Universal Design for Learning is an approach to teaching that forces teachers to look closely into their lessons to make sure that they are attempting to hit every diverse learning styles in the classroom. As we have progressed through history, we have realized how complex the design of the brain is. Throughout the reading, there were many situations that showed how people do not receive the same amount of stimulation from doing the exact task (e.g. tapping a pencil does not stimulate the same part of everyone’s brain).
So, how does this relate to education? With the progress that has been made, teachers need to realize that they must create multiple ways of showing the exact same concept. I feel like this is something that I’m continually trying to work on. I try to show the notes in text format, followed up with a movie, and then followed up with independent practice where they show me what they have learned (adding skits or plays also helps increase retention). When using UDL, I believe that the retention rate of the students will only increase. It will take more time to plan a lesson, but the outcome will be great. Even if you don’t go through the checklist with every lesson, the least you can do is think about different modes of showing various concepts. Please click picture to take you to the actual educators checklist.
Jeffrey Fisher 