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00:00:04

[Allison Posey]

Hello, everyone. Again. I'm Allison Posey. I'm just getting my screen set up here. It is so wonderful to get to spend some time with you today.

From all around the world. It's bright and actually it's not even. It's still dark here where I live. I live just outside of Boston in the United States. It's freezing cold.

We have lots of snow on the ground. I am first and foremost a mom and a hiker. And then, as was mentioned in the introduction, I do instructional design with MIT and Learning Solutions. And I've written a couple books about universal design for learning. I have worked for 15 years at Cast, which is the organization that founded Universal Design for Learning.

And in that time, I learned so much about not only how to apply udl, but why it's sometimes really hard for us to apply UDL in our work. Again, whether you're teaching young students or teaching older adults, it's a challenge. Teaching and learning is hard work. It's emotional work. And I was so thrilled when they asked me if I could actually just share some of the origins, some of the very foundation of udl.

00:01:17

Because often my work is really deep in udl and it's easy to forget how amazing the story, the original story is of udl. So I'm so thrilled to get to share this with you all. Today. I will do mostly theory, but I will get to some application because I know that's important. And my colleague Liz, who will be presenting after me, she will dive really deep into practice and have less of the theory.

So hopefully between the two of us, you get both the theory and the story and the why this is so important and matters, and then you'll get the practical application to really be able to apply this in your work. One of the things that I got to do in preparation for this was I actually went back some of my old slides, some slides that I did when I was presenting back in 2010, and just myself learning about UDL. So it was really fun to be on this journey with you all. And I thought I would just activate your background with a quick poll and see what do you already know about udl. And some of you might just be remembering what the U, the D and the L stand for.

00:02:27

And that is wonderful. If that's where you are, you can put a number one. If you've already started to do a little UDL in your work, you could do number two. If you feel like you are regularly integrating UDL in your work, that's a three. And maybe you're a UDL leader and you just wanted to hear someone else give some of the background story.

You might be a number four. So if you could just let me know a little bit about your background in udl.

Some of you studied UDL and loved it. I appreciate some of you made your own numbers like a zero, which is great. We are so happy to have you.

I will say, for me, I first learned about UDL in 2008. So a while ago now it took me, I was in graduate school and the founder of Universal Design for Learning, the co founder, David Rose, was my graduate school advisor at Harvard. I got to learn from the master himself. But I will tell you, when I went back, I was a science teacher. When I went back into my high school science classroom, it took me about a year and a half to really feel like I was applying UDL in my work.

00:03:45

And so you may learn something today. I hope you learned something today. But knowing something and doing something and actually doing something different from what you may be doing already, that can take time. And so there is no pressure. I want you to feel like there is no pressure for you to have to go do something new because of what you learned today.

But I do invite you on this journey. It's a journey that I've absolutely loved. It's been one of the most important journeys for me of my life. And I think it's absolutely worth it. I think thinking about how we design for inclusion is absolutely worth it.

And the thing about UDL that I really want to emphasize is you don't do udl. You don't apply UDL just to do udl. So you don't want, you know, I don't do UDL to do udl. You use UDL because you have a problem you're trying to solve. You have something that you're wanting to change.

00:04:48

So I really encourage you all also to think, oh, I need to go do udl. No, no, no, no, no. Think of a problem that you have, something that you're wrestling with, a need for change. And then we can think about how can UDL help you in the pursuit of solving that problem. So I think that's a really important thing.

You don't do UDL just to do it. You do it to help you solve a problem. So I wanted to share a couple stories that originally have brought people to udl. For me, I was, as I mentioned, I was a high school science teacher and I had an individual student that I was thinking about. He knew a lot of the content that I was teaching.

00:05:32

He knew it inside and out. We would have these amazing conversations about what he was learning, but every single assessment was completely blank. And I couldn't figure out why. Why is someone who knows so much, who can say so much, why are all of his tests blank? So I was thinking about UDL from the lens of an individual student.

