The enjoyment of introducing students to the importance of UDL
Saturday, June 26th, 2010Today marks the conclusion of another successful week of teaching graduate students about the framework of universal design for learning (UDL). This is our eighth year of offering this course at GW University in Washington, DC and I’m always encouraged when students leave the week long institute stating that they’ve learned so much. This speaks to me as an instructor that we’ve accomplished what we hoped — to impart the information they needed to learn, to clarify clear goals that they understood, and to engage them in a learning experience that engaged their interests.
Indeed, so much has changed and evolved in the field of UDL since our first offering of this course in 2003. Texts have been written, websites have debuted, the UDL principles have been clarified and expanded, and legislative references to UDL have helped to anchor a definition and direction. These are exciting times. Unfortunately, so many educators still need to understand the what, how and why of UDL.
As students left our institute this week, I was impressed with their ability to grasp the big picture. To quickly identify the differences between UDL and assistive technology and why each are important. To recognize the effective design of an online course portal and why this design helps to highlight the critical features of a course, offer multiple means of representing the course information, and encouraging multiple avenues that engage the learner.
Every educator hopes that their students will assimilate new knowledge in their classes. As they practice their craft, they become true guides on the side in this learning process–recognizing the strengths and interests of the learner, sharing the vast array of information and resources and, designing an instructional setting that can reach and meet learners through their multiple neural channels.
