Dive into UDL

With August being here (school's not too far away), and following the CAST conference, UDL has definitely been on my mind. To help support the staff's knowledge base with UDL, my school district has purchased the book Dive into UDL, by Kendra Grant and Luis Perez. Every teacher on the staff is getting a copy of the book, and we are going to be using some of our inservice time at the beginning of the year for a book study. We had the opportunity to pick up the book during the summer to get a head start on the reading prior to inservice, and I started digging into the book, so I thought I'd take this chance to highlight some parts from the first part of the book.

The book begins with the story of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and the challenges he faced in the classroom. I liked this example that was given, as it focuses a situation that is common for many students--highly successful in certain aspects of their lives and education and struggling in others. The introduction highlights the fact that all students can learn with the right motivation and engagement. In Michael's case, it meant engaging him through his interest in sports. This is the case for every student--find what will engage them and they can relate to.
Key thoughts:

• UDL is a blueprint for ensuring what we do in the classroom is not just "good teaching" but good teaching for everyone, and by design. 
• Gradual release of responsibility--learners internalize skills and strategies AND their motivation, moving from novice to expert learner.
• UDL is not Special Education. UDL is the development of learning expertise by all learners, NOT just meeting the needs of learners with special needs.
• The average learner doesn't exist. Design for variability. Our learners' brains are "as unique as their fingerprints."
• The UDL guidelines are not a checklist. UDL is a heuristic tool for ongoing reflection to examine our practice and ensure it reflects our goals and intentions.
• Everyone deserves the opportunity to become an expert learner in a learning environment that is as free of barriers as possible.

This year, my goals associated with UDL are going to be:

• incorporate accessible learning materials and technologies into my instructional design in order to ensure the options and choices I provide learners do not actually result in the erection of new barriers to learning.
• build more inquiry-based, project-based and constructivist hands-on and minds-on learning opportunities into my UDL lessons on order to engage and inspire learners
• expand and enhance my current instructional practices by applying a UDL lens to deconstruct (and rebuild) existing lessons so that they incorporate UDL principles 

One final note from the beginning of the book that I felt was important was the point that learning needs to be personalized if it is going to be authentic, meaningful, and relevant. 

There is so much to this book, and I've only scratched the surface!