Alvey,+Lindsay

media type="custom" key="8408728" align="right" Lindsay Alvey

media type="custom" key="8617668"



CAST review //1.// //In completing my survey, the results did not surprise me, but verified what I thought of my learning style. The results said that I was a visual/verbal learner, that I learn visually and through written format. Both are true for me, I am not strictly either and need a good balance of the two to learn completely. Most of their suggestions for study and comprehension were techniques that I use already, and they have worked fairly well. I also found it interesting that the other learning style descriptions matched ways that I learn as well, and suggested some ideas that I had not thought of previously and could try to introduce some variety in my studying methods.// //2.// //I was very impressed with the information in the CAST website, both in the digital book and in the alternate resources available on the website. There was an incredible variety of resources, including case studies, lesson plans, online books for many ages, practical applications of UDL principles, and the online textbook about the Universal Design for Learning, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age. It’s definitely something that I will use in my classroom and my research.// //3.// //The textbook offered so much rich material on how to include all levels of learners in the classroom, with effective strategies and new perspectives into the mechanics of learning. The chapter about the neuroscience of learning was very striking and made me think more about how it is that each student perceives the information they’re given. If teachers had a better understanding of the fact that not every student learns in the same way and that each one perceives differently, our education systems would be wildly different. I also did not previously know that the Universal Design was begun as a plan for all accessible architecture and building design, making it possible for persons with disabilities to enter a building as well as a person without.// //4.// //The two activities in which I participated challenged the way that I perceive strengths and weaknesses, how I categorize information, and how I understand how the brain actually functions. It was interesting to see that in the identification of objects and emotions in the photograph involved entirely different eye motion patterns. That’s something I’d never thought of and was fascinated to see. In the activity involving the team effort toward a goal, I found that there are more things to offer a project than specific knowledge about the exact task. In teaching, this is an important concept to recognize when assigning and monitoring group work.// 5. //The approach laid out in the CAST website and the textbook were invaluable, and will provide a great resource to me as a teacher. I think that the UDL design for learning is a unique, effective design for instructing all types of learners, even providing for those with more specialized learning needs. I feel confident that if I employ this type of teaching style in my classroom, I will be successful in reaching all of my students.// 6. //I would like to know more about the real-life applications of the UDL method of instruction; the testimonials of teachers who have seen it work. I’d love to see some simulations of situations one would experience in the classroom so that I’d be able to apply appropriate techniques in my own classroom. Generally, I’d like to know more about the method, the development and the implementation.//

I would use this as a supplementary story in a series of lessons or lesson about the Civil War; visual representation of the battle itself, and introduction to some new literary terms. media type="file" key="Bravery honored by a foe.wmv"
 * __Digital Story__**