So you may have an individual student that you're thinking about and you might use UDL to apply to thinking about that student. Then the next story was a friend of mine who said, you know, I heard about this UDL thing. There is a little flyer that was up in my school that said, come learn about a framework to meet the need of all learners. And he thought, oh, I don't have a framework to meet the needs of all of my learners. I wonder what that framework is.

00:06:27

So you might reflect, does your school, does your site have a framework, a common framework for teaching and learning that can be used across your site? And if not, maybe UDL Universal Design for Learning could be a framework that you could use across your site? Yes. Thank you. Universal Design for Learning.

If I didn't say what the U, the D and the L stand for, Universal Design for Learning. There was a principal of a school, so here's another story, who said, you know what, we have all of this technology in my school, this was a school that I would say, is technology rich. You don't need technology to apply universal design for learning. But this particular school had a lot of technology. And he said, you know what?

00:07:15

Even with all of this technology, our learning outcomes have not shifted. So that was his problem of practice. That's what he was hoping, UDL would help support the learning outcomes for the learners because the other strategies, the tools and the resources and the things were not making the difference. And then UDL is often found and started in special education, where we recognize there may be growing needs of students who might need more accessibility, who might need more access, who might need ways to participate. And UDL can be an amazing framework for that.

So I want to pause for a moment. These are just some examples of some stories of how UDL Universal Design for Learning can be used to help address a problem for individual students, for outcomes for a common framework for teaching and learning, for including students with special needs. What's a problem of practice? What's. It's sometimes referred to as a problatunity, a problem that has an opportunity in it that you have.

00:08:24

Maybe it is an individual student. Maybe it's something completely different from these examples. And if you think about what that problem of practice is and then bring that with you. As you learn about udl, you might start to think about ways that this could be applied. So I invite you to take just a moment, you can put it in the chat if you would like, or you can just jot down some notes for yourself.

What might be a story. What's your need for change? What's your problem of practice? Something that you're wrestling with in your teaching and learning that you think UDL might be helpful for?

This is a great one. Thinking about literacy, amazing.

There are so many different needs of your students. Yes.

00:09:25

Thinking about AI, confidence in speaking, student attention and motivation, having non verbal students, a lack of enthusiasm, different levels of background. Yes. These are such important problems of practice. Inner motivation, My goodness, yes. All the neurodiversity, different levels of English.

Yes. So these are the problems of practice you can bring UDL to try to help you address. And UDL will give us a common framework for teaching and learning that will allow us to really have some concrete strategies to try. But then importantly, and the thing that I can't do as an instructional designer of udl, I can't measure the data. So when you're thinking of all these different problems of practice, like different learning skills, differentiation, thinking about English in your classrooms, you really want to think about what the change is that you hope to happen, what's the data that you hope to measure.

00:10:36

And together with you with your experience in the classroom and me with this framework of UDL together, that's a really, really powerful thing. So now that we've set a little bit of the stage, I want to share some of the foundation of UDL with you all. UDL Universal Design for Learning was really founded by three different fields, architecture, neuroscience and technology. This was one of the things that drew me to UDL because it really was bringing in ideas from different fields, not originally from the field of education, which is so interesting. Right.

So let's, we'll, we'll explore each one of them briefly here. And I should just say CAST was founded by five neuropsychologists. They were working in a clinic here in Boston and they were working with one student at a time. Students would come to their lab and for example, they had one student who had locked in syndrome. So this student couldn't move very many of his muscles.

00:11:37

His name was Matthew. So they devised a technology tool that had a switch that allowed Matthew to be able to communicate using his chin. And it turned out Matthew knew a whole lot. His barrier was expression. He just wasn't able to get his muscles to move to express all that he knew.

Once they developed this technology for him to be able to share what he knew in a different way, all of a sudden, they had access to all that he knew. That was really. The founding of UDL was really thinking about how can we use these technologies for one student at a time? And now we are really thinking about how UDL can be applied initially, before we even know our students, and into each and every one of our classrooms, because we know there's going to be variability. So let's start with architecture.

