102084 Inclusive Education Assessment two

Application of Universal Design for Learning

Part one: Universal Design for Learning and Case Study

Danielle Huang is a Year 8 student and fourteen years old. She has been

diagnosed with dyslexia which commonly refers to a language-based learning

disability, especially in the area of reading and spelling. Not only dyslexia, but

she also presents symptoms of behavioural difficulties. Dyslexia is not a result of

low intelligence, in fact, students with dyslexia usually display average to

superior intelligence (Therapies for Kids, 2017). However, dyslexia being a

disability that is caused by neurological origin, it affects the process of learning

language accurately, and comprehending age-appropriate reading, spelling and

writing. Although the total population of the students with dyslexia in Australia

is unknown, it is estimated that dyslexia affect about 10% of the Australian

population (Australian Dyslexia Association, 2017). Students with dyslexia can

present different degree in the extent to their symptoms. Dyslexia presents

students impairment in working memory which influence their performance in

phonological and visuospatial modalities (Smith-Spark & Fisk, 2007). Due to the

increase in inclusive education, there is demand for schools and teachers need to

be well equipped to provide alternative learning methods for these labored

readers to access the learning content as others (Redford, 2017). In order to

increase inclusion in education, teachers need to create lesson plans that allow

all students to achieve the same outcome regardless of one’s levels in reading

and spelling.

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Danielle’s strength includes picture thinking and she particularly enjoys

playing game-based classroom activities. In general, she is an eager student and

a good team player. When she is focused in class, she can work effectively and

excel expectation with limited support from a teacher. Commonly, she enjoys

classes such as drawing pictures, coloring, games and tasks such as playing

flashcards which is common activity used for Languages. She also enjoys a class

that allows her to use some mobile technology such as smartphones, computers

and electronic devices as it helps her understand the presented material visually.

During these activities, she has shown her ability to engage in the classroom and

demonstrated a positive development in her learning. While she tries to perform

the best for her own educational progress, she also has shown some behavioural

issues in class. She presents low motivation and can be inattentive to teacher’s

instructions during reading and comprehending tasks. With a difficulty

managing her behaviours and a low-esteem, she can become disengaged in tasks

and aggressive in class (Singer, 2005). The purpose of her behavioural issues in

class is likely to stop her peers from bullying about her low academic

performance. When being teased by peers, she starts yelling back and fighting

with them. Her poor organizational skills mean that organizing time, working out

a plan for assessments might be a challenging task for students with dyslexia

(Reid, Strnadova & Cumming, 2013).

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an educational framework that

developed an idea of creating classes that accommodate needs and differences of

individual student. This include creating a positive environment in classroom as

well as implementing a provision of curricula, activities and assessments in

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order to give all students equal chances for their learning (Van Kraayenoord,

Waterworth & Brady, 2014). The implementation of UDL requires teachers and

educators to “involves conscious and deliberate lesson planning and outcomes

that allow all students access to and participation in the same curricula” (Van

Kraayenoord et al., 2014, p49). However, it is also beneficial strategy for teachers

as the adaptations and modifications that usually require teachers extra time and

effort are not necessary (Reid et al., 2013). Research suggests that UDL can

equally benefit for both students with or without disabilities’ learning (Vitelli,

2015) and especially for students with dyslexia (Reid et al., 2013).

When implementing UDL, there are three principles that are essential to

the foundation. These principles are consisted of providing students with

multiple means of representations, expression and engagement (Meyer, Rose &

Gordon, 2010; Vitelli, 2015; Van Kraayenoord et al., 2014). Multiple means of

representation indicates a wide range of ways that students may comprehend

learning content (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). In

other words, teachers need to present the same content to students multiple

times in many different ways (e.g. visual, auditory or printed methods). This

principle in UDL allows all students to acquire the understanding of the content

by repeating multiple times and providing the optimal methods of approaching

the content for each learner (National Center on Universal Design for Learning,

2014; Reid et al., 2013). In regards to Danielle, multiple means of representation

may positively boost motivation and decrease levels of frustration for her

learning. By presenting important information repeatedly using a wide range of

strategies for a student like Danielle, teachers can reach out to the students with

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dyslexia to achieve the content and learning goals that is equal to mainstream

students.

