Reflections+of+Course-based+Embedded+Assignments

EDLD 5364 - Course Embedded Reflections

In EDLD 5364 my group scenario team included Cherie Stanley, Jeff Hattrup and myself. Our team leader was Jeff Hattrup who is a current 5th grade science teacher. He was a great leader and had many great idea about our science lessons and the technology that went along with it. Cherie Stanley worked very hard as our technical support for our group setting up the Google site and Google docs. Being a science teacher myself we had a lot of material available readily for the group to use in creating our UDL lessons. We chose to create lessons surrounding a unit of physical science that covered matter.

Personally, I had never learned about the Universal Design for Learning theory before but my school has been struggling this year to find a lesson plan that works for everyone and I found this one very practical in the sense that it gives teachers a method for meeting the needs of diverse learners. The two methods that the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) advances are individualized goals through a variety of media and individualized curriculum embedded with flexible supports. (Rose & Meyer, 2002) My individual UDL lesson taught mixtures and solutions through a variety of videos, an eBook on solutions, and a lab using everyday mixtures and solutions found in the home. After the students completed the lab, they were to create a multimedia presentation of the lab following a rubric. “Specific, criterion-referenced rubrics let students know exactly what is expected of them” (Pitler, 2007, p. 30). In creating the presentation, students engage in higher-level thinking. In the book, //Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works//, the authors state, “the most engaging learning comes from having the student create the presentation or movie themselves as a part of the learning process” (Pitler, 2007, p. 104). Bransford (2000) say, “An important use of technology is its capacity to create new opportunities for curriculum and instruction by bringing real-world problems into the classroom for students to explore and solve.” As a science teacher this is so true. Much of science depends on students making connections to the world around them. Working closely with a group on this project has changed the way I look at collaborative work and will not only change the way I teach in the future but will also change the way I learn in the future from those I work with.

Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R., (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved March 27, 2012, from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_9853&page=206.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). //Using technology with classroom instruction that works. // Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). //Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. // Retrieved March 28, 2012, from CAST: [] **. **