00:12:29

Here is an old view of access. This is a building that I used a lot when I was working at cast. This is a school building here in Boston, Massachusetts. And you might think, okay, if the goal is to be able to get into this building, there are a lot of barriers that might prevent someone from being able to get into the building. And you might start to think of some of the barriers that you might be noticing.

And if you can't see the. The images on the screen, we'll share some of them. But there is a curb cut, so it's hard to get up onto the sidewalk. There is a gate that's very narrow. Then there are some steps.

Then there's a big, heavy door. And you might think, wait a second. There's not even a sign on the building. I don't even know if I'm at the right building. There's not even a sign there.

00:13:20

So there are a lot of barriers to even just being able to get into this building. And then there's this tiny sign that's up by the door that says, disabled persons entrance at rear of building. And so right from the start, this building is separating individuals from each other. And it's giving a. I would say, subliminal, subconscious, but quite a strong message that some of you need to go around to the back. And when you go around to the back, it's not always very welcoming, right?

There are dumpsters there. There are ramps that have just been put up, and you don't get to even enter in the front door.

Universal Design for Learning was inspired by universal design and architecture that says we can design from the start to make sure everyone has access. There's a cartoon that has been used a lot in the universal design for learning world. It was actually designed by someone who lives just one state over for me here in New Hampshire of the United States. And it's a picture of a school building, and there's a lot of Snow there. I know some of you said, it's really hot where you are.

00:14:35

Here's a little snow for you. And there's a gentleman shoveling off the steps. And there's a student who says, you know, could you please shovel the ramp? And the gentleman shoveling the steps is saying, well, all these other kids are waiting to use the stairs. When I get through shoveling them off, then I will clear the ramp for you.

And then the student says, but if you shovel the ramp, we can all get in. So if you clear a path for people with special needs, it actually can help clear the path for everyone. If you clear the ramp first, more of the students, whether you're using a wheelchair, whether it's slippery and you want to hold onto the banister, whether you have a suitcase that you're trying to roll up, whether you're walking, all the different ways you're walking in that ramp can help more individuals get in. But a lot of times we get stuck because, well, we always have shoveled the steps first. And this is what we do.

00:15:37

We shovel the steps. And so it can take a little bit of shifting to think, oh, actually, that's right. What is the way? What is the access point that I can do first? The one little thing that might allow more students to be able to get in from the very beginning.

And so that analogy from architecture can be so powerful for us to think about in our classrooms and in universal design for learning. Yes, we want students to be able to get into the building with universal design and architecture. And then once they get into our classrooms, we need to think about the materials that we're using. Can students access the books? Can they access the videos?

Can they access the different materials and resources that are being used? Can they hear our voices? Can they perceive the information? Can they engage with it? So universal design for learning aligns with universal design and architecture so beautifully, but pushes us to extend that, to think about the materials, the methods, the goals, and the assessments that we're using in our classroom.

00:16:53

The second field that UDL was founded on was neuroscience. It is very fun food to think on. Cecilia, thank you for noting that. I agree, I agree. Was neuroscience.

So we used to have this old view of learning in the brain, and this was from a scientific journal, and it was really before we had access to all the current brain science that lets us see, see inside the brain as it's active. So the old view of learning in the brain was, for example, this image shows two brains, and one says dyslexic and Kind of has a red spot on part of the brain and the other, and I almost can't say this, the other label says normal and then has three small red or four small red dots on it. So we know more now. We know that the brain is active in so many ways. There's not just a single single spot with dyslexia or any neurodiversity.

00:17:54

And we know that there is no normal brain. One thing that has been so crystal clear from brain science over the last 25 years is that there is no normal. There is no normal brain. Every brain is different. Even identical twins who have identical DNA at birth.

There are epigenetic changes that happen to their DNA. Every single brain is different. And that's what's so exciting and so amazing. And it's also what can start to feel so overwhelming for us as educators as we start to think about, wait, it was so easy when I thought, okay, here are five learning styles. I can do five things right.

