The idea of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is honourable in it’s intention, but what I would like to focus on in this post is what measures will have to be taken in order to properly implement a UDL framework within classrooms.
Children and students in general have historically been underserved in their learning environments, for example, students will often tell stories about how one teacher was great, but another just didn’t have the same teaching style and because of that the student struggled. In response to this, the idea of a universal design for learning becomes very enticing, since it would allow the students to each have their own basis of learning through their classroom. This would not only benefit students with disabilities, but also students with undiagnosed attention disorders, and also the average student who never had someone put the focus on their needs, rather than the norm of moulding the student to the educators needs.
While this all works in theory, the unfortunate reality of this learning mode is that would become a very labour intensive and expensive task for public schools to introduce into their curriculum, with the little funding they already currently receive, not to mention the lack of respect and focus that also needs to go to the educators who are underpaid and overworked in the current conditions. The problem I have with the idea of a Universal Design for Learning is that it seems to present a superficial, fairytale solution that seemingly answers all the needs of the student and the parents, however it doesn’t take into the same consideration of the establishment and the teachers that will have to work an immense amount of overtime to rework their entire curriculum, while not being properly compensated or supported. If a UDL were to be introduced into classrooms there is no argument against the benefits it provides for the student. However before making changes it would also be important to find a way to introduce a “Universal Design for Teaching”, that also provides the same resources and accessibility to the teachers in order to benefit every party involved.
Percy made some very interesting notes on pedagogy and how they related to their personal learning experience, by emphasizing the need for adaptability and connections to real life. I really liked how Percy also presented some potential challenges to the role of digital learning, and provided ways to introduce different solutions. If I were to add onto Percy’s ideas, I would not only emphasize meaningful engagement, but also prioritizing the wishes of the student in order to find that meaningful engagement would be just as important.
Justin made some good points in his post regarding pedagogy and it’s role for the instructor, and I would like to focus on his specific notion that the difference in pedagogy is related to the type of course he is taking, rather than the type of student taking the course. Without overanalyzing a single claim, Justin’s perspective of wanting a professor to teach a mathematics course in a straightforward manner, as opposed to for example, a sociology course, in a more discussion and open learning is logical, however I would argue that the consideration should be put more on the student itself rather than the course material. Every student learns in a different way, and while a statistics class might be easier for one person to learn with the teacher simply relaying all the information word for word, another student might learn just as effectively if the teacher were to have a group discussion or workshop.
While Marc’s first post might not have had much in terms of substance, there are some very important thoughts relating to education and accessibility that Marc expresses. Marc believes that education should be free and accessible to all, the traditional school model overemphasizes the need for tests as a form of assessment, and to find a way to provide new services for learners to be able to have these amenities. These are all great ideologies, therefore I am going to brainstorm some solutions to be able to put these thoughts into practice.
In order to provide free and accessible education you could create a website that allows people to submit lectures and writings that are easily organized for people to view. Similar to Youtube or Wikipedia, ads would allow the site to run at no costs, however instead of using part of the ad revenue to pay shareholders, this non-profit site could instead focus that money in areas that would engage in fact checking and other resources. This does however present the issue where someone might have limited or zero access to the internet, so in that case part of the money could go towards creating more infrastructure that benefits people who live in rural areas.
The other topic Marc brings up is how public and private schools are rooted in using tests as the main form of assessment. This can be beneficial to some students who are skilled at retaining information, however it can be just as detrimental to others who are not similarly capable to memorize information just to regurgitate it on a piece of paper and then immediately forget about it. In this case, I would suggest introducing non-standard forms of assessments into the education system that can both benefit the student and the teacher. These are usually more practical assessments that test a students capability to fulfill a task.
Lorenzo’s first post was very interesting as he showed a clear interest in the idea of Open and Distributed learning. I could tell from the description of his experience through his first year of university that while he had a difficult time staying prioritized and on schedule with the work, he clearly learned from that experience and was able to make the best of a poor situation. I also experienced my first year of university in 2020, which was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I shared a lot of the same negative and positive experiences that Lorenzo did during that time.
Video by ABC News
While there were a lot of issues that came from COVID-19, I would argue the majority of them were based on the lack of preparedness teachers had when switching over to online based learning. This is because instead of attempting to create new ways for students to engage with the learning, a number of schools mandated attendance over zoom and the use of breakout rooms as discussion groups, and expected all the issues to go away. This was a reactionary decision, which resolved the issues for schools, however it took zero consideration for the student.
