Directions: Please answer the discussion questions in 150 words each, using in-text citation (APA style) and answer reply to the responses using 100 words each. This is for an ESL (English as a Second Language) Education Course. This is due within 26 hours!
Discussion Question 1: Explore the National Center on Universal Design for Learning website, particularly noting the principles of UDL. How would employing these principles in lesson planning increase academic achievement of ELLs?
Response: Magaly wrote –
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) main goal is to make learning more accessible to students, especially those in inclusionary programs (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019). UDL is a structure that gives flexible and responsive curriculum that will decrease learning barriers. The concept is that with modifications of representation (materials), expression (methods of communication) and engagement (how students respond to curriculum) teachers will be able to include a more diverse range of students in a general education classroom of instructions (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2019). When using UDL, educators and speech-language pathologist (SPLs) can provide curriculum options such as using varies ways to present a lesson. This is important because students can express themselves and their knowledge as well as being able to engage in learning. ELL students need to have variation and choices in their everyday class experience, as educators we should be able to provide different learning styles. Providing different learning styles ensures that ELL students are given the opportunity to have their needs educational goals both daily and by semester. The UDL guidelines can be mixed and matched according to specific learning goals and can be applied to particular content areas and contexts (CAST, 2018). They can be seen as a tool to support the development of a shared language in the design of goals, assessments, methods, and materials that lead to accessible, meaningful, and challenging learning experiences for all (CAST, 2018).
Response: Stefanie wrote –
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for teachers to build lesson plans that enables all students the opportunity to participate in, and progress in the general-education curriculum by decreasing their specific obstacles to education (Ralabate, 2017). Each student we will encounter within our classroom has their own needs, preferences for learning, and abilities. UDL takes the burden off of the students and teachers to adapt material and puts it on the curriculum and offers options for the ways that information is taught, how students demonstrate their skills and knowledge, and how students are able to engage in learning within their classroom (Ralabate, 2017)
The UDL Guidelines offer a framework to optimize learning and teaching for all people based on how humans learn (The UDL Guidelines, 2021). This framework can then be used to look at the why of learning to provide engagement, the what of learning to provide representation, and the how of learning through action and expression (The UDL Guidelines, 2021). Learning expectations lays out the goals for the lesson, instructional strategies are the methods to accomplish said goals, the materials that are needed to demonstrate learning is not limited to one method, and the assessment refers to how the information pertaining to the student’s progress is gathered and used to continue to work towards creating expert learners that can assess what their learning needs are, monitor their own progress, sustain and regulate their own interest, persistence, and effort to complete the learning task assigned (Ralabate, 2017).
The UDL guidelines and principles in lesson planning increase academic achievement of ELLs because it allows for multiple ways for ELL students to engage in the material being taught, removes barriers that stand in the way of their understanding what is being taught, and offers multiple ways to show their understanding of the presented material. Conventional methods of teaching based on a structured curriculum that does not offer these supports will leave ELL students behind in the classroom setting because it does not offer the freedom to meet these students where they are in the learning process and help them to succeed.
Discussion Question 2: Provide an example of a project, assignment, or in-class activity that could be used as a means of employing multiple assessments of ELLs. Why are multiple assessments important? ( Subject: Secondary- 11th Grade History)
Response: Amanda wrote-
When I read this question, I looked at each the project, the assignment, and the in-class activity as varying levels of assessments that make up a unit of study. To clarify, if you were teaching a unit on Historical Fiction and the overall objective was for students to be able to determine the major theme of the novel you would design lessons that build up to that point. You would first use a pre-assessment to gauge what do my students know about theme, do I need to teach what theme explicitly, or can I review it and weave theme related activities throughout the unit. Then I would take that information and use it to help determine what activities would help them understand theme, determine how to gauge if they were understanding it or not. I would use in-class activities and assignments to assess them (formatively) to determine if they needed more time, more context, or if they were ready to take on the next chunk of learning reading the book and using all the tools to determine theme and submit a final project on that theme. Each lesson you teach should have layers to it, you should determine what students know (this is your starting line), assess them with comprehension questions or fun quizzes mid lesson (this is mid-point assessment) to see if they are on track or you need to slow the lesson down, and then you have the final assignment or exit ticket that will show you what they learned (this is the finisher) and if they made any progress from the start of the lesson to the end.
Multiple assessments are important because they provide you real information about the lesson you are teaching. They tell you where the student started, where they are growing or not growing so you can switch gears or add in more supports, and then the final assessment is to show the progress they have made.
“One assessment generates evidence, which in turn can be used to make decisions about student learning and development, as well as improve program quality and effectiveness. However, the use of multiple measures encourages more comprehensive and accurate assessment. This benefits not only the students who are learning but also the instructors who are doing the teaching” (Whalen, 2016, para. 1).
Multiple assessments serve students and teachers as a way to demonstrate progress and help educators know when more support is needed. They are valuable tools that can be done simply through quick writes, quick multiple-choice quizzes, in-class discussions, in-class polling, exit tickets, homework assignments, and final projects.
