedagogical strategies to engage a range of diverse learners

sense to utilise such an effective tool in as many areas of the curriculum that a teacher

Diversity encompasses numerous characteristics including socio-economic background, ethnicity, special needs, gender, and giftedness (Cazden, 2001). Today, classrooms are getting more varied and diverse with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and students with a disability. It appears that teachers must meet the needs of all students successfully and individually to effectively teach a classroom of diverse students. This paper will first identify three challenges involved with ensuring that teaching strategies are

Although not a new idea, the deliberate use of backward design for planning curriculum units and courses results in more clearly defined goals, more appropriate assessments, more tightly aligned lessons, and more purposeful teaching.

One of my most influential experiences took place with my very first class, ED 523 taught by Dr. Howe. In this course, I learned about the Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework created by Wiggins and McTighe. This framework focuses on a backward design approach that uses big

The purpose of this paper is to provide the author's self-evaluation of her overall performance and participation in the EDF 538, Instructional Design Summer 2015 course. The self-evaluation serves a two-fold purpose. First, it reflects the author's ability to honestly evaluate her "commitment to learning." Second, the paper serves as a tool for author reflection and notice for improvement.

This article will answer all these questions and where to find more research on universal design for learning. In this article he is addressing administration, teachers, and parents or anyone else in the field of education. He has taken the hard work and done it for you especially for

The authors end the chapter with a reminder to teachers; “But in the end, it is far, far more important that teaching tools be helpful to kids, not attractive”.

Design Psychology, also known as Environmental Design or Environmental Analysis, is the study of how people interact with the built environment around them. With the frequency with which students and educators interact with classroom and general campus spaces, it may be surprising to consider how many people overlook this important psychological phenomenon. I am sure many a student can attest to an experience in a poor environment in which they felt learning barriers were present and that their ability to concentrate and engage was impaired. Often times, a student in a poorly designed space will be distracted from the negative attributes of the interior space (Mendell & Health, 2005). Since students and educators engage with their built environments on a nearly daily basis, I propose that administrators add to their focus ensuring delivery of the following four specific design focus areas. Namely, administrators in higher education should approach design psychology to ensure that a space is flexible, accessible, accommodating to different teaching styles and technological adaptable. Ultimately, these four focus areas, whether alone or combined, should encourage and facilitate student learning gains and promote teaching effectiveness.

The quality of teaching and learning in mathematics is a key challenge for teachers. It is important for teachers to adopt instructional design techniques to achieve higher accomplishment in mathematics (Rasmussen & Marrongelle, 2006). Instructional design alone cannot produce better learning and achievement. The instructional designer must know critical factors that influence student learning and build a bridge between goals and student performance. Identifying these factors will help to utilize limited resources including financial resources and time more effectively