Imagine going to get your hair done and your hairdresser told you that from now on you have to be a redhead. Quite naturally you will ask the question, "But Why?" She will then tell you how red is the new "it"color that was mandated in every hair salon in the state. You might think to yourself how foolish you will look walking around with red hair. You try to express your dislike for the color but it falls on deaf ears. Unfortunately, if you want your hair done anywhere it must be red!
Well, this is how some students may feel when they come to school. They must get an education, but under whose terms? Does the same formula apply to each and every student? Does every person look good as a redhead? I would think the answer is no to both questions.
These are the three strategic networks and connections to instruction:
on Networks
The "what" of learning
How we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks.
Present information and content in different ways
Multiple Means of Representation
Strategic Networks
The "how" of learning
Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks.
Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
Affective Networks
The "why" of learning
How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions.
Stimulate interest and motivation for learning
Multiple Means of Engagement
UDL gives us the tools to meet as many needs and learning styles as we possibly can.
http://www.cast.org/udl/index.html
Janell,
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy to hair color with student learning. Why are forcing students to learn one way when they can't or do not want to learn one way? Your analogy hit the point exactly and is a great way to describe how many educators teach and our current education system. I will use this description when someone asks me about UDL. Thanks!
Great analogy using the reference of hair color. It was an example that many people can relate to and understand the frustration! I also appreciated how you provided a graph that is color coordinated and includes pictures for visual learners such as my self. Awesome post!
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