And now we know the brain science is so clear. You don't see learning styles in the brain. That is something that we developed and can be very helpful for our thinking. But we don't see in terms of the brain science. What we see instead is variability.

00:18:52

So if we see an average brain scan, so this is a picture of a series of brains, and the scan is looking from the top of the brain, and we see an average brain, let's say this average has a few spots on the back of the brain and a few spots, kind of one in the middle and a few in the back. And then you look at each of the subjects in that study. None of the subjects actually match the average. Every single subject is different in their brain activity. It's just marvelous.

It's incredible. I mean, I don't see neuroscience articles ever. I mean, I guess I'm going to flip it and say every neuroscience article I read talks about this variability, this variability. And so this is, again, can be very overwhelming for us as educators. So what UDL does is it gives us a framework to think about predictable variability so we can predict.

00:19:53

And many of you noted this when you are talking about your problems of practice. We can predict there's going to be variability in student engagement, always, every day, every lesson. Some students are going to be really interested and some are not. So let's design for that, right? Let's design ways to try to foster engagement for that variability.

These representation networks that are generally in the back of the brain. Some students are already going to know the language and the Vocabulary and already have some experience with the concepts. And some are not just like us today with our background understanding of udl. And there was amazing variability here in our background. Some had never heard of what the U, the D and the L stood for.

00:20:44

And others are like, yes, I know this. And we didn't separate you out. We included you all in this session trying to think about how can I make sure there are some things to build the foundation and some things to really extend and push further. How can we define the vocabulary and really make sure we're supporting that variability of background experience. Experience.

And then the third UDL principle is around action and expression. So we know students are going to demonstrate and show what they know in different ways. Some are going to love to say it and they're going to want to talk and talk and talk about it. Others, like one of you noted, may be non verbal. Right.

So there's going to be tremendous variability in how students express and communicate and plan and show their strategies. So we can design for that from the very beginning, anticipating that variability. So it's really exciting and it is a lot of work. I am not going to lie to you all. UDL takes time.

00:21:47

It takes time to design, to think about what are the different access points I can provide to my students for engagement, how can I really help them know that this matters and how can I help connect it to their their lives and what they care about? It takes more time to build in definitions and vocabulary and have multiple languages and have ways that students can access the background, the core foundation. And it does take time to integrate ways to support students to be able to share and show what they know in different ways. But I will tell you this time, in my experience and in my work the last 15 years, it's worth it. It is 100% worth it.

You all, because you do get more students participating, you do get the voices and perspectives of more of the students. You get their engagement and then you've designed it that way. So then the next time you teach that lesson, it doesn't take as long and you're able to really move. And we hear consistently. Teachers don't have to reteach as often because more students are getting it from the beginning.

00:22:53

So I'll just pause here. I've shared two different foundations, architecture and neuroscience, and just see if there are any comments, any questions, anything that's maybe resonating with you all.

Oh, good. I'm glad that explanation helped. Good. Hopefully now you know a little bit more about the U, the D, and the L. And it is. It's our biggest challenge, right?

We cannot just take students and say, you know what? I'm going to plug in their brain, and it's gonna. They're gonna get all of the information. Teaching and learning is so much harder than that. You all know that, right?

And so UDL just gives us this common framework to really think about what we're doing. I guarantee you, you are already doing parts of udl. I promise you, you are. And there's always one more thing we can do, usually one little thing that we can do that makes a big difference for learning. And then we open that option up so anyone can use it.

00:24:17

Just like the picture of the ramp, we open the different tools and the different resources up to any student to learn. Not just some students, not just students in one classroom, but for any student to learn. Because we make it about the learning and the goal. We don't make it about who gets it. Anyone can access these tools.

Anyone can use these resources. And the thing that's so exciting about the technology is it's truly not about the tool. If you have no resources in your classroom and you are literally just thinking about, I have a chalkboard and I have desks, you can still think about universal design for learning. And maybe you have all kinds of technology. That doesn't mean you're doing udl.

