A Teaching PAL

In my previous blog I discussed "teaching to every learners" and how technology has helped teachers to reach every children in his/her classroom.  I particularly focused on teaching students with learning disabilities, because I was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade.  In this blog I am going to expand on my previous blog by examining CASTs UDL Toolkit and PAL. 

The at CAST have developed a ToolKit for teachers.  I highly recommend teachers to visit this website because CAST provides a variety methods and procedures to effectively implement UDL in the classroom.  One of the tools the website provides is PAL.

What is PAL?
Planning for All Learners

According the to CAST website, PAL is a team approach to developing and implementing effective UDL lessons. PAL includes 4 steps... 

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1. Set Goals: Determine learning goals/content and align goals to standards
2. Analyze Current Status: Identify current materials, approaches and assessments. Examine student diversity in the classroom and their needs. Analyze curriculum for barriers preventing access to materials and content.
3. Apply UDL Lesson/Unit: Select UDL methods, assessments and tools for your lesson. Organize materials to allow access to all students 
4. Teach the UDL Lesson/Unit: Teach lesson and evaluate effectiveness.

As I reviewed these steps, I found myself thinking about and making connections to curriculum-based assessments. When designing a curriculum-based assessment you have to analyze your curriculum, instructions and materials just like the PAL procedures. Both sets of procedures require teachers to assess their current methods and align these methods to the needs of the students as well as state standards.

OVERALL, in order to be an effective teachers we must evaluate ourselves and our lessons. In the realm of UDL, when we evaluate our instructional practices focus on how your students respond to the lesson and activities. Identify weakness in the lesson and find tools or devices that best supported the needs of your students. Finally, assessments are an essential part in evaluation process; use the data from your assessments to inform your instructional strategies.

PLEASE check out this video to get a better understanding of PAL and how to create a learning friendly classroom. The presentation reviews a lot of vital information about UDL and PAL.

References:
Cast. (2013) Udl toolkits: Teaching every student. Retrieved from http://www.c/teachingeverystudent/toolkits/tk_procedures.cfm?tk_id=21 -->

Copeland, S., & Keefe, E. (2007). Effective literacy instruction for students with moderate or severe disabilities. (2nd ed., pp. 7 - 21). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H Brookes Publishing company. DOI: www.brookespublishing.com