Teaching with Purpose: UDL and Constructionism Leading the Way

By Kyra DeLoach

"Universal Design for Learning and Constructionism Infographic" by Kyra DeLoach is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

In education, teaching just to reach the state or area curriculum goals are becoming a thing of the past. Instead, learner-focused education and teaching 21st-century skills are the new norm. Universal Design for Learning or UDL is something I dove into this week that encourages these goals and gives three principles that can help us get there.

UDL focuses on breaking barriers for all learners. Through representation, action & expression, and engagement, UDL helps educators become more learner-focused with the way they teach. These three principles work together and support the idea of constructionism which I touched on in my previous blog post, Shaping the Future of Learning: The Influence of Constructivism and Constructionism.

UDL and constructionism work together and UDL supports the theory of Constructionism. They support each other to reach the goal of helping learners acquire knowledge through the same belief of learner-centered learning. This concept is illustrated in my Canva-made infographic “Universal Design for Learning and Constructionism” which can be seen at the top of this page or downloaded here.

Giving students opportunities to collaborate, get feedback, and make mistakes will turn them into lifelong learners– paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future in education.

References

CAST. (2010, January 6). UDL At A Glance. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDvKnY0g6e4