Divergent by Design

In this episode, we take some time to reflect on our exploration of the UDL guidelines and consider what our big takeaways are. We also have actionable ideas for how you can get started on a UDL journey of your own. 

In the digital age that we live in, information inundation is a real and growing problem. This makes executive functioning more important than it ever has been. Can you deal with the distractions, stay organized, and get things done in time? We think you can, and this episode is some of our thoughts on how to do just that. 

Comprehension is the main topic of today's episode, but it's not just reading comprehension that we are talking about. This is something that applies to all curricular areas and we have some ideas to help you better reach each one of your students. 

Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in ways that are acceptable and produce positive results such as well-being, loving relationships, and learning. It's how we deal with stressors and it lays the foundation for all other activities. In this episode, we look at some resources and strategies that you can use with students to help them self-regulate in the classroom.

Having students show what they know is a fundamental part of any classroom, but what does that look like in a UDL classroom? We have some ideas for you, as well as some tech tools and options for assessment. 

In this episode, Lynn and Jonathan are joined by Lisa Klein, an ELL Consultant at Grant Wood AEA. Lisa helps us unpack the importance of language for all students and gives us tips on how to be better communicators in the classroom. 

Motivation is hard for adults, so imagine how hard it can be for students. In this episode, we look at a variety of ways that educators can help their students maintain motivation through goal setting, challenges, collaboration, and feedback. 

In this episode, we take a look at how to reduce barriers to learning that would be introduced by the motor demands of a task. To help us out, we are joined by the amazing Kelli Robertson, the Accessibility Lead at Grant Wood AEA. Kelli talks to us about what assistive technology is and the role that it plays in the classroom for breaking down barriers to learning. 

Learners differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them. We know that, but how can teachers plan for that? In this episode, we explore that in more depth and give you some tools and ideas to get you started. 

In this episode, we look at the perennial topic of student engagement. What are the best ways to engage all of our learners so that the content is more relevant and responsive to their needs, backgrounds, and cultures? We might not have all the answers, but the UDL guidelines give us lots of great, research-based ideas that are proven to have an impact on students learning, so we take some time to explore those in this episode. 

In this episode, we do some UDL myth-busting and take some time to really get to know the UDL Guidelines in more depth. 

In this episode, we spend some time talking about what UDL means to us, how our journeys have evolved over time, and what we want to do with future episodes of this podcast.