Week 5 Assignment

Article 

I read the article by Craig, Smith & Frey titled "Professional development with universal design for learning: Supporting teachers as learners to increase the implementation of UDL." This article discussed the impact of effective professional development on UDL principles in teachers planning and instruction. The researchers first discussed the three main UDL principles of engagement, representation, and engagement & learning. Then they described the elements of effective PD, which include the following:

1) content-focused training

2) incorporating active learning

3) collaboration in the context of one's job

4) models of effective practices

5) ongoing support and coaching

6) feedback and reflection

7) duration over a period of time instead of a one-off training

The authors found that the teachers in their study who did have effective PD in the area of UDL made significant improvements in implementing UDL practices and instruction. While this study was limited to one school district, the authors still recommend that for districts or schools looking to implement UDL principles, their teachers should participate in effective PD around that topic. 

The lesson I'm developing is for adults (teachers) and focuses on professional development. The ideas of UDL are not limited to only children, so UDL principles can be applied to adult learning also. This article includes both the UDL ideas as well as elements of effective PD, which is why I selected it. My lesson meets the following elements in these ways:

1) content-focused. My lesson is on the Science of Reading (SoR) in elementary classroom small group instruction.

2) incorporates active learning. I have planned for teachers to be assisting with demonstrations, having discussions, participating in simulations, and taking notes.

3) collaboration in the context of one's job. Teachers will be grouped together with grade-level peers so they can work to apply their learning together as a team.

4) models of effective practice. This one will be limited as most of the modeling will be taking place at a separate time in each individual teacher's classroom. However, I will be modeling a few very short activities.

5) ongoing support and coaching. This one will not take place during the lesson, but will happen after the lesson as I meet with teams and teachers to implement their learning.

6) feedback and reflection. This will be part of the lesson as teachers work in groups, and as they submit a feedback form at the conclusion of the PD session.

7) duration over a period of time. This PD session is one of many planned for the next 2 years, so while my lesson is only one piece of this, it does fit into the larger picture of this element.

CAST UDL Website

I looked at the Corgi tool first. I could definitely use the collaborative digital graphic organizer tool as part of my lesson. This will help teachers apply the SoR learning to their actual teaching. I created a Corgi presentation here that will guide teachers as they start planning their lessons.

I also looked at the UDL lesson planning template, and this would fit nicely with my lesson because I'm asking teachers to create lesson plans. They can easily use this template as a tool to help with that part of the lesson.

2024 NETP Guidelines on UDL

I did find it interesting that the NETP recognized that teachers' planning times every day do not allow adequate time to build off existing curriculum or create a new one that implements best learning practices, and a solution is to educate teachers on UDL, which is exactly what the article I described above is about. In my practice, I honestly did not know about UDL practices until about a year ago, and most teachers in my area are still not aware. It seems that while UDL is definitely the right direction to head towards, it will take a significant amount of time and effort to make the shift to teachers using it here.