We think 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 or computer science (CS) needs to be accessible to all learners, and we know that teachers work hard towards this. Traditional CS approaches can lack flexibility, creating barriers to learning and excluding some young people. In today’s blog, we’re highlighting the ‘Universal design for learning’ (UDL) framework and how you can use it to make 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 education more accessible to all your learners.

We also share our new UDL-focused Pedagogy Quick Read, which you can download for free to:

• Find practical tips for how to use the UDL framework and related approaches with your learners
• Read a summary of the 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 behind the framework

Universal Design for Learning: Because one size does not fit all

Everyone is different and has their own way of learning. What works for one young person may not work for the next. So why should we expect learners to be taught the same material in the same way? 

Todd Rose, a contributor to the UDL framework, highlights the factors involved with a young person’s ability to engage and participate in learning. These include cognitive, social-emotional, family background and academic factors. He dispels the idea of an “average” learner, and instead suggests the concept of learner variability. 

As educators, it’s important to consider that students will likely be at different stages of understanding, and a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t suitable. The UDL framework avoids this mindset and provides teachers with structured guidelines to design accessible lessons from the beginning. 

What is the UDL framework?

The UDL framework encourages educators to provide flexibility for learners in three areas: 

• Multiple means of engagement: The “why of learning”, which helps to pique students’ curiosity and motivates them to stay engaged
• Multiple means of representation: The “what of learning”, which focuses on presenting information in different ways to make the content accessible
• Multiple means of action and expression: The “how of learning”, which relates to different ways for students to access learning and express their understanding

How can I apply the UDL framework?

Two things are key while you are planning how to apply the UDL framework with your learners:

• Try not to introduce all three areas at once to your practice. Instead, focus on one area of the framework at a time and reflect to identify where there might be gaps. Focus on these first and make changes one by one.
• Consider how different approaches will work for different groups and individuals. Try to identify what works for your learners and vary or adapt your approach as necessary.

Applying UDL: Some ideas for teaching programming

Multiple means of engagement — show learners different reasons for engaging in programming. For example:

• Solving real-life problems
• Interest in technology or logical thinking
• Creative expression

Multiple means of representation — teach programming concepts in multiple ways. For example:

• Demonstrate through live coding
• Write on a blackboard with a flowchart
• Let learners label and assemble bits of paper into a ‘program’

Multiple means of action and expression — teach with 奇迷影视 in mind. For example:

• Use tools appropriate for learners’ mouse and keyboard skills
• Let learners demonstrate their understanding in different ways (e.g. verbally, by writing/drawing, by creating a program)

The UDL framework aligns closely with several key 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码-supported pedagogies that you can use for effective instruction in computational thinking and programming. For example, the pedagogy approach ‘Use-Modify-Create’ (UMC) can be paired with the UDL categories. The new Quick Read explores these connections in more detail.

The benefits of the UDL framework

Potential benefits for teachers:

• The framework provides a clear structure for designing learning activities that appeal to and engage the widest set of learners
• It can help you consider all the ways you might engage your learners and make CS lessons more accessible.
• UDL encourages you to reflect on the different ways in which you might represent concepts and ideas
• It can help you to build learner agency and independence in your students by offering them different ways to express their learning in CS topics. 

Potential benefits for learners:

• The framework promotes a sense of ownership over their learning. Which can boost their motivation and resilience to sticking with difficult challenges. 
• They will likely find content that resonates with them, leading to higher engagement and therefore learning.
• They will be able to demonstrate their CS knowledge confidently and engage limitlessly in CS contexts.

Our new Quick Read shares tips on how to best use the framework in your teaching. 

Inclusive computer science: The wider context

We know there is a lack of representation within the field of CS. Our recent position paper ‘Why kids still need to learn to code in the age of AI’ and an episode of the  Hello World podcast, ‘How can we empower girls in 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码’ touched on this. Both highlight why it’s important that learners from all backgrounds are empowered to contribute their perspectives and 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看s and shape the future with 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码.

