Universal Design for Teacching AND Learning

There really is no better time for me to be taking this class than right now. This topic is resonating with my so much because I am experiencing so many difficulties achieving Universal Design for Learning in my school. It is my first year teaching (my first MONTH teaching OMG) and I am the lead teacher in a 6:1:1 TEACCH middle school classroom with 5 students with severe autism and 4 paraprofessionals for me to manage. I am realizing slowly but surely (and definitely overwhelmingly) how much I have to plan not only for my students and their individual needs, but also for the four adults in my room who I also have to teach. It is incredible how UDL can be so simple, yet so hard to come by.

I have always been a fan of presenting materials in many different ways, just for the pure fact that it becomes more engaging when your brain gets to pick a preference of how you wish to learn the material. In my student teaching experiences, I've had the luxury of being in classrooms with Smart Boards and Promethean Boards, state of the art overhead projectors and various technological tools. It is no surprise that when I presented a Shel Silverstein poem to 3rd-5th graders last year in a 6:1:1 TEACCH classroom using the book it came from, an adapted version with pictures, a video of him reciting the poem, and also an audio clip of him reciting it from his book on tape the students were entirely engaged. They loved hearing Shel Silverstein say the words (particularly his poem "The Babysitter"). The poem became real to them...it wasn't just some awkward student teacher trying to make it fun for them. It inherently became more engaging.

The primary reason why it becomes more engaging is because your brain doesn't have to work so hard to understand the material when it is presented in so many different ways that you can chose which works best for you. The step of "Wait a minute, what's going on here?" is completely skipped because UDL proactively erases that from being a possibility. This is an incredible thing, and something that is so essential to our classrooms (especially those of us in the ID/Autism program at TC). 

Next, once an individual has that confusion taken away, one can actually appreciate what is being put in front of them, and allow him or herself to interact with the material in a way that is personally engaging and exciting to him or her--giving someone a choice or preference creates so much power and motivation.

However, when resources are low--as they tend to be in New York City public schools especially in District 75--it becomes disheartening as a new teacher to realize how difficult it can be to implement UDL in the classroom. Without the technology that makes it possible, teachers have to be incredibly creative--and loose with their cash--to make it happen. As a new teacher, I know what I should do to make sure that all of my students are working in the optimal environment for them, and one that accommodates all of their needs proactively before any type of issue has the possibility of even becoming a thought. However, there are so many barriers--low budget, lack of administrative problem solving, low staff morale, discouraged staff collaboration--that make UDL an ideal situation that I wish I had more access to.

As Rose and Meyer (2002) point out in their literature, "Incorporating digital media into the classroom is an important step that requires thoughtful consideration," and the implications for the implementation of UDL are critical. My attempts at UDL continue to be low-tech, as I fight for the use of more computers, the integration of the iPad in class activities, and a Smart Board in my classroom!