Teaching with UDL

To further my understanding of teaching with UDL (Universal Design for Learning), I chose to create a lesson using the CAST Lesson Builder within the CAST UDL Exchange.  CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) seeks to guide educators to incorporate UDL into their curriculum to provide students with greater opportunities to learn in an environment that is more flexible and accommodating for all learners.

Below are screenshots of the project I created using the CAST Lesson Builder that I posted to the CAST UDL Exchange.  I'm currently teaching a unit on war and society so I wanted to create something that I could implement in the classroom.  Here is the link to the project in the CAST UDL Exchange, but you'll need to create an account to view it.  The project framework provides flexibility to instructors to integrate technology that makes the learning objectives more accessible to different types of learners.  Furthermore, within the screenshots, the author's reflections provide my thoughts on how I perceive the project adhering to UDL philosophy.

Common Core Standards were built into the lesson builder.  To view the connections to the standards, follow the link above to the lesson in the CAST UDL Exchange.

Here is the link to the NPR story on Just War Doctrine since the project is presented as screenshots.

Becoming An Effective 21st Century Educator

Used with permission from iCLIPART

How do educators effectively teach students in the 21st Century?  The seemingly omnipresent nature of technology in society provides unique challenges and opportunities for educators.  Preparing students to overcome these challenges and take advantage of these opportunities represents a wicked problem.  Effectively teaching the next generation has always been a wicked problem for every society.  However, the 21st Century, and the changing nature of technology, creates the newest iteration of this wicked problem.

Used with permission from tpack.org via Wiki Commons

Strategies exist to help educators deal with this wicked problem of effectively teaching in the 21st Century.  TPACK is one such strategy to help educators plan for and engage today's technologically inclined learners.  Watch this video for a quick explanation of TPACK.  The whole purpose of TPACK is to provide educators with a framework to effectively teach for the 21st Century.  Ideally, educators should try to exist within the center of the TPACK framework where technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge intersect with each other.  In order to be an effective 21st Century teacher, one must successfully wield technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge so they coalesce to create engaging instruction.    

However, as with any educational framework, the struggle comes when trying to practically apply TPACK in the everyday classroom.  One way to help apply TPACK to the classroom is to look at it through the "Four Cs".  The "Four Cs" are the skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.  These are incredibly important skills in today's world where change occurs faster due to the free flow of information.  Teachers can create lessons and units that use the "Four Cs" in their content area.  This focus can help guide pedagogy for teachers as they devise ways to develop lessons and units that require the "Four Cs" skill set.  Once a pedagogy ins in place that focuses on apply the "Four Cs", technology more readily be utilized to facilitate lessons and units that help students learn the skills that are necessary for succeeding in the 21st Century.  The video below shows examples of how the "Four Cs" can help drive the application of TPACK in the classroom.

Ultimately, TPACK is only useful if it helps educators teach more effectively.  Educators need to spend time unpacking TPACK and how it can help create a more engaging 21st Century educational experience.  In order to find solutions to the wicked problem of educating students in the 21st Century, educators must become more than just masters of content and pedagogy.  Educators must learn to embrace technology so they can more effectively engage students and create that instructional synthesis that is at the heart of the TPACK framework.  To help achieve this synthesis, and to keep current on how TPACK is being applied to today's classrooms, follow #TPACK on Twitter.