UDL and the Likes

Week 3 - Reading Reflections

Despite the emphasis on UDL and it’s brain networks, and three main principles, the huge concept to me is “multiple means”.  Considering the three main areas of what it is involving  a student to learn.  It’s not just the “what” and then test over the “what” through memorization styled questions and assuming that if it was memorized correctly then they’re advanced learners.  Now we need to deal with the “why’s” and the “how’s” of the learned content.  I've seen this in some of the math tests at our school.  They don’t give the students a math problem and expect some numeric answer or some answer tied to some numeric value.  Now an answer is an mathematical formula as to “how” a student will solve the problem to eventually achieve the answer.

I remember when I was in high school, my sophomore literature teacher told us, “the majority of the material you learn it school, you will not use.  However, you are in school to learn how to learn.”  It eventually came to the point, that in order for something to stay in my head, or when I was learning something I was unfamiliar with I had to compare it or relate it to something I already knew or an area of expertise.  Essentially I was taking a sense of ownership of the new knowledge so that it could stay in my head.  I feel we need to do the same thing with our current students. Especially since new knowledge shows up in there face more often now than ever.

References:
Center for Applied Special Technology: UDL lesson Builder
     Cast.org (2009). Cast UDL lesson builder. Center for Applied Special Technology. Retrieved from
     http://lessonbuilder.cast.org 

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, Chapter 6
     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 6. Retrieved from
     http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/