UDL Crosswalks
During this episode of UDL in 15 Minutes, I talk with Rene Sanchez about the crosswalk he and others created for Cesar Chavez High School in Houston, TX when he was the building principal. The crosswalk identified the intended outcomes of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and International Baccalaureate to help staff see the connections. You can find that document and their associated graphic here.
As you can see, crosswalks are beneficial, but they are beneficial for multiple reasons. The team that assembles the crosswalk becomes deeply knowledgeable about the different components and that knowledge can be tapped during staff professional learning. When other initiatives are introduced into the school or district, that team can help identify where there is alignment or misalignment. Crosswalks also benefit staff by providing a look at larger frameworks or systems, showing connections and overlaps.
Crosswalk designs range from at-a-glance to long form. By looking through a variety of crosswalks, you can identify language, intent, and designs that align with what you are working to accomplish in your school or district. Below, I provide links and a short description of available crosswalks that include UDL. If you know of others, let me know about them so we can share them with a wider audience!
Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (FfT) is used by a number of districts across the United States to improve teaching practices. Participants from the Baltimore County Public Schools, CAST, Danielson Group, the Howard County Public Schools, Lakeview Public Schools, and Towson University came together to create a crosswalk of the FtT and UDL. First, this very thorough Power Point provides background and walks you through the crosswalk. A sample of the crosswalk is on pages 6-10. You can find the crosswalk here (you need to fill in a form for the Danielson Group to recognize that you’re not going to widely distribute the crossway, but you can unsubscribe at any time).
The Cooperative Educational Service Agency 6 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin created their own crosswalk of UDL with their Effectiveness Project Teacher Strands. These strands include: professional knowledge, assessment for and of learning, instructional planning, learning environment, instructional delivery and professionalism. They list both sample performance indicators specific to UDL and possible artifacts specifically demonstrating UDL.
Dr. Peggy Coyne (the first ever employee of CAST – just a little history for you there!) pulled together this crosswalk looking at the social emotional connections and classroom strategies, tips, and tools for the Washington State Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (WABIDA). The crosswalk is followed by resources helpful to parents and educators interested in UDL.
While this is an article versus a table or graphic representation of a crosswalk, this piece focuses on a popular topic – how can you use UDL to impact college preparatory mathematics? The article shares how the Oconomowoc Area School District helped lower the barriers across their Preparatory College Mathematics curriculum. They even share their planning tool which stands as their layout for the crosswalk.
Crosswalks are a powerful tool for learning, they assist with the dissemination of information, and help communicate large chunks of information in a contained way. Each of these crosswalks have something in common beyond addressing the UDL guidelines and checkpoints, too. The reason behind these development of each crosswalk goes back to one thing – the need to design so we are helping all learners become expert learners.