UDL in the classroom

        Today, many students in schools need special classes and more special help in order for the to be successful. This week, we had to talk about the Universal Design for Learning, or UDL. This article, Providing New Access, looking at the core curriculum for students, changing things and making things more understandable for other students to understand.

This week I pinned in my Pinterest about a book called A Boy who Grew Flowers is a story I thought would be a great thing to read in a classroom because it explains to students in a fun and creative way that not everyone is built the same, but thats no reason to think of them as different. Students all have things that make them unique, and what makes them unique is how other students can learn from each other. I thought this book was so interesting, and should be in every classroom, no matter what age level or educational level.

UDL Curriculum provides many things for those students who might need a little extra help in school. This chart is taken directly from the article that talks about UDL and inclusion in education.

In a UDL curriculum:
• Goals provide an appropriate challenge for all students.
• Materials have a flexible format, supporting transformation between media and multiple representations of content to support all students’ learning.
• Methods are flexible and diverse enough to provide appropriate learning experiences, challenges, and supports for all students.
• Assessment is sufficiently flexible to provide accurate, ongoing information that helps teachers adjust instruction and maximize learning.

Having a curriculum that has many concepts and materials is how it became universal, for all students shapes and sizes. This helps teachers to understand what needs to be taught in the classroom as well, allowing for not a lot of flexibility with material, but flexibility with how the material was going  to be taught. “The “general curriculum” is the overall plan for instruction adopted by a school or school system.” These general guidelines are their to help give instruction to schools and teachers in a school system.

This idea of UDL can be compared to the civil rights movement, just like it was compared in the article. The civil rights movement was all about people being equal and treated as equal, no matter gender, race, or sexuality. This is the same thing with the UDL, allowing students with all different learning skills to still continue through education just as any other students using their talents to their advantage and working to improve their weaknesses.

      The picture that I posted along with this blog has many words that describes UDL, and words that describe that no matter what type of student is in a classroom, their differences make them unique. It is so important that students understand that some students need a little extra help, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, having this difficulties in the classroom make students stronger in other areas of education or life, and that is what makes them special.