Re-imagining my classroom with UDL...

        This past week, I began a student teaching placement in a self-contained fourth/fifth grade special education class. Most of the twelve students in the class are reading far below grade level several children are still considered “emergent” readers (reading at a kindergarten or first-grade level). Unfortunately, a great deal of the work they complete in each subject requires reading and writing. Independent work thus tends to be extremely frustrating, and students spend much of their time either waiting for assistance or trying to avoid the work by creating diversions. It is no surprise that many of the children seem to have negative attitudes toward learning and toward their own academic abilities.

        What a difference UDL could make in this classroom – I am picturing it now. I envision a listening center where children can read along each day with books that actually pique their interest, rather than being restricted to books that they can decode on their own. A smart board allows children to view multimedia presentations that capture their attention and are more accessible than letters on a black and white page. Computers are equipped with programs that can both read text out loud, so students can access research materials that they cannot yet read independently, and programs that convert speech to text, so that students can demonstrate their knowledge without struggling to sound out each word. Webcams, video cameras, and/or digital recorders allow children to express themselves creatively; an ability to share these recordings with the world via the internet inspires them to take pride in their creations. Last, but not least, personal mp3 players allow children to take learning home with them. Perhaps homework packets are not entirely eliminated, but the instructions for the night’s assignments are downloaded onto the devices at the end of the day, in case that caregivers are not around or able to provide assistance interpreting the text.

        Back to reality: some of these adaptations seem far-fetched when considering the budget constraints of today’s public schools. The last suggestion is especially unlikely, as few, if any of the children in my class have their own mp3 players, and purchasing them for everyone could become costly (and what happens when they are lost or stolen?). Yet, how can we justify relying primarily on books, pens, and paper to both educate and assess students when this is clearly not working for them, and when the technology exists to help them become more effective and motiviated learners?

Mollie M.