week 3 #3

•         What the video: Universal Design for Learning (http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.Wxf1ii-ZOYU) and explain What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
  I think Universal Design for Learning is an important teaching concept. As mentioned in the film, the current society has become more diverse. Even in some countries that are underdeveloped or developing, there may have been some restrictions due to the geography in the past, but now technology get them a grip linking to the other countries in the world. As a result, students’ backgrounds have become increasingly diverse physically and virtually. This teaching method taught me to understand that everyone has different backgrounds, barriers, or expertise. Teachers should provide a fair opportunity for learning. Through a variety of ways, students can understand the goals they want to learn and activate their prior knowledge. At the same time, they are passionate about learning via a well-designed course. I assume that under such a teaching method, I can also meet a very dynamic class. The teacher is very careful to design his/her curriculum; the classmates often discuss together and cooperate with each other. And I believe that the assessment provided by the teacher is also very diverse and ongoing, I believe integrating all these factors can make the whole learning more effective and efficient.
  
  
  ·         Select a lesson from CAST UDL website:
   http://lessonbuilder.cast.org/explore.php and analyze the lesson with UDL connections.    
  I select the lesson,  Fractals, An Inquiry.
  The reason why I chose this lesson is that I am very curious about the approach in American mathematics subject. It is different from the teachings in Asian. American mathematics courses as I know are often designed to apply in practical life. So the lesson picked by me is not only for students experiencing the connection between the concept of mathematics and life, but also allow students to understand scientific inquiry. In five-day continuous activities, students learn step by step according to their own pace. In the design of the course, I saw the spirit of UDL, that is, students have options to complete their homework independently or with other people. The teacher also does not restrict specific forms for students to present the conclusion they want to present or the understanding they would like to share. Every student has his own strength, as long as he can use the right media students can express their understanding with more confidence. In the final part, the students will review the results of their own learning respectively or collaboratively. Through the rubrics provided according to the process, the students will know where they should progress toward. 
  The idea I really like the most is listing all the students' names on a chart. According to the progress of different students, the teacher could understand and observe which students needed help. This idea characterizes the spirit of UDL and I believe that students will feel more confident in this approach and gradually realize that they are responsible for their learning.