“The reality is that access to the opportunities to learn about computer science, programming, and coding has remained deeply unequal, both within and between countries. That has helped create a technology sector that doesn’t reflect the broad diversity of human backgrounds, perspectives, and 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看s. And we are all living with the consequences.” – Philip Colligan, Mark Griffiths, Veronica Cucuiat

“If we don’t have a diverse range of people designing and implementing that tech, then we are going to come across issues.” – Becky Patel, Tech She Can, Hello World podcast”

By embracing the principles of ‘Universal design for learning’ and similar approaches, we can create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment in computer science for everyone.

The post How to build young people’s agency through accessible learning appeared first on 寝室里的高潮(h).

This month we welcomed Dr Maya Israel, who heads the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab at the University of Florida. She spoke to us about designing inclusive learning 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看s in computer science (CS) that cater for learners with a wide range of educational needs.

Underrepresentation of computer science students with additional needs

Maya introduced her work by explaining that the primary goal of her 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 is to “increase access to CS education for students with disabilities and others at risk for academic failure”. To illustrate this, she shared some preliminary findings (paper in preparation) from the analysis of data from one US school district.

Her results showed that only around 22–25% of elementary school students with additional needs (including students with learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, emotional disturbances, or learners on the autistic spectrum) accessed CS classes. Even more worryingly, by high school only 5–7% of students with additional needs accessed CS classes (for students on the autistic spectrum the decline in access was less steep, to around 12%).

Maya made the important point that many educators and school leaders may ascribe this lack of representation to students’ disabilities being a barrier to success, rather than to the design of curricula and instruction methods being a barrier to these students accessing and succeeding in CS education.

What barriers to inclusion are there for students with additional needs?

Maya detailed the systems approach she uses in her work to think about external barriers to inclusion in CS education:

• At the classroom level — such as teachers’ understanding of learner variability and instructional approaches
• At the school level — perhaps CS classes clash with additional classes that the learner requires for extra support with other subjects
• At the systemic level — whether the tools and curricula in use are accessible

As an example, Maya pointed out that many of the programming platforms used in CS education are not fully accessible to all learners; each platform has unique 奇迷影视 issues.

This is not to say that students with additional needs have no internal barriers to succeeding in CS (these may include difficulties with understanding code, debugging, planning, and dealing with frustration). Maya told us about a study in which the 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码ers used the Collaborative 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Observation Instrument (C-COI), which allows analysis of video footage recorded during collaborative programming exercises to identify student challenges and strategies. The study found various strategies for debugging and highlighted a particular need for supporting students in transitioning from a trial-and-error approach to more systematic testing. The C-COI has a lot of potential for understanding student-level barriers to learning, and it will also be able to give insight into the external barriers to inclusion.

Pathways to inclusion

Maya’s work has focused not only on identifying the problems with access, it also aims to develop solutions, which she terms pathways to inclusion. A standard approach to inclusion might involve designing curricula for the ‘average’ learner and then differentiating work for learners with additional needs. What is new and exciting about Maya’s approach is that it is based on the premise that there is no such person as an average learner, and rather that all learners have jagged profiles of strengths and weaknesses that contribute to their level of academic success.

In the seminar, Maya described ways in which CS curricula can be designed to be flexible and take into account the variability of all learners. To do this, she has been using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach, adapting it specifically for CS and testing it in the classroom.

Why is Universal Design for Learning useful?

The UDL approach helps educators anticipate barriers to learning and plan activities to overcome them by focusing on providing different means of engagement, representation, and expression for learners in each lesson. Different types of activities are suggested to address each of these three areas. Maya and her team have adapted the general principles of UDL to a CS-specific context, providing teachers with clear checkpoints to consider when designing 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 lessons; you can read more on this in this recent Hello World article.

