UDL Guidelines Educator Checklist

For my latest assignment in CEP 811, I analyzed a recent lesson plan that I had made using Universal Design for Learning principles. At first I was nervous to undertake such a thorough examination of a lesson that I had already used this year. I was happily surprised to find out that I did meet many of the UDL principles in my lesson. Since this lesson was based on literature circle novels that my students used, it already was based on differentiation according to reading levels. When I created the assignment, I, of course, had my students' reading levels in mind based on which book they read. I also found out that there were ways I could have made the lesson even more adaptive to my students. Some of the things mentioned, like visual alternatives, do not apply to any of the students I currently have this year, but are of course good to keep in mind. Other principles, such as making the goals clearer to students would have made the lesson better for my students. Although it is not practical to analyze every lesson using these rigorous principles, it is an eye-opening experience and something I will keep in mind as I develop new lessons.  UDL Guidelines – Educator Checklist –Lisa Mele
I.    Provide Multiple Means of Representation:	Your notes
1.       Provide options for perception
1.1  Offer ways of customizing the display of information	Feature: Text size can be changed on the websites
1.2  Offer alternatives for auditory information	Feature: All sites have written information/captions
1.3  Offer alternatives for visual information	Barrier: There is no auditory information to offer as an alternative to the visual information  (except a few sites which offer videos)
2.       Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols
2.1  Clarify vocabulary and symbols	Barrier: Not all of the websites used clarify new vocabulary Feature: Internet is available to check word definitions
2.2  Clarify syntax and structure	Feature: Assignment provides step by step information
2.3  Support decoding of text, and mathematical notation, and symbols	Feature: All sites chosen are at appropriate reading level
2.4  Promote understanding across language	Barrier: Information is given in just one language
2.5  Illustrate through multiple media	Feature: The sites used include text, images, videos, quizzes. Students create presentations using a technological mode of their choice
3.       Provide options for comprehension
3.1  Activate or supply background knowledge	Feature: Students use information learned from class novels to complete the WebQuest and information learned about literary terms
3.2  Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature: To assist students in following directions while completing the WebQuest, text size, font, and color varied in order to cue them to the correct section to work on and make directions more clear
3.3  Guide information processing, visualization, and manipulation	Feature: Information was “chunked” according to which novel students used and prompts were given to aid students in analyzing each website. Only necessary directions were provided.
3.4  Maximize transfer and generalization	Feature: Students used the provided prompts while exploring the websites and wrote answers as they came across them. Also, in a prior lesson, all literary terms used had been taken down in student notes and quizzed for understanding earlier.
II.   Provide Multiple Means for Action and Expression:	Your notes
4.       Provide options for physical action
4.1  Vary the methods for response and navigation	Feature: Students use computer program of their choice to present information learned.
4.2  Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies	Feature: Students use Internet sites to learn information from the WebQuest. The addition of the Internet and the ability to type responses helps those with hand coordination challenges
5.       Provide options for expression and communication
5.1  Use multiple media for communication	Feature: Students search through a variety of websites for information. Each site contains different types of text, images, videos, etc.
5.2  Use multiple tools for construction and composition	Feature: Students may choose to create Glog, PowerPoint, or Prezi to create presentation. Students also type responses on a Word Document
5.3  Build fluencies with graduated labels of support for practice and performance	Feature: The novels read by the students are appropriate to their reading level. Therefore, all websites used in the WebQuest were chosen at the appropriate reading level for each novel. Ie. Those who read Life of Pi were gifted students and therefore the websites used for their WebQuest were of a more challenging reading level
6.       Provide options for executive functions
6.1  Guide appropriate goal setting	Feature: There was a checklist for students to use to make sure they were on track. Also, students were led step by step through which website to read and what information they should learn from that site
6.2  Support planning and strategy development	Feature: Students are given prompts to answer with each website
6.3  Facilitate managing information and resources	Feature: Prompts are used to faciliatate information and a checklist is used to help students organize their assignment
6.4  Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Feature: An assessment checklist is used to help students monitor their progress
III.  Provide Multiple Means for Engagement:	Your notes
7.       Provide options for recruiting interest
7.1  Optimize individual choice and autonomy	Feature: Students get to choose which format to use to present information.
7.2  Optimize relevance, value, and authenticity	Feature: Students learn about real world issues that were addressed in their novels and examine multiple sites that describe the issue
7.3  Minimize threats and distractions	Feature: Students are each assigned their own individual computer to work on and given assigned seats near others who will minimize distractions. When presenting, student groups are assigned to ensure students work with others who are good for them. A daily agenda is also written on the board and students check it as part of the daily routine
8.       Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
8.1  Heighten salience of goals and objectives	Barrier: While the objective was listed on the board, it needs to be more clear to students
8.2  Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge	Barrier: Although presentations were graded according to ability, the task was the same for all (althought grouped by reading level ability)
8.3  Foster collaboration and community	Feature: Students present the information they found to a small group of peers. Peers can ask questions of the presenter to learn more about the topic and the novel
8.4  Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: Students received both a grade and a written comment as feedback on the Edmodo page they used to submit their assignments
9.       Provide options for self-regulation
9.1  Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation	Feature: Any students who were confused or off-task were given immediate feedback. Students reflected on their presentations in a blog post during the following lesson.
9.2  Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies	Barrier: Students were not given personal checklists to manage behaviors. The checklist they received focused on the assignment tasks only.
9.3  Develop self-assessment and reflection	Feature: Students reflect in a blog post (the next lesson) what they learned from their topic and reflect on classmates’ presentations

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