September UDL Connections

Each month this periodical will 1) highlight critical UDL practices, 2) make connections to the UDL guidelines and checkpoints, 3) connect you with great tools and resources, 4) share some ways schools are putting this practice into action and 5) offer additional approaches to utilize this highlighted practice.

Being responsive to feedback we received from our August Newsletter, we are continuing our focus on Flexible Methods & Materials!

3.2 Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships

I recently completed a course through Novak Education and had the opportunity to explore so many resources that I just had to share some of my favorites with you!

Accommodations for All Learners - Created by Shannon Davenport, Jamie Wright, and Lesley Burdine, this site was developed to assist teachers in finding digital tools to help support learners in need of accommodations. "We believe by providing students will these tools we are empowering them to find success and achieve life-long learning goals."

How Accommodations Help All Learners! A great visual representation to help understand accommodations is with these short TikTok videos from @TheYeeetBaby. Check them out (and we dare you to try not to smile!).

Continuum of Supports/Services for Students - Another great resource from Katie Novak and Alisha Poling!

Six Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students - "What’s the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? Saying to students, 'Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday.' Yikes! No safety net, no parachute—they’re just left to their own devices.

Graphic Organizers and Implications for Universal Design for Learning -

The foundational principles of UDL (engagement, action and expression, and representation) are covered to address how the needs of learners vary across the three UDL principles, and the ways in which graphic organizers can support diverse learners to complete different learning tasks. The paper concludes with general guidelines for UDL implementation and a list of web resources that provide further information.

Magic ToDo (AI - artificial intelligence) Use this tool to break tasks into smaller steps. Watch this short turorial on YouTube

Meet Ludia! Ludia can make a difference for educators and learners around the world! This is one more tool to help us make progress in making Universal Design for Learning - Universally Accessible! Ludia is designed to be a new entry point and learning scaffold for developing a UDL mindset, intentionally designing to reduce barriers, and discovering the power of Artificial Intelligence. Ludia does not just give strategies; they provide context specific and culturally relevant options for instructional design that take all three principles of UDL into account. Ludia gives guidance about barriers that have not been considered and minimizes threats to unlearning that can lead to shifts in mindsets.

What's even more amazing is that this tool is removing language barriers as well because Ludia understands and responds in multiple languages! WOW!

Integer Reference Sheet:

Check out the image below to see how the teacher provides "just-in-time support."

Alternate Seating:

Next, check out alternate seating options in the second picture. The big idea here is that no two brains are alike, and as learners, we have different needs. Check out the wide variety of options that students can choose to use during independent learning.

Use of Manipulatives and Choice:

Finally, the third picture shows one student using math chips while another student is engaged in an app with headphones. While one student needed to have directions read and headphones to minimize distractions for him and the class, the other student chose a paper and pencil option with math counters to complete the assignment.

Affinity Mapping is a protocol that helps organize ideas and generate common themes in order to focus the work.

The images below show adults engaged in the Affinity Mapping protocol during professional learning sessions and leadership meetings. Check out the protocol linked HERE for more details.

Novak Education: Coaching & Supporting UDL Implementation: October 2 - November 30; Participants in this course will explore the UDL Guidelines and take a deep dive into the implementation of UDL, focusing on creating innovative learning environments for teachers that can be scaled to improve the outcomes of all students within the district, developing PLC’s rooted in UDL, supporting the work in classrooms, and staying true to a vision of UDL.

Supercharge Your Classroom with Blended Learning, Kickoff Sept. 19th @ 3:00pm, Instructor Dr. Catlin Tucker; In this 8-session collaborative professional-learning experience, award-winning educator and best-selling author Dr. Catlin Tucker demonstrates how to design and facilitate student-centered learning experiences with blended-learning models to deliver accessible, inclusive and equitable learning experiences for every student.

Universal Design for Learning Day 1: The Core Concepts of UDL - Dr. Bergman will cover the fundamental of Universal Design for Learning, the connection between UDL and MTSS, and how to utilize the UDL framework to address learner variability and minimize learning barriers in order to design more engaging learning experiences.

UDL Day 2: Applying and Expanding Your Understanding of UDL - Day two will continue with how to apply new learning to expand ideas and options for lesson design and assessment. Additionally, building and district UDL leaders will have the option to learn more about scaling the work and guiding UDL implementation.

Join us in our Dive Into UDL: Immersive Practices to Develop Expert Learners (authors Kendra Grant and Luis Perez) virtual book club and community of practice! Learning alongside other UDL practioners, book clubs and communities of practice are excellent ways to grow your UDL knowledge and practices! If you're just beginning to explore UDL or are well on your way to developing expert learners, you can choose how you want to engage in this learning experience. CLICK HERE for more information.

As the lead UDL consultant for SST 16, Lisa coaches educational leaders in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and provides professional learning to build the capacity of UDL practitioners. She is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative purposed with building the capacity of regional UDL facilitators in order to build state-wide capacity for UDL implementation.

Lisa is licensed as an Intervention Specialist in the state of Ohio and with MA in Counseling she brings a unique skillset to the field of education.

Email: lisa.arthur@sst16.org

Website: https://www.sst16.org/

Location: 21 Birge Drive, Chauncey, OH

Phone: 440-735-8565

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sstregion16

***This Newsletter was created in collaboration with Cherie Smith, a fellow UDL Consultant from SST6.

Cherie Smith began working at State Support Team Region 6 in July 2015. She has a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and the Inclusive Classroom. Most of her experience has been in special education as a supervisor and an Intervention Specialist at the secondary level. She has taught students wtih disabiliteis in both Florida and Ohio.

Cherie is currently a co-chair of Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network's Implementation Special Interest Group and is a member of the Ohio UDL Collaborative.

As an SST6 Consultant, she supports districts in the Ohio Implementation Process as a Regional Data Lead. She leads Universal Design for Learning and is part of the Special Education team supporting districts with IDEA Internal Monitoring, Postsecondary Transition, PBIS, and College and Career Readiness.