A practical UDL example Maya shared with us was using a series of scaffolded Scratch projects based on the ‘Use-Modify-Create’ approach. Students begin by playing and remixing code; then they try to debug the same program when it is not working; then they reconstruct code that has been deconstructed for the same program; and then finally, they try to expand the program to make the Scratch sprite do something of their choosing. All four Scratch project versions are available at the same time, so students can toggle between them as they learn. This helps them work more independently by reducing cognitive load and providing a range of scaffolded support.

This example illustrates that, by designing activities that support students with additional educational needs, we can improve the understanding and proficiency of all of our students.

Training teachers to support CS students with additional needs

Maya identified three groups of teachers who can benefit from training in either UDL or in supporting students with additional needs in CS:

1. Special Education teachers who have knowledge of instructional strategies for students with additional needs but little 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看/subject knowledge of 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码
2. 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 teachers who have subject knowledge but little 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看 of Special Education strategies
3. Teachers who are new to 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 and have little 灭火宝贝成人版在线观看 of Special Education

Maya and her team conducted 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 with all three of these teacher groups, where they provided professional development for the teachers with the aim to understand what elements of the training were most useful and important for teachers’ confidence and practice in supporting students with additional needs in CS. In this 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 project, they found that for the teachers, a key aspect of the training was having time to identify and discuss the barriers/challenges their students face, as well as potential strategies to overcome these. This process is a core element of the UDL approach, and may be very different to the standard method of planning lessons that teachers are used to.

Another study by Maya’s team showed that an understanding of UDL in the context of CS was a key predictor of teacher confidence in teaching CS to students with additional needs (along with the number years spent teaching CS, and general confidence in teaching CS). Maya therefore believes that focusing on teachers’ understanding of the UDL approach and how they can apply it in CS will be the most important part of their future professional development training.

Final thoughts

Maya talked to us about the importance of intersectionality in supporting students who are learning CS, which aligns with a previous seminar given by Jakita O. Thomas. Specifically, Maya identified that UDL should fit into a wider approach of Intersectional Inclusive Computer Science Education, which encompasses UDL, culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogy, and translanguaging pedagogy/multilingual education. We hope to learn more about this topic area in upcoming seminars in our current series.

You can download Maya’s presentation slides now, and watch the seminar recording here:

Attend the next online 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 seminar

The next seminar in the diversity and inclusion series will take place on Tuesday 4 May at 17:00–18:30 BST / 12:00–13:30 EDT / 9:00–10:30 PDT / 18:00–19:30 CEST. You’ll hear from Dr Cecily Morrison (Microsoft 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码) about her 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 into 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 for learners with visual impairments.

To join this free event, click below and sign up with your name and email address:

We’ll send you the link and instructions. See you there!

This was our 15th 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 seminar — you can find all the related blog posts here.

The post How can we design inclusive and accessible curricula for computer science? appeared first on 寝室里的高潮(h).

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for considering how tools and resources can be used to reduce barriers and support all learners. Based on findings from neuroscience, it has been developed over the last 30 years by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), a nonprofit education 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 and development organisation based in the US. UDL is currently used across the globe, with 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 showing it can be an efficient approach for designing flexible learning environments and accessible content.

Engaging a wider range of learners is an important issue in computer science, which is often not chosen as an optional subject by girls and those from some minority ethnic groups. 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码ers at the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab in the US have been investigating how UDL principles can be applied to computer science, to improve learning and engagement for all students. They have adapted the UDL guidelines to a computer science education context and begun to explore how teachers use the framework in their own practice. The hope is that understanding and adapting how the subject is taught could help to increase the representation of all groups in 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码.

A scientific approach

The UDL framework is based on neuroscientific evidence which highlights how different areas or networks in the brain work together to process information during learning. Importantly, there is variation across individuals in how each of these networks functions and how they interact with each other. This means that a traditional approach to teaching, in which a main task is differentiated for certain students with special educational needs, may miss out on the variation in learning between all students across different tasks.