Lorenzo’s preference of a live teaching environment makes sense, and for someone who is privileged enough to be able to afford that luxury, I would agree. I personally believe while both synchronous and asynchronous forms of teaching have their advantages, a blended asynchronous format provides more accessibility for people who have a lot going on in their lives. I can resonate with the need for group discussion and feedback being important to learning, however in my opinion the fundamentals of accessibility and flexibility is what takes priority. Once those needs are met, then the extra amenities of ensuring collaboration in a classroom environment come next.
Mike’s Blog Post #1
Mike’s blog post was very informative, however he did not include much of his own critical thoughts on the subject. The modes of learning section showed a glimpse of Mike’s perspective on the subject, as he stated he prefers a blended form of learning, which I can certainly agree with. Mike mentions how a blended learning format allows him to adjust his school schedule to his needs, and I would also add that it allows for a more expansive range of content, as well as the capability to form group projects and collaborate with people across the world, who you may have never met without the same resources.
Pedagogy is a term I had heard before, but never fully knew the meaning. So, when learning about the concept of pedagogy my thoughts immediately went to the different teachers and instructors I have had in the past and how their methods impacted me as a learner. After reflecting on my different high-school experiences, it led me to think of 3 individual instructors, one being Mr. Brown, my grade 12 English teacher, Mr. Black who was my grade 11 drama teacher, and lastly Mr. White, who was my grade 10 math teacher. (Their names are kept anonymous) Each of these individuals had an important role in my life as my instructor, and I would argue the reason for that is due to the pedagogy they used in their teaching process. With that said, the role they played was not necessarily always a positive one, as one of these teachers ended up having a negative impact on my learning experience. In this blog, I am going to explain and demonstrate each of the different forms of pedagogy these instructors, their learning theories, and each of their digital literacy levels used in order to engage with their classroom, and by the end the reader should be able to determine which instructor had the best impact on my learning and which instructor had the worst impact on my learning.
Mr. Brown
Mr. Brown took a different approach to his instructing methods, as his priority was to innovate and find new ways that actively engaged the learner with the mandatory education model set by the school district. For example, Mr. Brown was required by the school district curriculum to have the students be able to critically reflect on varying pieces of media, which in his rendition meant one activity the students had to do was choosing one of their favourite songs, and one randomly assigned song to read the lyrics and provide annotations to the lyrics. This is a form of Constructivist learning theory, by allowing students to choose a song of their preference, while also exploring the digital literacy and connectivity in students by focusing on what is important to the learner, instead of a basic curriculum.
Video by BlueSofaMedia
Mr. Black
Mr. Black had a focus on Social Learning theory, as his classes and drama exercises were constantly focused on the interaction and creativity through students engaging with each other. There would often be activities where students would have to reflect another persons actions and respond accordingly, a specific example being the drama exercise of “Yes and?” where you would improvise a scene with a partner, and the only correct response to an action was to reply with “Yes, and?” in order to never shut down ones ideas and to build upon the action. Mr. Black’s pedagogical views expanded into the digital format too, as he would often create different ways of learning through digital networks that reflect a networked pedagogy model. This form of reinforcement and repetition was prevalent in Mr. Black’s classroom.
Below is an example of the basics of Social Learning through the film “Big Daddy (1999)”
Video by Shinea Latimer
Mr. White
Mr. White had more of a traditional teaching style that did not necessarily engage with any of the newer learning theories, as his style of teaching focused more on the basic foundations and exercises you might expect from a traditional math classroom. Plenty of practice questions, all out of a paper textbook that had the answers in the back. Mr. White did not have the same digital literacy or networked pedagogy that would engage with the classroom and motivate the students to learn. Rather instead Mr. White’s main focus was on getting through each topic as fast as possible and leaving the rest of the class time to allow the students to do practice questions quietly.
“The supreme art of the teacher is to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
Albert Einstein
Each of my previous teachers demonstrate a different level of teaching in relation to the pedagogy they each represent and the focus on digital networks and literacy to allow the students to learn in different ways. Each of these instructors had natural flaws, as the school district can be very firm on what is and is not accepted in a classroom; for example physical attendance was mandatory in each of these classes, which actively opposes the ideas of digital and asynchronous. And while we know that digital learning has shown to provide more flexibility for students who may not always be available, societies acceptance of digital learning as the foundation for education still remains weary.
The role of the instructor creates a massive amount of importance in the 3 different scenarios I experienced. If the instructor for each of these classes were the exact same, it would stand to reason the students experience in each of the classes would be the same. However, Mr. Brown, Mr. Black and Mr. White are all individual people, and their pedagogy made all the difference in my personal learning experience. Below you will find a quiz that directly questions your knowledge from the reading of my blog.
