UDL in Pre-K to 12 Settings

Posted on by

Case Study: Carter G. Woodson Middle School

Our guest lecturer, Dr. Croasdaile, presented a case study that was an excellent example of UDL systems change. UDL systems change requires very thoughtful and purposeful implementation planning that reduces barriers and builds learner expertise. All the planning in the world does not help if the barriers to curriculum are still there. She shared that systems change did not happen overnight at the Carter G. Woodson Middle School:

Three to five years were spent just on inclusive practices…it took eight years to reduce barriers in the curriculum…in total, systems change at the Carter G. Woodson Middle School took 13 years.

It is important to note that inclusive practices were led by the building principals and based on the school’s vision. Dr. Croasdaile shared that the school’s core values and approaches – inclusive practices, positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), and Response to Intervention (RTI) – made systems change happen at the Carter G. Woodson Middle School.

To make systems change work and build learner expertise, Dr. Croasdaile states that schools have to answer guiding questions during the Explore phase of UDL implementation. In her presentation, she provided the guiding questions used by the Carter G. Woodson Middle School:

  • What are the current best practices?
  • How is instructional planning done?
  • How is instructional implementation done?
  • How does the system of planning and implementation reduce barriers in the curriculum?
  • How does the system of planning and implementation build learner expertise?
  • Why might the unified perspective of UDL framework for teaching and learning–that ties all the parts together–help the stakeholders within the system to collaborate?

Some of the planning and implementation of UDL systems change included:

  • The Mindset of the school changed: if a student didn’t learn or understand something, the teacher or the school had to do something different…the student didn’t do anything wrong.
  • Focus on Feedback
  • Student Learning Targets were utilized: allowed for students to reflect on their learning and included information for students about the real life application of what they are learning.
  • The use of PBIS to look at behavior as data and focused on teaching, rather than , punishing behavior. Dr. Croasdaile gave an example of how the office staff taught expected behaviors to students. The school understood the effect social-emotional learning and behavior has on students’ academic learning.
  • Focus on stakeholders and collaboration:
    • Teachers – Principals recognized they need support and assessed how they could provide support; teacher led professional development was created.
    • Student Engagement – This included learning contracts and student engagement forms.
    • Parents – The school sent a brochure about the implementation of PBIS and behavior expectations. Those expectations were tied in with school PRIDE, the school’s acronym for their expectations of the type of school culture they wanted to have.
    • Professional Learning Communities were created that reflected and responded weekly to learners and curriculum units in order to reduce barriers and provide learner support.
  • A Responsive Environment was created to meet the needs of those students who did not become expert learners through the Tier 1 interventions by providing additional support and specialty interventions.

While UDL systems change took 13 years, it is apparent that it was effective for the Carter G. Woodson Middle School, as Dr. Croasdaile shared that the students received the highest scores in math on state assessments, overall and for students with disabilities. All the thoughtful and purposeful planning and implementation of UDL systems change resulted in reduced barriers to the curriculum, improved student performance, and students learning to become expert learners.

A Unified Perspective of the UDL Framework and Stakeholder Collaboration within a System

Novak and Rodriguez (2016) state that as a school or district leader, you have to build an outstanding system capable of supporting all learners and engaging them as they strive to become expert learners. The authors note that this takes planning, collaboration, and multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement, or in other words, tools found in the UDL framework.

To know what is best for our district is to know our people, to collaborate with them, and to grow with them (Novak & Rodriguez, 2016).

A term that keeps coming up here and in every other conversation about UDL systems change is collaboration. Collaboration with stakeholders is important during the Explore phase of UDL implementation to reflect and conduct a needs assessment, set goals, and determine problems or barriers. Once that foundation for UDL systems change has been laid, the next step is to develop a strategy and provide levels of support to school staff so that everyone understands how to implement UDL to improve learning and increase outcomes for ALL students (Novak & Rodriguez, 2016).