00:25:05

That doesn't mean you're applying udl. We still need to think about UDL in terms of our technologies, in our tools and our resources. There are many tools out there that are not universally designed and that have a lot of barriers in them. So it's really important to realize UDL is not about the tool, but it's about using whatever you have to be able to bring it to life in your context. So, yes, Nana, the next speaker is giving all of the examples.

I'm just giving you the theory. So I'm so happy that you all are already wanting examples and already wanting theory or already wanting to see it come to life. Yes, yes, yes. This is the foundational theory here.

Yes. It is about creativity, and it's also about opening up the options for students. Students may say, you know what? Here's what I need. And with udl, you can think about, okay, is this a tool, something that's reasonable for this student to use to get to that goal?

00:26:06

And that can be really exciting. And Charlotte, I love this comment. UDL is basic logic, but a lot of times we lose it. And I think that is exactly right. A lot of times we know this in our teaching practices.

And UDL gives us the theory and the framework to actually do it more intentionally. So it allows us to be very intentional in our design. So here we are. Whoever just said, I want to. I want some strategies on how to get started doing it.

Here it is. The first thing you need to do to start to apply UDL is to know the goal. And sometimes this is the hardest thing. Because as teachers, we often have so many goals. We might want students to read something, understand it, write about it, discussion, discuss it, analyze it.

00:26:53

So what we do with UDL is we really try to narrow down for this part of the lesson what is the objective, what is the main thing. And I'm telling you, this is sometimes the hardest thing. So just like this cartoon picture that I showed you at the beginning, the goal right here is to get into the building. That was the piece that this gentleman with the shovel was trying to address. And then we think about, okay, what could be a barrier?

What's blocking students from getting to the goal? Is it the reading level? Is it the size of the font? What is it? You know, is it actually turning the pages?

And then we add an option to reduce that barrier. And instead of putting the barrier you all, here's the key. Instead of saying the barriers in the student, we instead say the barriers in the design. And we can reduce that barrier in the design through an option for engagement, representation, or action and expression. Those three principles again.

00:27:55

And then we put these options in the design for any student. So this is not just for one student over here or one student over there. It's for any student. And it might be the littlest thing. It might be where you put the pencils.

It might be where you know, how you photocopy the book. These little changes make a difference. So we just encourage you to start small because the change can be really hard. UDL is largely a mindset. It's framing barriers in the environment, not the learner.

It's anticipating variability before our learners struggle. And it's continuously something we continuously do. It's never done. We are continuous, continuously revisiting what is the goal? What's the barrier?

00:28:46

How can we reduce the barrier to get to the rigor of the goal? So it's not about making it easier for students. It's about knowing the goal and making sure that there are flexible pathways to get there. So some sentence starters that you might use for yourself for just thinking about UDL is, okay, I want learners to do this, and you say what the goal is, and then you anticipate the barriers. Oh, my goodness.

I know a barrier is going to be. And then fill in the blank. And then we design something into the curriculum, into the materials, into the methods, and make sure that anyone is able to access and use those things. And we hear things all the time like, but, but, but, but, but. So when you see examples, you might be like, but those aren't my students.

00:29:33

And you might see examples and you go, but that I don't teach that, or I don't have the technology, or I don't have the time, or I already do all of this. We hear all different kinds of reasons that we can't do this in our classrooms. And I hear you. I hear you. I wrote a whole book on how we have to unlearn what we're currently doing in order to trade up and actually apply UDL into our practice.

So it sounds so simple, but it actually can transform your teaching and learning practices. So to get started, try something very small. Keep thinking about the goal. Check out those UDL guidelines. They're the.

I have the link here at the end of the slides. Check out those UDL guidelines. They help us spark ideas and collaborate with each other. You all are the best resource of all of the things. Right?

00:30:26

What to do, what resources there are. How to be creative. I've heard that term a number of times in the chat here. How to be creative, to be able to reduce barriers, to really get students to learn, to get to those goals and then really reflect on the change. Here's what I used to do, and now here's what is happening so that you can get measures and really determine, is my design supporting my students, reducing those barriers and getting them to those high expectations.

