Image Source Week 5 Blog: Reflection on my Lesson with UDL Principles in mind      For this week’s reading, I chose the article UDL and Intellectual Disability: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go? by Rao, Smith, and Lowrey (2017). The authors describe how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can support students with disabilities to make meaningful inclusion by making sure they are truly engaged in learning with their peers, instead of just placing them in classrooms. They emphasize UDL's strength in its flexibility and also deliver multiple opportunities for representation, action and expression, and engagement, allowing students with diverse needs to participate in the classroom and succeed among their same-age peers.      The study argues that, while UDL is usually advocated in policy and practice, research on how it especially benefits students with intellectual disabilities is limited. The research they analyzed shows promising outcomes when UDL princip...

  Image created in Canva by Dana Setchell Activity 1: Blog  Accessibility For this week’s blog assignment, I tested out the accessibility of my Week 2 post by using a screen reader. I headed over to the Chrome Web Store and downloaded the first one that popped up... Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader.  It was super easy to install and use! Listening to my Week 2 blog took a total of 5 minutes and 28 seconds, and overall, I thought it read pretty well. I didn’t feel like I needed to make any changes or shorten anything. The flow felt natural, which was good. I did notice that the screen reader automatically numbered my bullet points (1, 2, 3), even though I hadn’t numbered them in the post. Not a big deal, but something I observed when listening to the read-aloud. I also added some accessibility features to my blog. After doing a quick Google search, I landed on elfsight.com .... again, it was the first thing listed, so I went with it (are we sensing a theme?) . I ...

  Motivated to Learn: What Educators Can Take from How People Learn II This infographic shows key concepts from Chapter 6 of How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts, and Cultures . It shows how learners' cognitive beliefs, social identity, cultural context, and the learning environment itself all affect their motivation. The study stresses how important it is to encourage growth mindsets, create a curriculum that supports students' identities, and give students more freedom to learn. These ideas fit with Gura's focus on creativity in education, especially the idea that giving students a say and a choice might help them get interested in what they're learning. Rivero's ideas, such scaffolding for mastery and creating culturally responsive learning spaces, give teachers real tools to use to get their students interested in learning. The ISTE Empowered Learner standard follows these ideas by telling students to set their own goals, work toward mastery, and take charge ...

Image Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/a5TNEnX5Qa9QhUdj7 AIW, NETP, and the Triple E Framework Part 1: Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) involves students engaging in meaningful, disciplined inquiry that produces work with value beyond school. Unlike traditional instruction, which often emphasizes memorization and isolated skills, AIW encourages students to apply knowledge to real-world problems, requiring critical thinking, construction of knowledge, and elaborated communication (Newmann et al., 2007). The three components of AIW are: Construction of Knowledge: Students organize, interpret, and analyze information. Disciplined Inquiry: Students apply prior knowledge to develop in-depth understanding. Value Beyond School: Work connects to real-life contexts. In Chapter 2, empirical evidence from Newmann et al. (2007) shows that when students engage in work emphasizing construction of knowledge and disciplined inquiry, they demonstrate higher level...

  Week 1 Blog: Introduction, Standards Integration, and Triple E Reflection Part 1: Who I Am and My Professional Goals Hey there! My name is Dana Setchell, and I currently teach middle school special education math (Adapted Math), working with students on IEPs in a pull-out classroom setting. I recently completed my master’s in Special Education Administration and am now working on my second master’s in Curriculum & Instruction with a focus on Educational Technology, both from Southeastern Oklahoma State University online. In the future, I hope to transition into a role where I can support teachers in using technology to enhance student learning while also promoting accessibility and differentiated instruction for diverse learners. I am passionate about empowering teachers to use technology to enhance learning while keeping it relevant for all students. Part 2: ISTE Standard, State Standards, and a Learning Activity ISTE Standards for Students with the Kansas College and Caree...