UDL Implementation Activities

Primary Goals

1. To explore and follow-up on what you learned during this UDL training.
2. To promote the use of the UDL Framework at your school.

Example Ideas

• Create an ongoing schedule to share the UDL Training Wiki and the included resources with school staff.
• Sign up school staff for the AT & UDL Newsletter - http://bit.ly/1TLoHLQ View an example issue at http://conta.cc/1U4hNBC
• Implement an instructional activity based on the UDL principles and share the results with other teachers.
• Do a lesson study on UDL and the Student - http://www.tlc-mtss.com/assets/udl-and-lesson-study-ideas.pdf
• Create an implementation activity based on one of the UDL Activity Lenses below.

Work individually or with a team to identify and develop your implementation activity. You can download and use the UDL Activity Guide below to record your plan. The Guide asks for the following information:

• Your name or the names of the team members.
• Your school.
• The goal or objective of your implementation activity.
• The type of outcome you will be tracking (there are example outcomes in the Activity Guide).
• Description of the implementation activity.
• An estimated timeline for the different parts of the activity.
• A plan for sharing the outcome/results of your activity.

UDL Implementation Guide.rtf
UDL Implementation Guide.docx

UDL Activity Lenses

These lenses can provide a different viewpoint or focus for UDL implementation. Look through them and see if you want to add a lens to your implementation activities.

Academic Choice
Focus on how students start to make choices from universal options to improve academic growth.

• Expert Learners - http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/expertlearners
• How Can I Use Academic Choice - http://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/how-can-i-use-academic-choices-to-help-students-stay-motivated/
• Academic Choice Book Intro - https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/sites/default/files/ac_intro.pdf
• Personalize Learning - http://www.personalizelearning.com/p/home.html

Instructional Materials
Review instructional materials and instructional technologies for flexibility and universal learning supports.

• Rubric for reviewing digital instructional materials for options for representation - http://www.tlc-mtss.com/assets/udl-reviewer-rubric-district-example.pdf
• Survey for reviewing instructional materials and technologies for learning supports and scaffolds - http://www.tlc-mtss.com/assets/rating-table-resources-survey.pdf

Use a learning media assessment tool to help students determine which options for representation work best. Of the following three are free and one is a commercial product but is pretty much the only product of its' type on the market. It's the uPAR. The others are free.

• The Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (PAR) is a free manual and resources to help identify needed reading supports and accommodations for a student - http://donjohnston.com/par/
• The Universal Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (uPAR) is an online assessment system. It has a cost but is very reasonable when doing a site wide purchase instead of per student - http://donjohnston.com/upar/
• The AIM Explorer is a free tool that can be downloaded and will run on a Windows or Macintosh computer. It can be used as a screening tool where students make choices on a variety of text features and supports to identify what supports work for that student - http://bit.ly/1VQWuTY

Goals & Objectives
Look at how the goals and objectives in your lesson plans are worded to see if they support universal design for leaning principles. When you write your instructional goal be sure to use universal language so that the goal is open and allows students to respond to the goal in a variety of ways.

Here is an example.

• Initial Goal - To write about the stages of butterfly metamorphosis.
  • This goal requires all students to write to demonstrate what they know. If writing is difficult for a student then this is no longer about science but becomes a writing test. You may learn that the student struggles with writing but you may not find out what the student knows about the stages of butterfly metamorphosis.
• Updated Goal - To demonstrate understanding about the stages of butterfly metamorphosis.
  • This goal leaves it up to the student to choose how they will demonstrate their understanding. They may do it in pictures, audio recording, presentation, writing, etc.

Here is another example.

• Initial Goal - Draw a bar graph that (1) shows scale and (2) shows data.
  • Again, this goal requires all students to be able to draw.
• Updated Goal - Design a bar graph that (1) shows scale and (2) shows data.
  • This goal gives students options on how to design the bar graph. For example, it could be with maniuplatives.

Tools & Scaffolding
Build your classroom "toolkit" of instructional tools and strategies. Spend some time exploring different technology tools and strategies to see how you can use them in the classroom. You can also assign different tools to students to explore and share with each other.

• UDL Training Resources Page - http://udltrainingresources.wikispaces.com/2.+UDL+Tips+for+the+Classroom
• UDL and Technology: Putting it Together for Student Success - http://psrtitechnology.weebly.com/
• AT & UDL Resource Database - https://at-udl.com/library/add-a-resource/resource-database-search/
• Instructional Strategies (includes choices) - http://www.fortheteachers.org/instructional_strategies/

Specially Designed Instruction
How do you discuss Universal Design for Learning in an IEP meeting? Sometimes the tools that students with disabilities choose to use to help increase academic achievement may also qualify as an accommodation. Or an option for representation may need to be addressed during a discussion on accessible instructional materials. Use this lens in develop a plan to incorporate UDL discussions in IEP meetings.