Hi, David:

 

I thought I would share with you and others on this list a fact sheet
that CALPRO staff developed on Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
There is a great deal written on UDL, but we wanted something short and
practical that would provide teachers with the definition and background
of UDL as well as some concrete tips for incorporating UDL into teaching
and learning. This fact sheet also is posted to the CALPRO Web site at 
http://www.calpro-online.org/documents/FactSheetUniversalDesign.pdf  

 

Although the principles of UDL that we discuss in the fact sheet are in
the context of what teachers need to know to ensure that instructional
design and delivery are appropriate for and accessible to all learners,
these same principles can and should be applied to the design and
delivery of professional development. I believe that this is an
appropriate standard for PD, but I think that we in adult education have
not had many discussions on the concept of UDL, so it's perhaps a bit
murky for us. In fact, in California, this fact sheet is the only adult
education product that explicitly relates to UDL-and we probably need to
do more to move the concept forward. I would be interested in hearing
from others about whether your PD efforts address the topic of UDL.

 

Thanks,

-Mary Ann Corley

 CALPRO Director

 

 

 

________________________________

From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David J.
Rosen
Sent: Sunday, December 02, 2007 6:59 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 1767] Universal design,evidence-based
teaching practices

 

Hello Kate, and others, 

 

On Nov 30, 2007, at 10:57 AM, Kate.Brandt at mail.cuny.edu wrote:

 

	I also  have some questions about the standards.  What is
"universal design?"  And exactly which evidence-based teaching practices
will we, as staff developers, be expected to pass on to teachers?     

 

In the proposed AALPD Professional Development Standards there is a
reference, in two of the indicators under standard 2, to "universal
design":

 

-----------

Standard 2. Prepares practitioners to appreciate and respond to the
needs of all students, create supportive environments, and hold high
expectations for all learners. 

 

Indicator (a)  PD planning takes into account the principles of
universal design

Indicator (b)  PD providers are trained in the principles of universal
design

-----------

 

Universal Design

 

This is evironmental design that helps everyone, not just people with
disabilities. A curb cut in a sidewalk, for example, makes crossing a
street easier for those pushing strollers and those on roller skates,
bicycles and skateboards, (the great majority of the people who use curb
cuts) as well as those in wheelchairs.  

 

In a classroom or computer lab universal design refers to the idea that
it is not sufficient to have separate, sometimes stigmatizing assists
for learners with disabilities; instead, the entire learning environment
-- including technology -- should accommodate the widest range of
learners, including those with physical and learning disabilities. 

 

Universal Design and Technology

 

An example of universal design in technology is a software feature,
found now in nearly all  personal computers, that allows users to
increase the size of the text.  This helps people who have difficulty
seeing small text, including those who are more severely sight-impaired.
Another technology example is the text-to-speech software found in many
computers, and that could easily be installed in all computers, that
enables people who are legally blind to have text, including web pages,
read out loud. This software may also be useful to those who have
specific reading disabilities.  

 

For more information on universal design you might look at:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_design

 

For a definition of universal design in a learning environment, you
could look at:

http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html

 

or

 

http://telr.osu.edu/dpg/fastfact/undesign.html

 

or

 

http://www.nectac.org/topics/atech/udl.asp

 

 

As for which evidence-based practices should be "passed on", the AALPD
standards are not intended to be prescriptive in this area, but they do
embrace both research (not necessarily "gold standard") and professional
wisdom (which in my opinion has not yet been adequately defined in our
field). Standard 5 focuses on practitioners' abilities to evaluate and
apply research (including professional wisdom) and theory. I believe
that the idea of Standard 5 is not to push any particular evidence-based
practice but rather to help practitioners become skilled in evaluating
and applying (and then judging the results of using) evidence-based
practices.

 

David J. Rosen

djrosen at comcast.net

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