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This morning I read a brief blog post by Jennie McKenzie titled More Universal Design for Learning (UDL) needed in the IB, which I quote here in it’s entirety, as the author has asked that readers share the link :
“I just finished reading a summary on the need to employ more UDL in IB schools. One of the main challenges for the DP is the very nature of the limited assessment format… which is under pressure from higher education’s limited assessment format. Here is a great list of digital tools to help bring more UDL into your classrooms.”
The IB’s Programme Standards and Practices which relate directly to Universal Design for Learning are:
- A:9 the school supports access for students to the IB programme(s) and the philosophy.
- B2:8 the school provides support for its students with learning and/or special educational needs and supports their teachers.
- C1:6 Collaborative planning and reflection incorporates differentiation for students’ learning needs and styles.
- C3:10 Teaching and learning differentiates instruction to meet students’ learning needs and styles.
If you would like to read further about this area of teaching and learning, I recommend:
- Research summary Universal design for learning (UDL) and inclusive practices in IB World Schools, Summary developed by the IB Research department based on a report prepared by: Kavita Rao, Rachel Currie-Rubin and Chiara Logli CAST Professional Learning, July 2016
- Learning diversity in the International Baccalaureate programmes: Special educational needs within the International Baccalaureate. IBO, August 2010.
- The IB guide to inclusive education: a resource for whole school development, IB Publishing, IBO.
- “Why every school should care about inclusive education“, Jayne Pletser, and Kala Parasuram. The IB Community Blog. IBO, 27 Feb. 2015.
If you are inspired to expand your own experience in this field, I recommend the page of free learning tools at this link created by CAST :
As part of its barrier-busting mission, CAST offers a number of robust (and free) learning tools.These tools, designed and tested as part of CAST’s research projects, help educators, parents, and students experience the power of flexible learning environments.
Photo credit: flickr photo by JakubSolovsky https://flickr.com/photos/jakubsolovsky/8606087394 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license
