June 19, 2019
When UDL Guides the Use of Technology Technology is a learning tool used in many classrooms. We know that it can have a positive impact on learning. Organizations like The International Society for Technology in Education (www.ISTE.org) work hard to promote pedagogically strong use. They push for educators to see technology as something more than […]
June 5, 2019
“Experience is the teacher of all things.” The title of this blog comes from Comments on the Civil War (Commenterii De Bello Civili, c. 52 B.C.) written by Julius Caesar. It is likely Caesar was reflecting on the hard-won lessons of war. There were things he and others might have read about or talked about […]May 22, 2019
Executive functioning skills: Start early! My podcast interview with Karlene Warns focuses on self-regulation skills, but in other conversations, Karlene and I talked about how important those skills are in conjunction with executive functioning. That’s probably why the smart people at CAST put them in the same row of the UDL Guidelines! Because you heard […]May 8, 2019
While sitting on the main stage in front of a live studio audience at the UDL-IRN Summit, Camille shared her experiences as a learning coach at Sunflower Elementary School in Lawrence, Kansas. She told us the story of her school’s fourth grade teachers and what brought them to UDL. They came to her saying, “We […]
April 24, 2019
Being a UDL Influencer This week’s podcast highlight’s Melissa’s work in helping others become knowledgeable about UDL. She moved from teaching 7th grade to the position of district resource teacher. She even shares how she took an existing UDL tool and modified it to accommodate the needs of her learners (Wait! Did I just use […]
April 10, 2019
Are they accommodations or supports? How you view them makes a difference Adria Gold’s podcast offers the perfect example of the “UDL takeover” that happens when there is full implementation of the framework. Her story comes from the angle of identifying supports that are, at times, reserved for learners with Individual Education Plans (IEPs), but […]
March 27, 2019
When Kim Babeu created her S.P.O.R.T. system, she was thinking about what skills learners needed to be successful in the world. For her, those included: sportsmanship (e.g., cooperating with others and upholding one another), participation (e.g., being fully present and involved on behalf of yourself and for the team) organization (e.g., includes being on time […]
March 13, 2019
Classroom observations can be a powerful method to improve everything from environment design to implementing strategies. During the podcast, Dan described the influence one teacher had on him. And there was this one particularly talented teacher who would come into my math class. And she would implement or use all these strategies and I would […]February 27, 2019
In this episode, Monica shares how she and a team conducted action research to discover whether choice would lead to greater engagement in assessments and learning at the middle school level. While sharing that story, she pointed out that their school counselor is a “Gardner guru,” referencing Howard Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences. Later, she […]
February 13, 2019
During my podcast with Jana Nicol, she provided some wonderful examples of how she got started with the UDL framework. These included the organization of her classroom supplies, her use of the classroom schedule, and her adoption of flexible seating. Each were quality environment strategies. The difference, though, is how she used the framework to […]