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UDL - Action and Expression

In the last post I talked a bit about UDL (Universal Design for Learning) and how, as an educator, I can make sure that I am reaching out to my students with different types of content (expression).  This way I can make sure that all of my learners - kinesthetic, visual, auditory, and/or reading/writing - can have a meaningful experience in my classroom.  (More info on learning types HERE.)

Just as important as presenting content in different media types is assessing in different ways.  If I call for written essays for all of my assessments, I will, no doubt, have kids that will struggle.  A lot.  I remember hating classes that were the same delivery, same assessment.  I felt trapped.  Or maybe I felt something akin to survival mode in those classes.  One of my favorite teachers was my high school German teacher.  In addition to the standard type tests, he would make vocabulary words into game shows, teach us Beatle songs in German, and hand out prizes for pop-quizzes.  The varied assessments made me feel successful in that classroom.  Interestingly enough, I don't remember much academically from high school... except for German.  I can still rock Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You) and Komm Gibt Mir Deine Hand (I Wanna Hold Your Hand).  Even my kids benefit from my German's teachers differentiation.  I often crack out a "was ist das" (what is that) when I ask them to clarify something. 

 Here are expert thoughts on this from our friends at the UDL Center.  "There is no medium of expression that is equally suited for all learners or for all kinds of communication.  On the contrary, there are media, which seem poorly suited for some kinds of expression, and for some kinds of learning.  While a learner with dyslexia may excel at story-telling in conversation, he may falter when telling that same story in writing.  It is important to provide alternative modalities for expression, both to the level the playing field among learners and to allow the learner to appropriately (or easily) express knowledge, ideas and concepts in the learning environment."  As stated in the previous blog post, I intend to provide a well-rounded education to my students.  When possible, I will assess in creative ways so that my students will have a deeper learning of content.  Maybe they'll remember my class like I remember my German class because, really, that's my goal:  That my students will be able to recall the content I presented years later and sing them a seemingly random song that they learned in high school choir or a symphony that they heard in General Music.  

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