So it will take time, but I'm so excited to get to welcome you on this UDL journey, wherever you are in it. I hope you just take a moment to think of something you learned. Maybe it's just what the U, the D, and the L stand for and something that you might even think about trying. I know I didn't talk a whole lot about the trying, but. Oh, I'm already seeing examples you all have.

This is great.

Keeping an open mind. Yes.

00:31:24

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Yes. 

[Allison Posey]

And sometimes, Alyssa, to your point, we as educators need to try something new so it can push us out of our comfort zone. But you also don't have to give up the teaching practices that you love.

Amazing. Try addressing the barriers. Thank you. That's a great strategy. Just thinking about the barriers in the design, in the environment, being creative, thinking about the Variability.

Amazing. Thinking about each student. Yes.

Not barriers, but chancers. That is so great. Chances. Yes. Know your goal, Andrea.

I hope I'm saying your name correctly. Knowing your goal is sometimes the hardest thing. Because we have so many goals. It can be so hard sometimes. Yes.

UDL lets us be reflective and proactive at the same time. Beautiful.

00:32:28

Yes. This can hopefully help us find the ways to fix those hard problems. So remember, you never just apply UDL just to do udl, but use UDL to really try to address something in your classroom, something in your school that you're trying to solve.

So I have lots of resources for you all. I do invite you to check those out. I tried to have different kinds, books, podcasts, online, and I thank you all so much for being here. I'm going to stop my share now and turn it back over to you. Alejandra.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Yes, thank you very much. Such an interesting talk. Really. So, so many things to learn. That's great.

Just. Yes, could you please write. Yes, you're going to receive everything, don't worry. The recordings and everything. I was thinking, one of the attendees wrote, it's engaging but time consuming, time demanding, and that's great.

So I was thinking about Macmillan and our books. Is there anything that as teachers we should look for in a book that may help us?

00:33:39

[Allison Posey]

You mean a UDL book? 

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Not a UDL book, just a book to teach English with or through. And what activities may help us? What. What features in a textbook may help us?

[Allison Posey]

Oh, great question.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

That's very difficult because when you write a book, we just think of everybody. Okay.

[Allison Posey]

But yes, when you're looking at your materials, you'll want to ask of the curriculum. And again, this is what I do in my job, is design that curriculum.

You'll really want to think about. Are there options? What is the goal for this lesson? Not all the standards we put all these things in, but what's like the one main thing, the one main goal? And are there options for engagement, representation and action and expression?

00:34:25

You keep looking for those three things. Those three things. And yes, you all will get access to all the slides and all of the resources. And I put my email in the chat here, so please do reach out. I'm also on LinkedIn if you have any questions.

You have access to all of these resources. I promise I put a lot in there, so. So it will hopefully keep you busy. But yes to your question. Those are the three questions.

You know, what's the goal? And what are the options that are available across those three. Those three principles Those three UDL principles.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Exactly. It's been great. It's been a great session. Thank you. Thank you very much. I would like to go if I can share my screen. Here we go.

Okay. Can you all see my screen now? Can you see my slide? Yes.

Yes. Okay, good. So now, thank you very much. Thank you very much. Alison.

It's been great. If you have questions about using UDL in your classroom, okay. Remember that we are here to help you. Will is going to.

00:35:49

There, there. You've got a quick poll there.

Any questions? Those. Those teachers who are raising their hands. You may write your questions.

Well, more questions. So interesting. It means everybody's engaged and ready to start using udl.

[Allison Posey]

I think the next session is going to be much more of the application.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

I mean, we're going to take all the knowledge we need to start next Monday, probably.

[Allison Posey]

That's right. That's right.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Yeah. Okay. All right.

00:37:13

[Allison Posey]

Thank you all so much. It was such an honor to get to be with you all. I appreciate your time. I appreciate all you do as educators and know it's a journey. So I wish you well on that journey.

And let's share. Let's share all the great things we're doing.

[Alejandra Ottolina]

Thank you for being so generous, Alison. It's been a pleasure. Thank you so, so much.