Universal Design of Learning

Universal Design of Learning

Teaching Kindergarten is a lot different from teaching other grade levels. No matter what grade, there is always a vast range of academic levels. In my 10 years of experience with kindergarten, Title I, we typically have one or two readers. Whereas older classrooms may have 3 or 4 students who are non-readers. In kindergarten, we model everything: thoughts, actions, steps, pictures, and more. We start at ground zero and build up to meet every child’s level as we progress through the lessons and activities. Universal Design for Learning is divided into three parts: the why, the what of it, and the how of it. In kindergarten, our TEKS alone are the 'why, what, and how' that is the start of school, which grows into the next grade levels' TEKS. We are the foundation.

There were several guidelines that I know as a kindergarten teacher I hit consistently and daily, but the one that I have picked is:

Checkpoint 3.1 - Activate or supply background knowledge

Anchor instruction by linking to and activating relevant prior knowledge (e.g., using visual imagery,

concept anchoring, or concept mastery routines)

Use advanced organizers (e.g., KWL methods, concept maps)

Pre-teach critical prerequisite concepts through demonstration or models

Bridge concepts with relevant analogies and metaphors

Make explicit cross-curricular connections (e.g., teaching literacy strategies in the social studies

classroom)

Here is an example of something I did with every unit. We called it our schema chart. We had a farm unit for the first time last year, and here were three of the animals. Our schema chart is divided into three sections. First is the schema - what we know about the topic. This could be anything as simple as sheep having two eyes. Allowing information like this to be added makes it so that every child wants to tell you something. Next is the new learning. Once we have read through the book, we go back to our chart and add everything that we learned about the topic. The last part is misconceptions. This part will sometimes be teacher-led, but sometimes the students would give ideas they knew. For example cows, I had a student who raised cattle, and he told the class that his cattle were all tan with humps on their backs. He wanted the other kids to know that not all cows looked like a “flat-backed,” white and black spotted cow. Then I had students who showed animals, too, so they would bring in their knowledge. It is always so fun in kindergarten to see what children can bring into the classroom. In kindergarten, our TEKS can tie in to be cross-curricular. For this farm unit, we could discuss soil, and then the lesson grew into plants. This unit alone covered several TEKs in Science, Social Studies, Reading, and Writing.

 

Something I would like to add right now in my classroom this upcoming year is: 

Checkpoint 6.4 - Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

Ask questions to guide self-monitoring and reflection

Show representations of progress (e.g., before and after photos, graphs, and charts showing progress

over time, process portfolios)

Prompt learners to identify the type of feedback or advice that they are seeking

Use templates that guide self-reflection on quality and completeness

Provide differentiated models of self-assessment strategies (e.g., role-playing, video reviews, peer

feedback)

Use of assessment checklists, scoring rubrics, and multiple examples of annotated student

work/performance examples

What I am taking from this guideline is the goal-setting for students individually, which they keep track of. This is something I have been able to do myself, but I have not had students keep their data binder. I would start slow with having them track the sounds of their lowercase letters that they have mastered. I want to make it simple for them, so maybe an apple tree with the letters written on the apples. As they have mastered the sound, they get to color it in. If they were successful with this, then I would like them to track high-frequency words until the end of the year. If I can do well with these two this coming year, then I would the following year add in a math tracker for students. Managing data and ensuring student knowledge self-documentation can be incredibly challenging. I will have to justify taking learning time to teach this to my admin. I will explain that in the beginning, it takes longer, but as the year moves on, and I stay consistent, I can easily cut the time in half. 

Another thing I would like to implement, but I would need to put more thought into it or ask others, would be:

Checkpoint 2.4 - Promote understanding across languages

Make all key information in the dominant language (e.g., English) also available in first languages (e.g.,

Spanish) for learners with limited-English proficiency and in ASL for learners who are deaf

Link key vocabulary words to definitions and pronunciations in both dominant and heritage languages

Define domain-specific vocabulary (e.g., “map key” in social studies) using both domain-specific and

common terms

Provide electronic translation tools or links to multilingual glossaries on the web

Embed visual, non-linguistic supports for vocabulary clarification (pictures, videos, etc.)

I have been slowly labeling my classroom for my ELLs for the past 10 years in kindergarten, but there have been years when I did not have only Spanish speakers. In my classroom years ago, I had German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and Spanish all being spoken. None of these children had any English-speaking experience. I have had labels in Spanish, but I felt underqualified for the others. We worked so hard that year, and it was amazing to watch all my kids communicate with each other as well as they could. Technology has changed so much since I had that group of kids 9 years ago. I would like to work on trying to figure out how to have labels around the room where students could scan them or a QR code, and they could easily select their language. I have not had the time to sit down to make this come to life, but I will one day. I want all my students and families to feel welcomed and seen, and when I send home papers, I always translate for their parents. I want students to have comfort in the classroom, too, especially when I do not know their home language. 

Looking at the information we were given about UDL, I truly feel as though they observed a kindergarten teacher and wrote a list for all teachers to implement into their rooms. In kindergarten, it comes naturally to cover the engagement (why), representation (what), and action & expression (how) when teaching. We have visual schedules, brain breaks, jobs, read-alouds, songs and rhymes, drawings, storytelling, stations, fine motor activities, and so much more. I have only taught kindergarten, and I would love to see examples of activities like this in all grade levels to 12th grade. Once I hit 3rd grade, I do not remember doing anything other than sitting and listening at my desk. My oldest daughter is going into 5th grade, and I asked all year long what she does in the classroom. Again, it is a lot of sitting at desks. If I can collect examples of UDL in all grade levels, then it is something as a librarian I can share and model to teachers. Then from there they can decide if they like what I bring and ask more questions from there.  

Here are a few resources I found on this topic:

• Here is an article with examples: 5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom | Reading Rockets 

• Here is an article with examples: 5 examples of Universal Design for Learning in the classroom 

• Here is a middle school teacher using UDL in his History Lesson: Using UDL Strategies Within a History Unit to Increase Engagement

• Here is a SPED teacher using UDL(I highly recommend this teacher video): A Universal Design for Learning Approach to Lesson Planning for Special Education