Lesson Study 2021

Cycle #2 Lens: Universal Design For Learning

UDL at a Glance

Find out how the UDL framework guides the design of instructional goals, assessments, methods, and materials that can be customized and adjusted to meet individual needs. The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Annotated Bibliography

Literature Synthesis

Meet The Lesson Study Team

Host:

Mr. Will Farrel

Crew:

Armando Perez

Crew:

Mo Sias

OUR GROUP’S ASPIRATIONS & AGREEMENTS:

Ask tough questions
Challenging by choice. Dissecting the elements of our lesson. Consider every corner of our lesson and purposeful choice in the creation of each aspect. Fitting all the components together in a logical way. Original and authentic ideas.
Co-Create lesson together with a goal of reaching every student.

Lesson based on knowledge/experience and research. Higher cognitive load for students. We will engage in work that makes us feel unsure.

Reach them where they are and ensure they have the right channel or modality to express themselves.

We Wonder...

How can we allow students to carry the cognitive load
How can we engage in anti-deficit thinking when designing learning activities?

Universal Design for Learning

The Universal Design for Learning framework has three core principles: providing multiple means of engagement (the “why” of learning), multiple means of representation (the “what” of learning), and multiple means of action or expression (the “how” of learning). The goal is to find some common ground and to identify a shared question or dilemma that can anchor your lesson study.

The “Why”: Multiple Means of Engagement: What practices and structures are you currently using in terms of “recruiting interest,” “sustaining effort,” and providing “options for self-regulation”? Who do you notice is most authentically engaged in the tasks you provide, and who is least engaged? How are you moving your students to being expert learners who are purposeful and motivated?

The “What”: Multiple Means of Representation: How do you most often represent information to students -- visually, orally, or in writing? Do you rely too heavily on any of these, and/or neglect the others? How do you support the decoding of text and symbols? How do you support comprehension, and who is most/least successful on this front? Who seems to most easily connect with the ways that you represent information, and who struggles? How are your students becoming resourceful and knowledgeable?

The “How”: Multiple Means of Action or Expression. What kinds of options do you provide to students in terms of representing their thinking and learning? How do you support the development of executive function? How do you support your students in becoming strategic and goal-directed?

Our Research Question

Research Goal: How can we empower students' voices and choice in demonstrating their critical understanding of redlining?

Our Equity Goal

Students will tap into their assets to assess and display their knowledge about redlining and use critical consciousness to make connections to themselves and the world around them.

Our Theory of Action

Theory of Action: If we as teachers give students specific learning goals and empower students as designers of their own learning ( through Build, Act, Write, Draw)

then Students will be able to use their unique assets to meet learning objectives

resulting in in greater critical consciousness.

Learning Goals

9th Grade Humanities

Focus Students

9th Grade Humanities

During The Lesson

Focus Student #1:

-Camera on

Had camera on for the entire lesson
Friendly and communicated with enthusiasm for the lesson
Spoke first and often during breakout room
Was reflective ibn the exit ticket " was able to make a connection between redlining environmental racism.

Focus Student #2:

Had camera on for the breakout room
Needed prompting to share thoughts with peers
Volunteered to draw for the group
Didn't ask questions of group mates

Focus Student #3:

Had camera on for some of the the lesson
more reluctant to share but seemed to understand the human side of the material
demonstrated knowledge of redlining by creating a unique definition

The Lesson

Content Goal: Students will understand the impact of redlining in the US and the implications of environmental racism.

2.4.21

Multiple Means of Representation-allowed students to grapple with academic vocabulary and higher-order thinking in a way that highlighted their assets and interests.

Multiple Means of Presentation: Cancer Alley Video was one of three that provided an example of environmental racism-allowed for multiple means of representation of lesson

Higher Order Thinking- Students were polled at the beginning of the lesson and at the end of the lesson and asked to compare their views and thoughts to

Beginning of the Lesson

Students were able to frame the lesson with brave space norms. Actively working to be anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-classist, and anti-sexist.

Middle of the Lesson

Students were given academic vocabulary and asked to reflect and provide examples and definitions for words like: Redlining, Environmental Justice, Social Justice, Activism, Pollution, Equity and Equality.

End of the Lesson

Students were provided an exit ticket in which they had the opportunity to compare their beliefs and knowledge about redlining from before the lesson and after the lesson.

Evidence of Student Work

Take-Aways and Equity Audit

Final Reflection: Full transparency, I felt the most challenged by this lesson study cycle. I was forced to confront my biases and shortcomings as an educator more so than I had to in the first round. This cycle began with an audit of our classrooms and practices wherein we examined if our classroom spaces through a UDL lens (Universal Design for Learning). Through this process, I was able to deeply understand my biggest areas of growth. As we worked to build our lesson, it was paramount that we engaged in anti-deficit thinking. Designing a lesson where students could carry the cognitive load while engaging in meaningful and relevant work was the end goal. We aimed to have students employ critical consciousness as they observed and examined examples of redlining and environmental racism. Leading with an asset-based approach, we provided learning experiences in a varied way and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that highlighted their assets. As a result, we saw that many students were able to learn a new way to think about environmental racism. When students are given learning activities that they can see themselves it is easier for them to engage in the content. This was evidenced during the lesson when a group of young activists was presented on screen and the students were asked "what do you notice about these environmental activists?" The students pointed out the race, age and, gender of the activists ( who also happened to reflect a majority of the student population in terms of racial and cultural backgrounds). Students could see themselves reflected early on in the lesson and it was interesting to watch them make the connections between the activists and themselves. Overall, this lesson study cycle gave me many tools to use when designing a UDL classroom. I was able to expand upon the skills learned during the teacher preparation courses and the CALTPA cycle #1.

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