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Jane Doe is a special and unique individual who is thirteen years old and is currently in year
8. She has been medically diagnosed with mild intellectual disability and exhibits signs of
behavioural difficulties. Education Corner defines Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) as ‘an
impairment of cognitive skills, adaptive life skills, and social skills’. It further states that
‘individuals with MID are slower to learn new skills and concepts than their peers, but with
the assistance of a supportive educational system are often able to live independently as
adults’. Students with MID have learning disabilities which are reflected in problems with
acquisition and retention of information. Students that have been diagnosed with MID tend to
have impairments in ‘oral language, reading, writing and mathematics with functioning
which is significantly lower than age peers’ (Teaching for Inclusion). Academically speaking,
these students face difficulties with organisation, self-care and social skills.
Intellectual Disability states that approximately two per cent of all children have an
intellectual disability. There are varying degrees of intellectual disability ranging from mild
to profound with majority of children being in the mild range’. Inclusive education is on the
rise meaning teachers must come up with lesson plans that acknowledge all students in the
classroom to achieve their maximum potential. Inclusive teacher practices have ‘shown to
improve learning for all students regardless of individual different’ (Loreman, Deppeler &
Harvery p. 12). Carrington & Robinson 2004 and Kraayenoord 2007 in Loreman et al.,
highlight that ‘teachers benefit from inclusive education as it acts as a catalyst for enhanced
‘international standards on human rights are based on the idea of full participation of all
persons in society on equal terms and without discrimination’ (UNESCO, 1994, 2000).
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Positive teacher attitudes, according to Sharma and Desai (2002), ‘is essential to making
inclusion work’. Loreman et al., states that ‘in education students must have the same
Jane works passionately when she is in a happy emotional state. Her strengths include the use
of technology and she enjoys playing games on her mobile. Her enthusiasm is represented
completion and following instructions given by the teacher. Jane, when engaged in the class
works independently and with minimal support. She has shown great initiative when working
on research tasks individually. She becomes involved when numeracy applications are being
taught and in particular especially during game-based learning (e.g. Kahoot). It has been
observed that during such tasks, she has proven to be creative and engages with fellow
application tasks, her behavioural and cognitive issues represent a difficulty that she has in
class. The days that Jane is not engaged or motivated, she lags behind in class. She does not
follow instructions and shows low levels of comprehension especially in literacy. When she
is disengaged, she becomes agressive in class and unresponsive to work (Johnson-Harris &
Mundeschenk, 2014). At times Jane refuses to complete her set task, implying the evasion of
work. In doing so, she tends to disrupt other students in order to gain their attention. Her lack
of organisational skills indicate she is ill prepared for classwork, especially during lessons
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) according to Morin, is ‘a way of thinking about
teaching and learning that helps give all students an equal opportunity to succeed’. She
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further states that it ‘offers flexibility in the ways students access material, engage with it and
show what they know’. Teachers develop lesson plans this way in order to help their students
especially those that might have learning and attention issues. Johnson-Harris & Mundschenk
state that UDL ‘creates a classroom that caters to the wide student populace and which
includes the classroom environment, lesson activities, equipment thus benefitting learners
with behavioural and cognitive difficulties’. The use of UDL not only benefits MID students
but according to research it can equally assist mainstream students (Vitelli, 2015). To teach
effectively, teachers must reach their students, students who come to the classroom with
varied backgrounds, expectations, abilities and learning styles and this understanding is the
heart of the philosophy of practice known as UDL (The Teaching Common). Kortering,
McClannon and Braziel (2008) highlight the importance of flexibility within UDL so that
teachers are able to provide students with varying strengths and opportunities to outshine in
their own style. This is beneficial to the teacher where a lesson can be modified to teach the
Universal Design for Learning has three fundamental principles. The first one is multiple
means of representation. This means to give ‘learners various ways of acquiring information
and knowledge’ (Loreman et al., p.140). This implies to presenting the information to the
learners in multiple formats. Different learners perceive and comprehend information that is
presented to them differently. Learning and transfer of learning occurs when multiple
representation are used because they allow students to make connections within as well as
between concepts. There is no one means of representation that will be optimal for all
learners hence the option for multiple representation is essential (National Center for
Universal Design).
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The second one is multiple means of expression. This means to ‘provide all learners
alternatives for demonstrating what they know’ (Loreman et al., p.140). Multiple means of
expression means to provide students different avenues for assessments which can be
anything beyond the traditional written assessments. According to Accessible Instruction, ‘it
should be recognised that action and expression require a great deal of strategy, practice and
organisation another area in which learners differ’. By providing options for action and
expression students can greatly improve in class and in doing so students are provided
The final principle is multiple means of engagement. This means to ‘tap into all learners’
interests and offer challenges and increase motivation’ (Loreman et al., p.140). The learning
styles, differing needs, abilities and interest are considered along with the strengths of
individuals. Engagement considers individual students interests, strengths and needs as keys
to motivation. Activities incorporated during lessons needs to be relevant to their lives as well
as age, ability and cultural appropriateness (Carmill). By providing students choices to meet
learning and behavioural objectives, individuals can increase the perceived challenge of a
task, access needed support and develop pride and self determination as they work towards
their goal. Carmill further adds that ‘individuals need to see value and relevance in what they
are doing. The level of novelty and sensory stimulation can vary depending upon the students
needs’. However, by providing a variety of model and prompts can heighten self-regulation
skills. Continue to Learn website states that ‘providing multiple means of information
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The modified lesson plan accompanying this assessment firstly highlights the importance of
student wellbeing. Student wellbeing as stated by the New South Wales Education
Department is. ‘ the Framework that supports schools to create learning environments that
enable students to be healthy, happy, engaged and successful’. Student resilience and
wellbeing are essential for both academic and social development which is improved by safe,
Before the lesson starts the students are encouraged to undertake a five minute yoga session.
