My tenth article with Edutopia was published today!
How to Use Universal Design for Learning to Create Assessments
Katie Novak
Beliefs and Expectations
Yesterday I finished reading Unlearning: Changing Your Beliefs and Your Classroom with UDL, by Allison Posey and Katie Novak. I highly recommend this book! The book gave me many take-aways and ideas to reinforce my understanding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In today’s post, I want to focus on expectations and beliefs, as I think these are the key to changing the way we do school…. and key to creating more socially just, inclusive school systems.
Equity and Access: The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines
Just as we design buildings to be accessible by all people, we should design accessible learning opportunities. No two learners are alike – we are as unique as our fingerprints. If anything is a constant in education, it is that we can expect variability in the students and the adults with whom we work, each with individual strengths and goals. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework through which educators can intentionally plan for a variety of ways to access, engage with, and express learning. The learning is towards rigorous and meaningful goals. This is a huge move toward high outcomes for all learners. In this post, I want to share some thoughts and resources around UDL.
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Conquering the Fear of Putting It Out There
Last week a colleague congratulated me on starting this blog, as it’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years. She said it takes courage and that she hasn’t yet started a blog because of Impostor’s Syndrome. This really resonated with me. Last year, my coach recommended I do some learning on Imposter Syndrome, in relation to my goal. As I learned more, I realized Impostor Syndrome was holding me back from taking on some challenges and feeling my fullest confidence. In this post, I want to talk about Imposter Syndrome and then share some of what helped me take the risk of starting this blog.
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