The Importance of Designing to Support the Needs of All Learners
In designing curriculum to support the needs of all learners, it is essential to consider universal design for learning (UDL), which is an approach to design flexible curricula to accommodate various learner differences, introducing a variety of instructional goals and methods, materials, and assessments in the process. UDL addresses the “what” of learning: multiple or flexible representations of information and concepts; the “how of learning: multiple or flexible options in expression and performance; and the “why” of learning: multiple or flexible ways to engage learners in the curriculum (Meyer & Rose, 2000). One such approach to aid teachers in planning and implementing curriculum is planning for all learners (PAL), which is a four-step process that enables teachers to design a curriculum (goals, methods, materials, and assessments) that is accessible and effective for all learners (Meo, 2008). Extending differentiated instruction to learners requires a clear understanding of individual differences, ranging from languages, learning styles and abilities, cultural backgrounds, and attitudes toward learning. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences suggests eight facets of intelligence to support the various ways that learners apply intelligence. Those eight facets of intelligence include visual/spatial intelligence, verbal/ linguistic intelligence; mathematical/logical intelligence; bodily/ kinesthetic intelligence; musical/rhythmic intelligence; intrapersonal intelligence; interpersonal intelligence; and naturalist intelligence. Each facet enables teachers the flexibility to tailor learning to the different intelligences for the classroom. The importance of designing to support the needs of all learners is to build curricula that is flexible, adaptable, and not just a “one-size-fits-all” structure. Teachers must focus on core knowledge of subject areas, as well as provide formative assessments to determine what students already know versus what they need to learn.
When teachers focus on providing lessons tailored for both higher and lower achieving students to excel, it requires little effort to implement strategies such as allowing time for adequate practice, conducting student-teacher conferences, breaking assignments into manageable, smaller parts; or using peer tutors. It will benefit all learners in the classroom when the teacher can provide differentiated or individualized attention for students with physical, emotional, or behavioral challenges, or even for students who are generally high achievers, but require greater challenges in course materials, assignments, or activities, whether through creative responses, extra credit, or individual conferences design to steer progress to greater heights.
Redesign of MATLT Activity
The MATLT activity chosen for redesign comes from a course developed in CourseSites, Sociology 101:
https://www.coursesites.com/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=null&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_369984_1%26url%3D
In Module 1, an Assignment for Chapter 3 was introduced.
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The following information was presented for the original assignment activity, which required the writing of a 3- to 5- page essay:
Assignment- Chapter 3: Culture and Society - Does Internet Promote a Global Culture?
Chapter 3, Culture and Society
It is widely believed that the rapid worldwide growth of the Internet is hastening the spread of a global culture resembling cultures of Europe and North America. There are still worldwide debates over equality between men and women, freedom of speech, democratic participation in government, and the pursuit of pleasure through consumption, and these differences are diffused throughout the world over the Internet (Giddens et. al, 2013).
Write a 3- to 5-page essay, and discuss whether or not you feel the internet promotes a global culture. Choose one of the following countries to compare with the United States in terms of global internet connectivity, (Japan, India, Brazil, China, Germany, UK, or South Africa) and describe how the Internet has become compatible with traditional cultural values for that country, in comparison to the United States. Provide at least 2 scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, and format all work using APA style of writing and citation. The essay must be double-spaced and properly formatted according to APA guidelines.
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Redesign of Activity
The activity was redesigned as follows:
Assignment- Chapter 3: Culture and Society - Does Internet Promote a Global Culture?
Chapter 3, Culture and Society
It is widely believed that the rapid worldwide growth of the Internet is hastening the spread of a global culture resembling cultures of Europe and North America. There are still worldwide debates over equality between men and women, freedom of speech, democratic participation in government, and the pursuit of pleasure through consumption, and these differences are diffused throughout the world over the Internet (Giddens et. al, 2013).