The adjusted lesson plan is to teach the topics of ‘who is in your family

members’ in Chinese and it incorporates multiple means of representation to

present the content by recapping on prior learning and using activities,

worksheets and examples. The lesson plan addresses the needs of students with

dyslexia by using a mobile application (E.g. Pleco) whichis a dictionary that

allows students to search vocabulary from Chinese to English or vice verse. By

allowing students to use an App like Pleco, teachers achieve multiple means of

representations as students can hear and practice correct sounds and visualizes

characters and characters multiple times at their convenience. This is also

demonstrated through a video clip of introducing ‘my own family’ which is

captioned to assist students’ comprehension and provided with link available

online. As students with dyslexia learn more efficiently when learning material is

presented visually, the lesson also uses flashcards that has Chinese language one

side and a matching image of the word on the other side to assist their

comprehension between one language to another (Reid, 2013). Multiple means

of representation is also demonstrated through allowance to access the

resources such as hard copy and online character worksheet. This assists all

students including a student like Danielle who has a poor organizational skill

when she loses her worksheet.

Multiple means of expression indicates that all learners learn differently

and there is a variety of method that are allowed for learners to utilize in order

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to demonstrate what they have learnt through classroom activities (National

Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). In order words, this principle of

UDL allows students to utilize their strengths to show their understanding of the

content (Rao & Torres, 2016). In reference to the lesson plan, the teacher should

provide simplified instructions to support her poor organizational skills by

planning time constraints and making a scaffolded checklist to complete tasks

(Reid et al., 2013). Multiple means of expression can also be beneficial to

improve Danielle’s behavioural issues (Stefanou, Perencevich, DiCintio &Turner,

2004). By allowing students to choose a preferable task, this makes students to

feel encouraged to utilise their own strengths and comfortable to demonstrate

their understanding.

In the adjusted lesson plan, students are given opportunities to

demonstrate their understanding of new vocabularies by serious series of

practices (e.g. writing characters in the air, on paper, pronouncing the word and

listening to teachers’ modeling the correct ones). In the first part of the lesson,

new vocabularies are presented on PowerPoint with tones, pinyin which is a

romanised spelling for Chinese and English translation of the word. Then, the

process of remembering new vocabulary is reinforced with an activity to

practice with flashcards. In the final part of lesson, students need to create a

piece of work that presents about ‘their own family’ or results from their

interviews with their peers about their family. Multiple means of expression is

demonstrated by providing students options whether they want to present the

result by recording a video file, story-telling book or simply writing it down on

the worksheet that is provided. Especially recording it as a video file helps a

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student like Danielle to listen to it and realise her own mistakes in grammar,

pronunciation or tones (Rein et al., 2013).

Multiple means of engagement indicates that there is no single technique

to motivate or engage all students with different learning styles. In other words,

all learners have their preferred ways in which they can be engaged or motivated

for their learning (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). This

requires teachers to understand the needs to provide multiple options to obtain

students’ engagement and benefit their learning style are essential. It is therefore

important that teachers give students options to work on task such as working

individually, in pairs or in a small group. Multiple means of engagement does

simply refer to a variety of pedagogical approaches to increase students’

engagement, but also require building a respectful relationships and interactions

between students and teacher which shown to improve students engagement

(Taylor & Parson, 2011). This can be accomplished by teacher modeling

examples and ideas with students, giving feedback or checking students’

understandings.

In order to demonstrate students’ understanding, the lesson plan allows

students to choose the preferred methods to complete activities either

individually or collaboratively with their peers. The lesson plan also explicitly

exhibits the concept of multiple means of engagement by incorporating the use

of Information Communication Technology (ICT) which is a YouTube clip and

application such as Pleco. The use of multimedia and technology has shown as a

particularly effective approach to utilise students’ strength, increasing levels of

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students’ engagement (Reid et al., 2013). In language learning, ICT incorporation

offers learners an opportunity to ‘engage with native speakers to make

interactions with other learners at a distance and to access authentic materials’

(Chapelle, 2003; Felix, 2001; Mullama, 2010, as cited in Hidayati, 2016, p.40).

Providing students with relevant ICT resources makes students with dyslexia

easier and opportunities to revisit resources to have a better understanding of

the content.

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Part 2 Lesson plan

Colour coding:

Multiple means of representation

Multiple means of expression

Multiple means of engagement

Lesson Plan: Year 8 Chinese

Date: 10/5/2016 Syllabus outcomes: 4.UL.3/4.MLC.2/4.MBC.2

Timing Teaching and Learning actions Resources

5 Greeting
Teacher marks the roll and greets students by
saying 早上好 (good morning)/午安 (good
afternoon).

Teacher recaps on students’ prior learning by asking if

they remember how to say ‘how many people in this
PowerPoint slides
family?’ (你家有几口人). Students orally respond to
this. Teacher puts up a PowerPoint slide which shows a
phrase with pinyin.

Students break into pairs and practice asking and

answering in their own familial situation.
- 你家有几口人？(how many people in your
family?)
- 我家有__口人。(I have __ people in my family)
10 Teacher introduces a list of new family vocabularies PowerPoint slides/notebook
which are all nouncs. Vocabularies are shown on
Powerpoint slides.