Novak and Rodriguez (2016) state that in order to implement UDL as a district wide framework, it is critical to provide universally designed professional development (PD). For effective teaching and learning and UDL systems change to occur, everyone has to be on board with the same mindset. The authors argue that a district’s most important resources are its human capital – staff members who work so very hard to support students. Districts need to collaborate with and invest in their professionals:

…this ensures that all members of the teaching and learning team have a shared understanding of best practices, a commitment to the district strategy, and the ability to implement the evidenced-based strategies that will result in the most effective student outcomes (Novak & Rodriguez, 2016).

Since stakeholders, including staff, worked collaboratively to design a district strategy that was built on a shared vision, meaningful goals, and feedback, it is critical that the district strategy is the basis for professional development so that all teachers are engaged in improving student outcomes (Novak & Rodriguez, 2016).

There are many steps a district can take to build engagement around PD:

  • Collaborate with staff to design a PD calendar and PD initiatives;
  • Survey teachers to gather data on the PD needs of the district;
  • Build collaboration and community with teachers by creating a PD committee;
  • Research best practices in PD in the areas of needs outlined in the survey data;
  • Review the district strategy to ensure that a PD program is aligned to district, school, and educator goals;
  • Create a PD system with embedded choice for teachers with offerings that are relevant and meaningful;
  • Communicate the need for teacher leaders and administrators to develop a PD series to meet the needs of teachers (provide stipend and supports on how to universally design the series); and,
  • Provide resources so staff can design their own UDL sessions that provide options for engagement, representation, and action and expression (Novak & Rodriguez, 2016).

Building engagement around professional development enables teachers and other stakeholders to have that shared perspective of the UDL framework for teaching and learning that allows for effective UDL systems change and improved student outcomes.

Consideration for My UDL Systems Change Plan

The National Center on Universal Design for Learning’s (2012) presentation, The UDL Implementation – A Process of Change, provides a very clear definition of UDL Implementation:

…it is a process, a continuously improving cycle of learning and growth, designed in a UDL way and customized to meet unique district needs.

The presentation asks some excellent reflection questions:

  • What is a critical education need in your district?
  • What would you like to see done?
  • In what ways will UDL implementation address this need?

Starting with a clearly defined need for change is critical for success UDL implementation at a systemic level and these questions help us address system variability because schools and students are both variable and complex systems (The National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2012).

The presentation shares strategies that are critical to any UDL systems change plan:

  • Recruit and collaborate with stakeholders;
  • Build awareness inside and outside the system – Staff willingness and interest is essential…Mullenax and Fiorito (2017) suggest holding meetings to help staff identify what roles they will play to move systems change forward;
  • Map resources;
  • Define strategic vision and plan of action with expected outcomes;
  • Develop educator expertise in applying UDL to instructional practices and decision-making;
  • Continuing to foster collaboration and support to implement UDL; and,
  • Connect UDL to what teachers are already doing by embedding it in the teaching and learning framework.

While discussing the case study in their article, Mullenax and Fiorito (2017) noted a couple specific strategies to consider for my UDL systems change plan:

Lesson Study – an effective strategy that involves refining pedagogical practices and examining content standards while providing opportunities for collaboration and reflective conversation among peers.

Instructional Rounds – Encourages teachers to observe best practices in action and to reflect on their own practice. The teams rounding focus on practices they observed that effectively support learner-centered,universally designed environments and discuss how these ideas can be embedded in all classrooms. Instructional rounds provide an opportunity to view the learning environment, not just the lesson, through a UDL lens.

In the previous section, all of the excellent professional development strategies on building engagement provided by Novak and Rodriguez will be beneficial in crafting my UDL systems change plan as well.

References

Croasdaile, S. (2018). UDL applied to practice: A focus on instruction . Retrieved from https://blackboard.gwu.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_297066_1&content_id=_8376840_1

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2012). UDL Implementation: A Process of Change [Online seminar presentation]. UDL Series, No. 3. Retrieved April 14, 2018 from http://udlseries.udlcenter.org/presentations/udl_implementation.html

Novack, K. & Rodriguez, K. (2016). Universally Designed Leadership: Applying UDL to Systems and Schools. Wakefield, MA: CAST Professional Publishing.

 

Leave a comment