- Step 1: Each student will be paired with three to four other students to form a team to complete the activity. Create your own wiki using Wikispaces or another wiki tool of your choice. Please review the tutorials for each site to assist you with setting up your page. If you choose Wikispaces, please refer to the following to help you with set-up: YouTube Resource: Wikispaces for Individuals and Groups
- Step 2: After the creation of your wiki, conduct research to further discuss whether or not you feel the internet promotes a global culture. Each team member will choose one of the following countries to compare with the United States in terms of global internet connectivity: (Japan, India, Brazil, China, Germany, UK, or South Africa) and describe how the Internet has become compatible with traditional cultural values for that country, in comparison to the United States. Provide at least 2 scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook, and format all work using APA style of writing and citation. Each team member must contribute to entries on the wiki based on their country of choice. Each team should have at least three countries to compare to the United States. Discuss what you discovered about at least three cultural similarities to United States culture - whether in government (freedom of speech, religion, women’s rights, democratic participation in government), marketing, travel, the pursuit of pleasure through consumption, etc.
The strategy/ strategies used to redesign this activity with learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the needs of all learners include active learning, cooperative learning, and reflective learning, all of which will require students to use the internet to encourage individual research on the country that will be paired in comparison with the United States. Rather than writing an individual 3- to 5- page essay required in the original activity, students will participate in active learning, where their curricular activities rely on virtual information. Students will be divided into groups of at least three to five students, and each group will participate in active research on global culture on the internet. In conducting and reporting the results of their research, students will utilize a wiki for the sharing of information.
With active learning, students will have opportunities for exploration through examining global internet connectivity in other countries, interacting in those global environments, observing the effects of their interactions, and creating their own interpretations of the information discovered. Students will use a wiki to share information discovered on how the internet promotes global culture in various countries, as well as how they interacted in these environments, and how the other cultures compare to United States culture.
With cooperative learning, students will work in groups to complete tasks requiring specific communication, either to acquire travel and tourism information from other countries, or sharing discoveries on the country’s governmental or political contributions to culture. All groups will be assigned individual roles to complete required tasks and enter data on the wiki page.
With reflective learning, students have the opportunity to develop questions ways in which the internet has become compatible with the traditional cultural values of the United States and another country measured for comparison. Each group will explain in the wiki what their learning goals are for gathering information on how the internet promotes global culture. Further, groups will describe the strategies they used, how they gathered information, and how they managed their individual learning of the information on global culture.
Design and Implementation Challenges Experienced
Design and implementation challenges experienced included finding strategies that promoted critical thinking for students on all learning levels. Each student requires a fair opportunity to practice application of skills and concepts required for examining whether or not the internet promotes global culture. In order to ensure each student was awarded an opportunity for authentic learning opportunities, it was necessary to tailor instruction to broaden those opportunities so that students could learn from peers, rather than simply relying on their individual research. Finally, expectations were made clear to students, ensuring they understood their individual and collaborative responsibilities to the activity.
Reflection and Self-Assessment
In reflecting upon the original activity designed for my students, I discovered that the activity lacked an adequate depth to provide students with the opportunity to apply technology in the learning process. I was simply requiring an essay, which of course, could have been created with the use of a computer. Redesigning the activity to ensure all learners had a fair opportunity to conduct individual and collaborative research was the greatest improvement made to the activity. The redesign encourages creative responses from all participants, and the specific requirements were geared to compliment every students’ abilities and interests. Further research allows low and high interest reading material to accommodate every students’ abilities and interests. Cooperative, active, and reflective learning strategies allowed for instruction to be distributed into smaller, manageable parts for all students.
Conclusion
Designing curriculum to support the needs of all learners will ensure teachers customize lessons and assessments to meet the need of all diverse learners in the classroom. In order to best support every student’s understanding course content, instruction must be designed to incorporate strategies that are guided by the principles of UDL. Setting clear goals and determining potential barriers to a solid curriculum will ensure teachers can deliver methods, materials, and assessments that yield successful learning outcomes for students from all diverse backgrounds. Incorporating technology into the curriculum to accommodate diverse learners ensures learning is delivered with a scaffolding method that supports every student’s learning needs with a variety of flexible alternatives. Every student is engaged, every student has an opportunity for expression, and every student has the flexibility to represent information and concepts learned.
References
Houston, D. A. (2003). Can the Internet Promote Open Global Societies?. Independent Review, 7(3), 353.
Meo, G. (2008). Curriculum planning for all learners: Applying universal design for learning (UDL) to a high school reading comprehension program. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 21-30.
Meyer, A., & Rose, D. (2000). Universal design for individual differences. Educational Leadership, 58, 39–43.