Pontiac Times

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) team gave a presentation at the South Lyon Community Schools board meeting on May 2.

Universal Design is a concept that comes from urban planning and design that include multiple avenues of instruction or application, having the presentation in oral, video and diagrams for all types of learners. When applied to education, the concept means built in accommodations to curriculums and lessons so that additional instruction or separate classes aren’t necessary. Participation involves worksheets, creative projects and using topics of interest to discuss ideas.

Board members said they were eager to hear results and learn how the first-year program fared in their cohort.

Kristin Weber, the director of secondary programs, introduced the cohort and explained efforts over the last year before sharing some of the success stories of utilizing UDL techniques in South Lyon's classrooms.

Weber said that teachers applied for the cohort and participated in multiple days of professional learning and classroom lab experiences to learn the principles of universal design for learning.

“Many of them have also taken on leadership roles in their schools to help educate their colleagues on the principles of UDL during our district professional learning days and also during staff meetings,” Weber said. “I wanted to highlight the work of this group as it would not have been possible without some of the grant funding that we have received from the state of Michigan over the last few years.”

Teachers who used the program expressed a decrease in academic stress because it created one end goal that was flexible with digital resources that allowed students to choose multiple answers on a test to earn partial credit.

“In my classroom UDL is empowering students to take ownership over their learning through choice,” Sarah Athey, a South Lyon East High School teacher, said.

Overall, teachers reported they were very happy with the impact of UDL in their classrooms and hoped to expand the program to other areas of the district.