Lewis Muehe

ED 131

16 January 2020

Using Universal Design to check for understanding requires constant attentiveness to the

abilities of the students you’re teaching. If a student isn’t engaged in the material you’re teaching

them, they’ll likely be unable to perform well. This means allowing some flexibility in the way

students are actively learning. If you know some students are more visual, it might be helpful to

demonstrate the way they’re going to carry out a task or supply a supplemental video for those

who may need to revisit the operations. As well as this, it’s important to inform students if there

is a potentially more beneficial order to complete the assigned task. Students also benefit from

knowing ahead of time what they’re anticipated to learn, that way they can constantly check in

with themselves to ensure they’re making progress. It might also be useful to group together

students based on their preferences or abilities. For example, if one student benefits from reading

the information or instruction aloud, and another student benefits from gathering that information

audibly, they might perform better together when the first student is able to read aloud and the

second can hear it. Additionally, adapting the desired outcome to the specific students is

important. Some students that struggle to articulate their ideas in writing should have the option

to use text to speech, or even have the option to record themselves sharing their thoughts.

Finally, students should be involved with the evaluation portion of their learning by allowing

them to self-reflect and plan how to maintain or perform better in the future.

Similar to providing the students with the intended goal of learning, Understanding by

Design incorporates more evidence-based learning. If a student is intended to learn how to

follow a recipe and make the intended meal, the student should be able to see what the outcome

of this recipe will be, what they already know about the process, and how to get there.

The textbook addresses how to “close the gap between what the students already know and what

they need to know.” Therefore, if a student knows their way around measuring utensils but

doesn’t know what it means to “preheat the oven” or allow something to “simmer”, they will

need to have an understanding of what those instructions mean before they’re able to make the

recipe. This can be assessed by having the students do a sample recipe as a large group and

gradually breaking it down to an individual assignment, as well as having the students show

verbally or through a written task that they can define the different actions or methods. The

instructor will also have to come prepared with the necessary strategies if a student doesn’t show

an understanding of a specific task, such as having a group discussion or brainstorm of what

certain instructions entail or reteaching or demonstrating.

Differentiating instruction is about allowing every student to have the best possible

chance of success, rather than adhering to one straight method of teaching. This somewhat

relates back to allowing students different options of receiving the information they need to

know in the Universal Design portion. The textbook discussions how this requires teacher

involvement to be attentive to whether or not the way they’re delivering the information to the

students is actually effective. This portion also relates a lot to what is taught for ESL teachers

and students. This requires scaffolding for the students who may need more structure or context

to what they’re learning, as well as being given the opportunity to go deeper into the information

and be able to ask questions about things they otherwise wouldn’t be able to understand. For

example, some students on the Autism Spectrum may be able to read at grade level, but when

asked to write a paper about what they learned may be unable to perform as expected because
they lack in grammar or spelling. This might mean having a student give an audible account of

what they learned or express their ideas in a visual manner, rather than written, because that

student may not be able show they actually understand what they’re reading about if they are

only permitted to write.

Eliminating the achievement gap means allowing all students access to a quality

education, despite their socioeconomic status. Some schools are able to do this with programs

specifically for low-income students and students of color. This can be done by providing access

to computers for students who may not have access to them otherwise, or after school study halls

to complete homework for homeless students or students with unstable home environments.

Students at some schools can have access to certain courses that grant them college credit to help

lessen the burden of paying for school or even just build motivation to push themselves to

success. This also comes with the importance of having educators and other school faculty that

are dedicated to supporting students and putting in the time to make sure that the students feel

cared for and have a desire to attend school and do well. It is also important that educators work

make themselves available to the students who may need extra time, instruction, or support. All

four of these initiatives require work from educators, as well as implementing all of them into

classrooms and school environments to give students the best possible chance of developing

understanding.