Students listen to the teacher modeling with correct

pronunciation and tones for new vocabularies.

Students can choose to:

(1) Write characters in the air

(2) Write them on paper

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(3) Pronounce them

10 To practice remembering these vacabulary, teacher Flashcards

uses the flashcards.

Teacher presents one flashcard at a time and

pronouns the word. Students will repeat after
teachers’ modeling. This process is repeated at least
5 times each word depending on how qucikly
students learn to memorize the word.

Teacher allows studnets to use their electric device

and use the application ‘Pleco’.
15 Students are instructed to choose a type of work to flashcard/worksheet
practice remembering new vocabularies from:

(1)Repeat if I am right!
This game require teacher to use a flashcard and say
a word. If a word that is said by the teacher is
matched to the description on flascard, students
need to repeat the word. If not, students remain
silent. This game should at least played 5 times for
each word, and may be played more depending on
students’understanding.

(2) Practicing the script

Teacher provides students with a worksheet that
Cards for the fame/worksheet students can practice
writing characters. Teacher gives students a quick
feedback on the words that are not written properly.
(worksheet/online)
7 Students are shown a video clip of ‘how to introduce Video clip
your family in Chinese’. Students are instructed to
write down some grammatical structures or words
that they used in the video. The video is subtitled
and students are provided with link available to re-
watch this resource and practice the structure.
18 In order to demonstrate students’ understanding of Electric device/story-telling book
the new vocabularies of Chinese family, teacher
instructs students to write about their family’ or handout and worksheet
interview ‘someone about their family’ and present
their finding in one of the following platform:
(1) A video file
(2) Story-telling book

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(3) Writing down the findings on the worksheet

that is provided
Students are given choices to work individually, as a
pair or a small group. Teacher reminds students
about time constraints every 5 minute and may
want a scaffolded instruction.

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Reference

Australia Dyslexia Association (ADA). (2017). Retrieved from

http://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/how-is-dyslexia-evaluated

Hidayati, T. (2016). Integrating ICT in English language teaching and learning in

Indonesia. JEELS, 3(1), 38-62. Retrieved from
http://jurnal.stainkediri.ac.id/index.php/jeels/article/view/173/165

Meyer, A., Rose, D., & Gordon, D. (2010). Universal Design for Learning: Theory
and Practice. Retrieved from
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uwsau/reader.action?docID=4603679

National Centre on Universal Design for Learning. (2014). Retrieved from

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle1

Rao, K. & Torres, C. (2016). Supporting academic and affective learning

processes for English language learners with Universal Design for Learning. Tesol
Quartely, 0(0), 1-13. Doi: 10.1002/tesq.342

Redford, K. (2017). Dyslexia: Disability or Difference? Educational Leadership,

74(7), 64-67. Retrieved from
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d=1&sid=c7974db7-cce1-486c-82c8-583351cc453b%40sessionmgr103

Reid, G., Strnadova, I., & Cumming, T. (2013). Expanding horizons for students
with dyslexia in the 21st century: universal design and mobile technology.
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10.1111/1471-3802.12013

Singer, E. (2005). The strategies adopted by Dutch children with dyslexia to

maintain their self-esteem when teased at school. Journal of learning disabilities,
38(5), 411-423. Retrieved from
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Smith-Spark, J. H. & Fisk, J. E. (2007). Working memory functioning in

developmental dyslexia, Memory, 15(1), 34-56. Doi:
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Stefanou, C. R., Perencevich, K. C., DiCintio, M., & Turner, J. C. (2004). Supporting
autonomy in the classroom: Ways teachers encourage student decision making
and ownership. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 97-110. Retrieved from
http://www-tandfonline-
com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1207/s15326985ep3902_2?needAccess=tr
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Taylor, L. & Parsons, J. (2011). Improving student engagement. Current Issues in

Education, 14(1). Retrieved from
https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/745

Therapies for Kids. (2017). Language-based learning difficulties. Retrieved from

http://www.therapiesforkids.com.au/conditions/language-based-learning-
difficulties/

Van Kraayenoord, C. E., Waterwort, D., & Brady, T. (2014). Responding to

individual differences in inclusive classroom in Australia. Journal of International
Special Needs Education, 17(2), 48-59. Retrieved from
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ZT1zaXRl#AN=108872391&db=ehh

Vitelli, E. M. (2015). Universal design for learning: Are we teaching it to

preservice general education teachers? Journal of Special EducationTechnology,
30(3), 166-178. Doi: 10.1177/0162643415618931

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