As a technology applications teacher at the high school, my classes were always a combination of gifted, average, low performing, physically disabled students, as well as those from low socioeconomic backgrounds. In this environment, I began to realized that my lessons had to be differentiate to accommodate the different learning styles and abilities and technology became the key to that differentiation. One of the best things with technology is the ability to accommodate all learning styles and abilities, this results in positive increases in student achievement specifically when "aligned with appropriate pedagogical methods (Page, M. S., 2002). As I attempted to differentiate my lessons with the technology, I realized that I did not have the professional development required to addresses the diverse needs of the students in my class. This reflection, on my previous years of teaching, sparked my interest in the research and findings of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) and the guidelines developed for the Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
Throughout the reading, I was interested in the three different areas of the brain, recognition, strategic, and affective, that UDL uses to structure the lessons (Rose, D., & Meyer, A., 2002). The recognition part of the brain is what we use to collect information through site, sound and words. Once information is acquired, we organize the information and make sense of it. Being able to identify letters, words, and patterns are examples of recognition tasks. The strategic center is the for scheduling the and implementing tasks. Through this area, we are able to solve problems, write research papers, analyzed data and make a plan. The final part of the brain being used is the affective portion. It is this part that taps into our passions and helps motivates and engages us in the learning. Being able to use the recognition, strategic, and affective framework to analyze the individual strengths and weaknesses of their students and to understand the students' unique differences, the teacher would be able to easily individualize instruction so each student, regardless of socioeconomic status or learning or physical disability. Though I am unsure of how to create a UDL lesson, as I am still learning about the process, I am confident that my students will benefit from its use.
Page, M. S. (2002). Technology-enriched classrooms: Effects on students of low socioeconomic status. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 34(4), 389-409. Retrieved October 5, 2009 from the International Society of Education at http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section-Number_4_Summer_20021&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID-830
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 1. Retrieved on October 5, 2009, from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal Design for Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Available online at the Center for Applied Special Technology Web site. Chapter 2. Retrieved on March 2, 2011 from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter2_9.cfm
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