Universal Design for Learning

The universal design movement began with architecture and product development, calling for designs from the onset that considered the needs of the greatest number of people, eliminating unattractive and expensive additions later.

Following this same framework, the Center for Applied Technology (CAST) has developed the Universal Design for Learning. Three primary principles guide the Universal Design for Learning:

Universal Design for Learning calls for ...

• Multiple means of representation, to give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge,
• Multiple means of action and expression, to provide learners alternatives for demonstrating what they know,
• Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' interests, offer appropriate challenges, and increase motivation.

As teachers, we often worry and consider the needs of our special education students. How are they going to access the curriculum? How are they going to pass this or that assessment? CAST insists the three principles need to be considered before we even design a curriculum, lesson plans or assessment. Instead of retro fitting the curriculum to the students needs after the fact, how about we take it all into consideration before we begin? Like the beautiful building pictured here, the ramp has been used in the design to enhance it. Universal Design for Learning will do the same for all students, enhance their learning making curriculum, lesson plans and assessments more accessible.


Want to learn more? Check out their website.
http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/

Ken not Tom

First article of business for this post:I made an error on my pod-cast post. The author of The Element is Ken Robinson-not Tom Robbinson. I apologize for this mistake. It was my third attempt at posting the podcast. On the first two I had written much more, by the third attempt I just wanted to get it posted. Poor excuse, but it is the only one I have.

Speaking of podcasts, I was really interested in learning about what everyone had read, so I listened to all of them. I have to admit I was getting a bit sleepy but the Halloween ghost dogs really livened things up for me, Thanks Liz!

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't sleepy due to the podcasts. In fact I found them all very informative. It had more to due with the fact that it was after 8pm. As a result of listening to all of them, I have some new books added to my reading list. Top on the list will be the book Melanie shared. I was intriqued with the comparison of the invention of Google to the invention of electricity. Teaching Outside the Box, How to Grab Your Students By Their Brains is another book I look forward to reading.

A few reoccuring themes presented themselves again. Technology is here to stay and educational systems must catch up. Creative thinking is the future to our success. Teachers and administrators need time for professional development to transform schools. Ben told us about a district in Alaska that give their teachers 30 days a year!

A Healthy Sustainable Future is Possible

Have I been educated to grapple effectively with my current reality? What am I doing to make a shift towards a sustainable future? How can I teach in a school that is supported by the Cloud Institute? These are just a few of the questions I had after reading this chapter and then exploring the Cloud Institute website. This chapter absolutely inspired me. Their framework and vision encompasses exactly what I am seeking. Maybe it is not too late for me to enroll in a course similar to the Inventing the Future: Leadership and Participation for the 21st Century for students at the Cloud Institute!

Flying into Virtual Worlds

Left to my own indulgences and a few extra hours on the weekend, my activities of choice would be reading a good book, knitting, a walk in the woods with my husband or a visit with a friend. Today, I took my first trip into a Virtual World. I have NEVER been remotely interested in spending any time creating new worlds on the computer. I have such little time in the real world. However, I took a leap and gave it a try. I wanted to see how virtual worlds such as Second Life could be used in schools.

More than once, I had to be patient with my learning curve and my oldish desktop computer. It took me a bit to navigate around and I stayed in the tutorial area. I felt like a toddler just learning to walk. Fortunately I could fly instead.

On this initial virtual voyage, I learned it would take quite a bit of time for me to be proficient. If I worked with older students I would not need to be proficient, as they could be the teachers and I their student. Since I work with younger students, I also checked out some virtual worlds for children. Has anyone has used them in their classrooms or with their own children?

Building a Better Teacher

Would you be a better teacher if you got paid more money? Would you be a better teacher if you knew you would be replaced if your students did not make the academic gains that were required?
What would (or will) you do differently when faced with these choices?

One of my colleagues sent me this article from the NY Times Magazine, it is not a quick read, but worth it if you have some extra time on your hand. Elizabeth Green leaves few stones unturned discussing what makes better teachers. It certainly made me think (and sweat) about where we are heading with teacher accountability.



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/magazine/07Teachers-t.html?em

Zoo School

More than once I have heard (and may have said) "my classroom is a zoo". For high school students at the School for Environmental Studies, their classroom is actually the local zoo. Located outside of Minneapolis, SES is a high school of choice for 400 eleventh and twelfth graders. This project based and service learning high school takes students outside and immerses them in pond life (11th grade) and zoo life (12th grade).

If you have an extra ten minutes check out the video. This school is a great example of an innovative school model, especially for those students who score high in Gardner's 8th intellegence~naturalist intelligence. I particularly like the idea that their data collection, technical writing, reports, etc... are assessed and used by the local community. These students understand their work has a signficant impact on their community. What could be more motivating?
www.edutopia.org/school-environmental-studies

no-box thinkers in the 21st Century

Just when I thought my head was going to explode, overwhelmed with the depth of the reasons why we are stuck in our 19th century education framework, Jacobs offers a practical and reasonable place to begin reform...assessments. The five steps for upgrading assessments she suggests in Chapter 2, seem very reasonable and easy to implement. Inviting teachers to make at least one assessment replacement per semester makes the change less daunting. Taking it one step further, differentiation of the assessments could occur naturally in this model by having more than one required assessment type.

Even though we all know the only constant is change, we have all struggled with some aspect of change. I love the idea of looking at reform as a "growth model" because growth is "positive and deep."

I was educated in a 19th century style of teaching. I learned to be a teacher in a 19th century style of teaching. Now I need to step out of the box and become a 21st century thinker and teacher. Growth I can embrace, but where do I put the box?