#2

As one enters the elementary school building that I call home, it becomes quickly apparent that due to it’s erection in the early 1950’s, the principles of universal design are slowly but surely being included, especially with the addition of a new wing at the back of the building. Considering Universal Design History, when my school building was erected, the legislation for universal design had yet to be federally rolled out, which first occurred in 1968 with the Architectural Barriers Act, per NC State Center for Universal Design. The front entrance of this neighborhood school, while very charming, contains a few short steps, requiring wheelchair users to use a side entrance, which is much further away from the main doors, lending a definite inconvenience to wheelchair users and others with mobility concerns.  Within the building, there is one rather bulky electric wheelchair ramp leading into the cafeteria in the original part of the building, whereas within the new addition, there is a beautifully integrated ramp connecting the old wings to the new addition. Fortunately, these equitable use universal design shortcomings are the only aspects of universal design that are less than ideal within the building. 

The handles to enter the building are levers, allowing for low physical effort. The restrooms in the new wing are all up to date, requiring users to simply wave their hands under faucets and paper towel dispensers to access these items. Within the classrooms, there a flexible seating options, simple and easy to access visuals and directions, and technology that allows for errorless learning (Center for Universal Design, 1997).

While UDL and UD possess certain similarities, they also have their differences. Both UDL and UD were created to consider and meet the needs of as many individuals as possible. However, UD is aimed at making spaces within society accessible for all, whereas UDL is meant to make educational opportunities, from the very beginning, accessible for as many as possible. Considering the UDL framework, flexibility and variability are at the foundation of the framework. The purpose of UDL is to intentionally plan a curriculum that can allow the unique needs of all learners to be met by weaving in flexibility, removing barriers, and considering how to leverage a variety of strengths in needs to best meet learners where they are in order to get them where they need to go. UDL is an evidence-based framework that provides more equal learning experiences for learners through multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014). 

As a special educator, I feel I am constantly working with colleagues to ensure that as a team we are implementing a curriculum and creating a learning environment that is based on the principles of UDL. Considering expression, I collaborate with colleagues to ensure that whether through co-teaching or station learning, students are provided with multiple means of acquiring the material, whether that be through hearing it, seeing it, or engaging in it physically through writing or motor tasks. Considering the need for diverse representation opportunities in UDL, students are always given the opportunity to choose how they will “show what they know”, and as an educator, I take data on each learning opportunity to see what works best for each student. For example, some students do better by drawing a picture of what they have read, whereas some perform better by verbally retelling the story. As for the engagement portion of UDL, my colleagues and I work to include student interests while adding a variety of unique activities to keep students excited to learn.

Resources:

Center for Universal Design. (1997). The principles of universal design. Retrieved from https://projects.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/pubs_p/docs/poster.pdf

https://projects.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/about_ud/udhistory.htm

Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014) Universal design for learning: Theory and practice, Wakefield MA: CAST