A thought about UDL and this project
I was just sitting here thinking about how sad it is that this collaboration will soon come to an end. It was just so COOL to learn so much in such a short period of time.It was just so awesome to interact with teachers from all over the globe!
I have heard it said often that to compare the teaching strategies and approaches in early childhood education to the public school system is like “comparing apples and oranges.” But I have to say after my experience with this project that with the UDL format... this is just NOT SO. “Teaching every student” means just that. EVERY student whether they are 2 or 42 (or 48 :)) can learn when "multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement" are part of the equation. Blogging and communicating with all of you has taught me so much about using technology with my little ones. It has proven to me that teaching and learning truly IS universal. No matter the age of the students (or the teachers!)
I think it would be really cool to keep a blog like this going .It would be really great to have a place where teachers could share resources and strategies and continue to learn from one another! What do you guys think?
posted by Hope @ 2:11 PM
7 Comments:
Good points Hope-I agree! I too have learned a lot! To me teaching isn't always about the curriculum, tests... It's about the child's developmental growth in all areas. As a teacher I find myself constantly doing whatever it takes/works to help them make connections. Sure, the curriculum/standards/objectives are our roadmap but they don't accomodate the different ability levels that children come to us with because every child is unique! Special Ed classes are overflowing now so the buzz is mainstreaming-ughh-shouldn't that tell us something about what is happening? So many labels when we should label them learners! UDL gives us options to meet those different needs and technology is an open door. I have read and heard much debate on the use of technology in ealy childhood classrooms but in spite of the negative, all I have found are positive results with my children. I can't imagine not using it! I just wish that the higher ups would realize that as the saying goes-childhood is a journey, not a race! It has changed so much over the past 21 years that I've been in and we are feeing the pressure of the pushed down curriculum. It is challenging but the children are worth it! Would love to blog some more but I have to get back to my video I'm putting together for my parents using Movie Maker(first time)-so far, so good, it's actually pretty user friendly! I just have way too many pictures-LOL. I did it in Power Point last year and had to burn 2 CD's due to size-maybe this will work better-keep your fingers crossed as I'll be burning the midnight oil through Friday :) Isn't technology great?!
Hope
I agree with you. This blog is great and I learned so much from other people.
I also agree with you about teaching. I work as librarian in primary school and I try to teach my children some information literacy skills and my husband teaches Philosophy at the university. We often discuss teaching and teaching strategies, exchange experience and advise each other. We always come to the same conclusion that teaching is a skill no matter who your students are. It is a special feeling, a wish to teach your students something new, to share with them the enjoyment of learning. If you don’t have this passion somewhere inside you nobody can help you. And this is what I like best in this project, meeting a group of enthusiastic people and sharing with them experience in working with children.
Dana
Cheri and Hope,
I could not agree with you more. In reference to wishing that the "Higher Ups" would realize that technoloy integration is vital...it is hard for them. We basically have people who have only a textbook education telling us how to teach students who are digital natives!
I use to teach the UDL way 10 years ago (althoug there was no label on it then)and I am sure that those of you who have been teaching 20+ years did too! We had the movies, filmstrips, choices of projects, choices for learning, totally integrated, totally hands on. When Computers entered the technology world-wow!!!!! This was a goldmine! Then came the internet....I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. The possibilities and choices for teaching and learning!!! The journey was unbelievable. Then boom!!!!!!! The NCLB hit us and so much changed. We now are under the gun so much that we can hardly squeak out a known creative process. Susan has had various projects over the years that force us to look at how we teach differently, delivering the curriculum a different and unique way. I use to be able to have total class involvement, but now, because our school has a rather scripted curriculum and goals that are to be attained...many times we have to follow a deadline to meet the goals. This interferes with my teachable moments, educational projects, and everything else that we know as RIGHT for education. I will stop rambling because I fear that I am not making much sense...I just get so frustrated because I feel my hands are tied. I am also frustrated because, as I am sure it is quite obvious, my district HAS NOT kept up with the possibilities of technology in education. I am reading about the innovative teaching that is happening in schools across the country...I could just SCREAM!
Michele,
I do understand EVERYTHING you just said. I am fortunate that our administration at our school/local levels support technology as much as possible. Lack of funding and time restrictions due to other demands seem to be the two biggest roadblocks, as well as what we mentioned earlier. I found it very interesting when we were working on our End-of-the-Year Memory Books, when I asked my children what their favorite project this year was the majority responded-Butterflies!!! I also had a visit from one of our supervisors from our central office that was amazed to see our butterflies, the children's projects and hear the children talking about what they have learned! He wants pictures to use in a teacher recruitment video he is making for our county :) I told him he could have copies of everthing :) We released our butterflies Thursday at our program for our parents and the adults were just as thrilled as the children as they would fly out one at a time. Simply a beautiful site to be seen. Now that the year has ended here for me I can finish up that mountain of paperwork, folders,... and try to get caught up-if that really exists.
Cheri and Michele,I do not know how you ladies do it,
All the testing... prepackaged curriculum and more.
I truly admire and respect you for your flexibility and ingenuity!
Luckily as a preschool teacher in a laboratory school, I can provide an integrated, center based curriculum using themes of my (and the children’s) choosing. The only barriers we have are in getting the administration to understand what young children are capable of! And getting parents to understand that flashcards and “drill and skill” are not developmentally appropriate .I am hoping that our butterfly project will open many eyes and spark much conversation. I found a William Butler Yeats quote that I really like:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” That is how I feel. My goal for these little ones is to instill a love of learning.
On another note….It sure is a small world in cyber space…Although we are still fascinated with our butterflies, at the end of the school year I let the children each pick a topic of study for their own “special day” One little girl chose “Mice”. And what did we find on an internet search??? Mouse Tales! They LOVED all of your stories.
Dana, we have your library site in our favorite’s folder!You can tell your library group that they have a fan base of 3 and 4 year olds in New Jersey! I really think that this is just amazing.I wish I were around for some of Susan’s past projects!!!!
Hope,
The great thing about Susan's projects is that you can still use them as a resource. I have accessed her pages numerous times. My summer plan is to read up on the rest of the UDL resources that are listed.
BTW...I LOVE the quote!
Michele
This blog is still active with fall "monarch" activities, but we can continue the collaborative professional development for sure. The blog has really been a great sharing environment for us all. I'm sure I speak for Susan too, in saying that we are so excited to see what you, and your students, have done with a little UDL direction. Great working with you!
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