Reimagining the "How" for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Special Education

Practical EdTech Solutions for Supporting Diverse Learning Styles

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) - ever heard of it? It's a concept you might have read about in your college textbooks and professional development workshops…maybe it’s in your daily toolkit. If you haven’t heard or used it, that’s okay. You’re in the right place.?

Let’s break it down. This best practice, research-based framework simply means:

• provide different ways for students to engage in learning concepts
• provide different ways to represent concepts?
• provide multiple ways for students to express what they are learning?
• keep?learning interesting for your students???

Learn more at The UDL Guidelines

This sounds great in theory, but it's not always easy to put into practice. As a former educator now in the business of designing education technology, I am thrilled about the new ways technology can make these real-world strategies more of a reality.?Here, I will walk through an example of how you can use new education technology like Mela Mela* and AI-powered solutions like Magic School to help bring UDL into practice and simplify daily teaching tasks.

*Mela Mela is a collaborative IEP team and data collection workspace work that aims to assist teachers and their staff in their daily roles. We’re currently partnering with district administrators to optimize classroom support through collaborative IEP teamwork! Reach out if you’re interested in learning more.

Note: I am not an expert on UDL. I am just an interested former educator dreaming up new ways to support teachers. Want to chat? I’d love to learn from you!

Not all students learn the same way. In order to equitably provide them with a well-rounded education we use UDL to meet their unique needs.?

Imagine you’re in charge of a classroom where most students learn, work, and communicate differently. Taking this a step further…imagine you teach all the core subjects 5 days a week.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) may be your go-to strategy. But let’s be real—juggling all of this, across multiple subjects every day, is no small task.?

So…how do you have the energy and creative juice to continually generate fresh and differentiated lessons for a classroom full of differentiated learners??

It can be overwhelming and complex to adapt lesson plans and think in varied styles throughout multiple subjects each day. I can only speak for myself, but this is one element of my role that led me to work long hours inside and outside the classroom.?

Magic School + Mela Mela ??

Thankfully teachers have exciting new tools to lessen the time it takes to implement UDL in the classroom. Technology providers like Magic School AI and Mela Mela are game-changers in this area. I recently discovered Magic School’s “Choice Board Generator” and it got me back into thinking like a special education teacher.

Main Goal: Combine a current unit of 5 senses of the human body with the specifics of a student's IEP goal and non-verbally collaborate with IEP team.

Subgoal: Get the creative mindset activated to think about new ways to represent concepts!

Step 1: Using Magic School’s Choice Board generator plug in an IEP goal.

• take caution and avoid putting any student PII into any submissions.
• enter student baseline skills for more context. AI LOVES context. ??

Choose an assignment title that works for your student’s learning style.?

For example, I chose the Character Interview assignment. I thought it would be fun for this student to act like they are the caterpillar from the story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”?

Step 2: Use Magic School to generate a lesson plan.

Here are the 7 questions based on the 5 senses of the human body:

1. Sight: What do you see around you when you first come out of your egg?
2. Smell: What do the different foods you eat smell like?
3. Taste: How does the fruit you eat taste? Which one is your favorite?
4. Hearing: What sounds do you hear while you are crawling around and eating?
5. Touch: How does it feel to crawl on the leaves and the ground?
6. Emotion (Feeling): How do you feel after eating so much food?
7. Imagination: If you could see any food in the world, what would you want to eat next?

Step 3: Enter Mela Mela’s scheduling and calendar tool.

• Create a recurring session event
• Assign team members
• Attach lesson plan and attach book.

Step 4: Enter interview questions to add context to trials for a specified goal.

• These interview questions will automatically transfer to the data collection session you’ve identified.?
• Context questions added can be updated at any time in the future.?

Step 5: Enter the data collection session. Start interviewing student data based on the interview questions generated.?

Our intuitive user interface is simple to use:?

• Toggle back and forth between the datasheet and lesson plan instructions.
• Add prompting.
• Jot down session notes.
• Time the session.
• Take a photo if that helps too!

Step 6: Save your session and the event is instantly graphed in a report.

?Mela Mela Pro tip: Mela is designed specifically for asynchronous work. As a classroom admin, you can perform quick audits of any data session submitted by your team. No more sifting through paper data sheets or spreadsheets. All your information is in one place. Just click "View Session."

Conclusion

Putting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into practice can feel like a lot, especially with the range of needs in special education classrooms. But…technology is making it easier. Tools like Magic School and Mela Mela empower teachers to generate fresh ideas, craft lesson plans, and streamline their workflow. In turn, students benefit by having diverse opportunities to demonstrate mastery, tailored to their unique needs.

Editor's note: I see AI as a powerful tool that streamlines much of the work teachers do. Allowing them to focus on the strategic and creative aspects that only they can bring to the classroom. Teachers will always be the heart of student learning and growth. By combining Mela Mela’s data collection with Magic School-assisted tools, we can demonstrate a direct impact on student outcomes, showing how Magic School’s resources effectively support classroom success.

If you would like to learn more about how Mela Mela can assist your special education classroom and/or district, please reach out to me through email or on LinkedIn.?

mike.gudenau@mela-mela.org