Meet and chat with colleagues about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) on Twitter! The best hour of professional learning you'll get in 30 minutes. Held the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 9-9:30PM ET.
Welcome to #UDLchat! Please tell us your name, where you are in the world, and describe your new year so far with 3 words, 3 emojis, or a GIF (don't forget the description)!
Aside: Tonight's topic and questions came from some work I did with the amazing #NHUDL teachers at their winter meeting earlier this week. Learn more about this groundbreaking, state-wide project: https://t.co/yApkD9qYOI#UDLchat
A1: Not only knowing what I'm supposed to do, but being able to get myself to do it because I find it to be meaningful or I know it will be meaningful. #Udlchat
A1: Purposeful: I reflect honestly and think about what I need to know/work on. Motivated: I actively seek out learning opportunities to enhance what I do and need to do! #udlchat
A: to be purposeful, it’s important to set specific, measurable goals and decide on strategies to achieve them. To sustain motivation, it’s important to be constantly reflecting along the learning path, and evaluating our progress towards our goals. #udlchat (gif #GOALS)
If we don't have the why I'm not interested. I've started putting what, why and how on all of my assignments, more for my own benefit to make sure I am providing thoughtful assignments. #UDLchat
A2: I don’t have to have all the answers to be knowledgeable and resourceful, but I do need to be willing to seek answers and ask the right questions of the right people. #udlchat
A2: using all of my resources and skills to further my learning. In turn I am trying to help my Ss understand that their resources may not look the same, but they are driving their own learning. #UDLchat
A2: Being resourceful and knowledgeable in my learning means that when I run into something I don't know - I use what I do know to navigate around the barriers. I use my toolbox and the toolbox of those around me to find solutions. #UDLchat
A2 one way I’ve tried to be more resourceful/knowledgeable is knowing there’s a lot I don’t know that I don’t even know about a new topic and seeking out Twitter chats, YouTube videos, Wikipedia entries, etc to expose me to new ideas on a topic I’d never considered alone #udlchat
A2: It’s also about asking questions. Questions are powerful when we can get learners to self-reflect on what they know and what they still need to know and a process for finding answers to their questions. #udlchat
A3: Being strategic is sometimes a huge challenge, because sometimes the strategy I am most invested in is not the most effective! #UDLchat#GottaStayFlexible
A3 understanding and setting SMART goals with plans to achieve them, and reflecting on both our progress towards the goal and the efficaciousness of the strategies being utilized #udlchat
A3. Maybe one part of being strategic is being able to prioritise what's important now, what can wait til later and what's actually a distraction from what I'm trying to achieve. #udlchat
A3: being strategic not only in planning lessons that are effective and engaging, but also have enough flexibility to encourage discovery for myself and my Ss. But always keep my eye on the goal. #UDLchat
A3: to be strategic, the goal must be crystal clear or you'll wander aimlessly! So important to always reflect on the goal and select info, strategies and collaboration toward that goal. #udlchat
I have to do this too. Especially with grading—I’m much more productive when I set time-related goals (eg “I will grade two periods worth of assignments by 5:00) with brain breaks built in 🤔 #UDLchat
A3: Knowing that I'm headed toward my goal, but knowing it won't likely be a straight or easy path. Instead, it's being thoughtful and reflective about the steps I'm taking and doing my best to learn from all of them. #Udlchat (GIF with "not all those who wander are lost")
A3: Be precise in what I want to improve. I struggle with this myself since there’s so many areas, especially in my teaching. Take one step at a time. I’m thinking through how to get my own students to do this as well. #udlchat
A3. Being strategic is having a plan. Being goal directed is having a set destination in mind. Without a plan and a destination there is never a celebration of progress. #UDLchat
A4 I’ve almost never taught something the same way two years in a row, so I like to share with my Ss how and why I’ve changed a lesson or assignment. This has provoked interesting discussion before with some Ss! #udlchat
A4: I work with adult learners and I'm typically talking specifically about #udl, so I'm straightforward and use the 6 traits in my language. I also tell stories...lots of stories #Udlchat
A4: part of being an expert learner means having the courage to acknowledge the mistakes (and the learning that occurs from those mistakes) along the learning journey. #udlchat
A3: choosing goals with purpose and intention. Choosing goals that are challenging and being strategic about next steps when things don’t go as planned aka fail fast to succeed sooner. Reflection is also key #UDLChat
A4: I like to tell Ss what strategies I use to make up for my own exec. functioning deficiencies. It helps remove the stigma of students needing "extra help" when you show them it's not about being less than, it's about finding smart ways to make things work 4 u! #udlchat
A4 #udlchat I am open about my learning. I talk to the kids about classes, PD, or research that I've taken or learned from....and I always try to take something away...even if it is what NOT to do!
A4: tell them of the risks I'm willing to take, the realization that I've failed at times, which motivates me to try harder, talk about the ways I seek to meet my goals. Just saying these things out loud helps them as expert learners! #UDLchat
A4: I have to be careful about this because it almost always makes me teary 😢when I talk about the ways I’ve tried to be brave and be an expert learner. It means saying “yes” when you don’t always feel ready or capable or worthy. #udlchat
Thanks so much for another great #UDLchat, everyone! It wouldn't be the amazingly thought-provoking 30 minutes it is without all of you #UDLrockstars. [GIF: Amy Poehler doing a fist bump]
A4: showing Ss how I work through an issue/text/poem/writing and then asking them how they might approach it differently often sparks great discussion. We all end up learning something. #UDLchat
A4 I tell stories about times when I messed things up, when things fell apart, those days that almost made your cry (okay, they did) and then -- with students listening --- conduct an "expert learning autopsy" out loud. #UDLchat
A4 One of my favorite ways to share with my students how I am an expert learner is to place myself in a beginner status often and allow them to teach me a new dance, or skill on a device I am not familiar with. Fortnight anyone? #noflashphotography lol #UDLchat
Expert learning is a journey, not a destination. Thanks so much to @min_d_j and all the #UDLchat moderators and participants for another great chat! See you Feb 6 with #UDLrockstar host @drrevdean! [GIF: Person signing "thank you!" emphatically]
A4. I introduce UDL to my Ss so that they are aware that I might do things a little differently. I’m not sure that I’ve talked about being an expert learner. I’m gonna do that next week. Perfect for reinforcing my expectations of them & perhaps 4 themselves #UDLchat
A4. Phrases like, "I'm a learner here too" or 'this is where my thinking is right now, what do you think?" or "I working on this right now, maybe you could give me some feedback" #udlchat
A4: By modelling self talk and a growth mindset when I make a mistake. I try share stories of my own growth and how I reflect and reset #UDLChat#growthmindset
For me, I talk about my personal reading and writing goals and how I work toward them. I make my processes visual (board with books I’ve read, etc.). I think, though, that this is something I could improve. #udlchat
