2023-24 UDL Trained Staff

Julie Garland Kindergarten Teacher Julie Garland Kindergarten

Katie Cowell First Grade

Being part of the UDL grant has been a really great experience. Not only have I been trained to be a UDL coach, but I’ve learned and implemented some things into my classroom from the teachers that I’m teaching. UDL allows for constant learning and growth and that’s what makes it so exciting to me!

 

Micah Bruner Second Grade

The UDL training has been a very positive experience for me and my students. The training has raised my awareness of how I can best educate my students and meet their needs no matter their learning style, personal experiences, or the barriers they may experience day to day. It has given me valuable tools to increase student engagement through choices in how they access materials and content as well as in the ways students can express or demonstrate their learning. I am excited to continue learning and growing in my effectiveness as an educator!

Carrie Klute Third Grade

Sara Packard 4th Grade Teacher Sara Packard Fourth Grade

Implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has significantly enhanced the flexibility of my teaching approach, assessment methods, and classroom setup, ensuring inclusivity for all students. By adopting UDL principles, I’ve been able to build upon my existing teaching practices, refining and customizing them to cater to the unique needs of each learner. Whether it’s through offering multiple means of representation, engagement, or expression, UDL has enabled me to create a dynamic learning environment where all students can thrive. Moreover, UDL has influenced how I structure my classroom, encouraging me to design spaces that are conducive to collaboration, independent exploration, and personalized learning experiences. In essence, UDL has revolutionized my approach to education, fostering a culture of inclusivity and empowerment where every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Kari Johnson 5th Grade Teacher Kari Johnson Fifth Grade

Incorporating UDL into my daily teaching  is making sure all assignments are doable and accessible for all students no matter the barriers they might have once had. UDL training has helped me be more aware of the providing different ways of learning through representation, engagement, and expression to meet their needs and give them the best chance of success.

Once I started implementing UDL more this year it was fun to see how the choice and different ways of learning empowered my students to take control of their learning. By offering a variety of ways to learn the standards/skills being taught, my students seemed more engaged in the content, demonstrated a better understanding, which I believe has led to students being more motivated to learn, participation has increased within my class, and has allowed students to feel like they can succeed and do hard things.

Stephanie Barker High School Math Teacher Stephanie Barker High School Math

I am really excited to be incorporating UDL principles into my teaching because it gives my students the opportunity to show what they know in a way that fits their learning. We have known for years that not all students learn in the same way, so we are focusing more now on what works best for them. I feel that the Universal Design for Learning principles help me to reach all of my learners and help them all to be successful. Instead of focusing on the students in the middle, I am able to reach those at the top and the bottom as well. For mathematics in particular, it helps bring the subject to life and make it more relevant to all students.

Morgan Clinton High School English Teacher Morgan Clinton High School English

Ed Gibson High School English Teacher Ed Gibson High School English

I look forward to putting a lot of the UDL principles into practice within my classroom. It was great to see that some I do already in a few different ways. I really like providing more student choice whenever I can, through projects or writings, so they can find something that interests them to make what they’re working on more engaging or impactful.
I’d have to say that opening up novel projects to student choice for my Advanced English 10 students really gave me some great work from that class and allowed them to showcase what they took from different novels over the course of the year in ways that were engaging and meaningful to them. It allowed them to play to their own strengths when it came time to demonstrate what they learned and some even got really creative with models, brochures, and other projects. It really was a highlight whenever novel projects were being turned in.
I want to keep working on making information available to students in a variety of ways, whether that’s adding videos that help explain things, more handouts and visuals, or presenting audio explanations for those that may need that. I’ve noticed some students find video how-to’s helpful while others may want one to one discussions, so opening that up more would be something I’d like to develop. 

Wes Hull High School History

Samantha Cooper High School Science

Christa Wood PE Teacher