A Disciplined Application of Universal Design for Learning: Promoting Students' Disciplinary Thinking in English Language Arts

• In Event: Special Education Research: Multimedia Interventions

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how teachers apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in ways that promote disciplinary thinking in English/Language Arts (ELA) among diverse learners. UDL is often used as a framework for increasing access to the curriculum, but the intersection of disciplinary thinking and UDL is rarely considered. Thus, I examined the UDL and ELA practices in three classrooms. With each teacher, we collaboratively designed and implemented lessons to study the intersection of UDL and disciplinary thinking. Preliminary findings reveal how teachers’ practice and students’ disciplinary thinking evolved over the course of the study. This work has implications for supporting teachers in applying UDL to increase opportunities for all learners to engage in deep disciplinary thinking in ELA.

Author

• Jennifer Gravel, Harvard University