The UDL guidelines highlight different opportunities to take learner differences into account when planning lessons. The framework is structured according to three main principles, which are directly related to three networks in the brain that play a central role in learning. It encourages educators to plan multiple, flexible methods of engagement in learning (affective networks), representation of the teaching materials (recognition networks), and opportunities for action and expression of what has been learnt (strategic networks).

The three principles of UDL are each expanded into guidelines and checkpoints that allow educators to identify the different methods of engagement, representation, and expression to be used in a particular lesson. Each principle is also broken down into activities that allow learners to access the learning goals, remain engaged and build on their learning, and begin to internalise the approaches to learning so that they are empowered for the future.

Examples of UDL guidelines for computer science education from the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab

Each principle of the UDL framework is associated with three areas of activity which may be considered when planning lessons or units of work. It will not be the case that each area of activity should be covered in every lesson, and some may prove more important in particular contexts than others. The full table and explanation can be found on the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab website at ctrl.education.ufl.edu/projects/tactic.

Applying UDL to computer science education

While an advantage of UDL is that the principles can be applied across different subjects, it is important to think carefully about what activities to address these principles could look like in the case of computer science.

亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码ers at the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab, led by Maya Israel, have identified key activities, some of which are presented in the table on the previous page. These guidelines will help educators anticipate potential barriers to learning and plan activities that can overcome them, or adapt activities from those in existing schemes of work, to help engage the widest possible range of students in the lesson.

UDL in the classroom

As well as suggesting approaches to applying UDL to computer science education, the 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 team at the Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab has also investigated how teachers are using UDL in practice. Israel and colleagues worked with four novice computer science teachers in US elementary schools to train them in the use of UDL and understand how they applied the framework in their teaching.

The 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 found that the teachers were most likely to include in their teaching multiple means of engagement, followed by multiple methods of representation. For example, they all offered choice in their students’ activities and provided materials in different formats (such as oral and visual presentations and demonstrations). They were less likely to provide multiple means of action and expression, and mainly addressed this principle through supporting students in planning work and checking their progress against their goals.

Although the study included only four teachers, it highlighted the flexibility of the UDL approach in catering for different needs within variable teaching contexts. More 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 will be needed in future, with larger samples, to understand how successful the approach is in helping a wide range of students to achieve good learning outcomes.

Find out more about using UDL

There are numerous resources designed to help teachers learn more about the UDL framework and how to apply it to teaching 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码. The CAST website (helloworld.cc/cast) includes an explainer video and the detailed UDL guidelines. The Creative Technology 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 Lab website has 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码-specific ideas and lesson plans using UDL (helloworld.cc/udl).

Maya Israel will be presenting her 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 at our 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 education 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 seminar series, on 20 April 2021. Our seminars are free to attend and open to anyone from anywhere around the world. Find out more about the current seminar series, which focuses on diversity and inclusion in 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 education.

Further reading on UDL

• Israel, M., Lash, T., & Jeong, G. (2017). Utilizing the Universal Design for Learning Framework in K-12 Computer Science Education. Project TACTIC: Teaching All Computational Thinking Through Inclusion and Collaboration
• Israel, M., Jeong, G., Ray, M., & Lash, T. (2020). Teaching Elementary Computer Science Through Universal Design for Learning. Proceedings of the 51st ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pp. 1220-1226. dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3328778.3366823
• Rose, D. H. & Strangman, N. (2007). Universal design for learning: Meeting the challenge of individual learning differences through a neurocognitive perspective. Universal Access in the Information Society, 5(4), pp. 381-391. dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1007/s10209-006-0062-8

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In issue 15 of Hello World, we hear from five teachers who have made the switch to 亚欧中文字幕久久精品无码 from another subject. They tell us about the challenges they have faced, as well as the joys of teaching young people how to create new things with technology. All this and much, much more in the new issue!

Educators based in the UK can subscribe to receive print copies for free!

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