February 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.

This month, we are focusing Examing the Design Cycle. This resource is important, yet often skipped!

As an instructional leader, how are you finding ways to evaluate your lesson design?

• How did it go?
• What worked really well?
• What didn't?
• What surprised you?
• Did your design actually remove barriers to learning?
• Did you reach your intended outcomes?

The goal of UDL is learner agency that is purposeful & reflective, resourceful & authentic, strategic & action-oriented.

But finding options that allow students to be reflective in a productive way can be a challenge. The resources below might be a good start for teacher leaders and students.

Journaling is a great way to reflect, but paper and pencil approaches can cause barriers for some learners. Next time you design reflection into your learning, consider adding Mirror Talk for reflection with feedback.

John Dewey once stated, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” In today's schools, teachers don’t necessarily have time to meet with every single student and provide a space for reflection and feedback. This is a barrier!

A solution might be an AI tool called Mirror Talk for reflective practice. Mirror Talk uses a Depth of Knowledge (DOK) ladder of asking open ended questions to get students to think critically and reflect, “thinking about the thinking." Also, it's an alternative to journaling so users get to “talk out" their reflection, which is a different modality for reflecting. The reflective quetions structures your thinking to help process through whatever you are thinking about or working on. I (Cherie) used it to reflect on the process of writing this newsletter!

Mirror Talk is #AI resistant “cheating” because AI as a partner, which makes it more “authentic.”

Teacher benefits include:

• a dashboard of their class’s thinking
• ease in identifing individual needs or group needs

Teachers can also identify tone, zone of proximate development, and sentiment of their student’s learning, providing rich data to drive next steps instruction.

Finally, (and this is a great feature) the AI will summarize and provide the teacher with some suggestions for next steps for instruction!

I (Cherie) engaged in reflection using Mirror Talk and found it quite interesting and beneficial. If you're curious to see my reflection summary, I've linked it HERE for you. We've also provided and additional overview if you want to know more.

We encourage you to share your Valentine’s Day memory on this Padlet board: Just hit the Plus sign +. This will give you options on how to share, feel free to do a video, write it, say it, or upload and share some other artifact. Let’s spread the Love! Happy Valentines Day!

Here are 20 engaging Valentine’s Day activities for K-12 students that are fun, reflective, and creative. We encourage you to tweak them, use the UDL framework to remove barriers and add some Valentines day fun to nurture joy and love into your classroom.

Check out how one school mixed reflection and gratitute with inspirational locker notes (pictures below).

It's a simple yet often overlooked approach. Want to know how students feel about the class? Want to know what's hard for them or what's helpful? ~Just ask!

Reflection on practice: Have you surveyed your students about barriers or important lesson design lately?

Here are survey screenshots displaying student responses, which teachers are analyzing to refine their lesson plans.

Barriers from the screenshots indicate a need for flexible environments, potentially more explicit instruction and modeling, as well as executive functioning and social-emotional support.

Design elements that are helpful include multiple means platforms like EdPuzzles, clear instruction, student teacher relationships, and choice.

1. One literacy coach shared that Mirror Talk was able to help her think more deeply about the need for her professional learning sessions.

2. Another principal is trying it out with TBT and data discussions.

3. A teacher shared that she is using it to reflect on lesson design and that it helped her to consider aspects that she had not thought about before.

If you try it, please share your experience with us!

IT's FREE!! Register HERE for a calendar invitation to our UDL Chats!

February 21, 2025

11:00 - 12:00 EST

March 28, 2025

11:00 - 12:00 EST

April 24, 2025

1:00 - 2:00 EST

Session 1

Navigating Artificial Intelligence Implementation

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

A114/115

Session 2

Artificial Intelligence Power House Tools to Scale-up Your Toolbelt

Thursday, February 13, 2025

2:15 PM - 3:15 PM

A114/115

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 supports districts with IDEA Internal Monitoring, Postsecondary Transition, PBIS, and College and Career Readiness.

Email: csmith@sst6.org
Website: https://www.sst6.org/UniversalDesignforLearning.aspx
Location: 1045 Dearbaugh Avenue, Wapakoneta, OH, USA
Phone: 419-739-0170
Facebook: facebook.com/SST6ohio
Twitter: @Smith43326

Heidi Orvosh, Ph.D., is an instruction and technology integration specialist/consultant/coach with Northern Buckeye Education Council. She works with schools around the region to build the capacity of local educational agencies to engage in systemic and sustainable improvements for students. Her primary focus is in the area of technology integration and Universal Design for Learning. She has over 20 years of professional expertise in the area of education. Her previous experience includes consultant with State Support Team Region 7, administrator, and teacher at the secondary and post-secondary level. Her doctorate is in Curriculum and Instruction from New Mexico State University.

Email: orvosh@nwoca.org

Website: https://www.nwoca.org
Phone: Cell (575) 202-5856
Facebook: facebook.com/SST6ohio
Twitter: @HeidiOrvosh

Jenny (she/her) is an educational consultant and Regional Data Lead for SST 16. In addition to her membership in the Ohio UDL Collaborative, her work involves supporting leadership teams with the Ohio Improvement Process, assisting with attendance work, and co-leading regional Each Child on Track initiatives. Prior to joining SST, Jenny spent thirteen years as a secondary science teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science Education and a Master of Education in Cultural Studies in Education.

Email: jenny.lang@sst16.org
Website: https://www.sst16.org/
Location: 21 Birge Drive, Chauncey, OH 45719, USA

Phone: 740-797-0150

Favorite Dinosaur: Parasaurolophus