Let’s Continue to Proactively Design for Learner Variability 🎯
We started this school year off by refocusing our attention back towards personalized student learning. It’s not that we abandoned this goal but the pandemic did cause us to focus elsewhere for a short time. At the heart of personalized learning is the understanding that all students enter the classroom with unique abilities, experiences, and skill sets. It is also recognizes that these characteristics can and do change among subjects and situations. We must, then, anticipate learner variability and proactively design our instruction to create more personalize learning experiences if we are going to meet the needs of every student.
In one of our summer videos we introduced this topic. Using Katie Novak’s work around the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework we highlighted the importance of designing for our “First, Best Instruction.” Using the analogy of planning for a dinner party, our Instructional Design Coaches and teachers have worked to apply that same attention to detail and variability in our classrooms.
As we return from a much needed break, let’s continue to proactively design for learner variability. The EDI Cards for Theme 2: Designing Learning Experiences can help spark new ideas, as well as exploring resources offered through the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM Center).
The infographic below summarizes one such resource. Take a moment to review the five key UDL tips for designing learning experiences that they are meaningful and challenging for all learners.