This is aimed at the wellbeing of students. According to Paterson, yoga ‘calms and clears the
mind, relieves tension and stress, increases concentration, focus and attention, stimulates
improves discipline, builds confidence, self-esteem and ability to be less reactive’. Paterson
further states that ‘short breaks with movements like yoga can make a huge impact on
classroom culture and climate and student engagement’. Repetition of this helps students
integrate these practices and use them as a tool in day to day life for a long time (Paterson).
By implementing this strategy it will benefit Jane along with other students struggling with
emotional issues by using UDL. The lesson will look at speeches and the impact it can have
on individuals.
Multiple means of representation will be used in the lesson plan to present the content via
discussion, written vocabulary (hard copy and online), using examples and teacher modelling.
The option of having the work available online means students like Jane, with poor
organisational skills will always have the ability to access all tasks if they forget their work or
misplace it. Miller and Lang (2008) state that through the multiple means of representation
support and guidance is administered to the students with cognitive and behavioural issues
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who may not have the required skills for language comprehension’ hence proving that
The lesson plan assists students during the I have a dream speech clip task and Gandhi’s
speech by providing students with links to online clip, and having screen captions whilst the
clips are being played along with transcripts of the speak to assist them with their
comprehension. Students will have the choice to use to record their information the way they
want, whether it be typed or handwritten, even allowing them the use of technological
Multiple means of expression gives the students a wide variety of choice by which they can
students at the end of the lesson have the choice to write their own powerful speech or engage
in a performance or drawing that shows their creativity but carries a strong message. Giving
Jane the freedom to choose the way the classroom task is conducted can heighten student
fostering self-determination in the classroom (Xiang, Gao & McBride, 2011). The lesson plan
understanding of speeches (Miller & Lang). Students will be shown images of Gandhi and
Martin Luther King on the smartboard and asked if anyone recognises them and what they
are famous for. During the activities, UDL is also incorporated by giving them a choice in the
way they record their ideas when undertaking the activity. During the video clip, students
have the choice to write or type their ideas giving them a bit more control of their learning.
This strategy is also incorporated in the final activity where students come up with their own
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Rao and Torres (2014) state that multiple means of engagement involves the ‘prearrangement
of a variety of pedagogical methods to encourage and maintain student interest’. The teacher
and student can both support multiple means of engagement within the classroom and this
can be accomplished by the teacher by ‘providing students with the opportunity to study the
prescribed content in ways they perceive as being relevant’ (Johnson-Harris & Mundscenk).
Teacher can provide feedback that is beneficial to the student. Clarke & Pittaway (2014) and
Lyons, Ford and Slee (2014) state that ‘research has shown that students appreciate and
The lesson plan uses UDL to incorporate ICT in the form of showing clips. The students also
have the option to work in pairs or individually or in discussion with the teacher hence more
Overall, the lesson plan gives students the freedom to learn the way they want via written or
typed. It also gives students visual and written transcripts of the clips played in class. A class
discussion takes place involving students about freedom fighters and what they stand for.
And finally, students are given the freedom to choose the task they want to undertake to show
their knowledge, implying that they can choose a task suitable for their strength.
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Colour Key
English
Year 8
with students.
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the video.
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Reference
Accessible Instructions. (n.d.). UDL Principle II: Multiple Means of Expression. Retrieved
Carmill, A. (n.d.). Multiple Means of Engagement Transcript. Retrieved June 20, 2018, from
http://mast.ecu.edu/modules/udl_intro/lib/transcripts/mmengagement.pdf
Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's Becoming a Teacher(6th ed.). French's Forest,
Department of Education and Training, Australian Government. Retrieved June 18, 2018,
from https://www.education.gov.au/student-resilience-and-wellbeing
https://education.nsw.gov.au/student-wellbeing
depth/human-rights/
https://www.psych4schools.com.au/free-resources/intellectual-disability/
Intellectual Disability - Mild - Teaching for Inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2018, from
http://web1.modelfarms-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/disabilities.php?page=intellectual-disability-
mild
with BD in a General Education Classroom: The Case for Universal Design for Learning. The
doi:10.1080/00098655.2014.89792
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Kortering, L. J., Mcclannon, T. W., & Braziel, P. M. (2008). Universal Design for
Loreman, T., Deppeler, J. M., & Harvey, D. (2011). Inclusive education: Supporting diversity
Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Slee, J. (2014). Classroom Management (4th ed.). Melbourne,
Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) or Mild Mental Retardation. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18,
Miller, D. K., & Lang, P. L. (2016). Using the Universal Design for Learning Approach in
1823-1828. doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00108
Morin, A. (n.d.). Universal Design for Learning (UDL): What You Need to Know. Retrieved
approaches/educational-strategies/universal-design-for-learning-what-it-is-and-how-it-works
National Center On Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). Principle I. Provide Multiple
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle1
Paterson, J. (n.d.). Classroom Activities: Use Yoga to Stretch Your Students. Retrieved June
Rao, K. & Torres, C. (2016). Supporting academic and affective learning processes for
English language learners with Universal Design for Learning. Tesol Quarterly, 0(0), 1-13.
Doi: 10.1002/tesq.342
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https://commons.georgetown.edu/teaching/design/universal-design/
Universal Design for Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2018, from
http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/nas1/07c187/Module 10/module_10_p6.html
Xiang, P., Gao, Z., & McBride, R. E. (2011). Student Teachers Use of Instructional Choice in
doi:10.5641/027013611x13275191443946
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