{"id":571,"date":"2017-05-15T11:25:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-15T15:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/?page_id=571"},"modified":"2018-10-10T16:34:34","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T20:34:34","slug":"r-million","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/faculty-portfolios\/r-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Million&#8217;s Portfolio"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Reflection Paper on the Intersection of UDL with Active Learning, Critical Humanistic Pedagogy, and Creativity in the Classroom<\/h2>\n<h4>Drawn from the Implementation of UDL in the course 603-103-MQ, The Lord of the Rings<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>By Instructor Rebecca Million<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-154\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/IMG_6072-e1493142731799-500x640.jpg\" alt=\"photo de Rebecca Million\" width=\"176\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/IMG_6072-e1493142731799-500x640.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/IMG_6072-e1493142731799-768x984.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/IMG_6072-e1493142731799-750x960.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/IMG_6072-e1493142731799.jpg 930w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 176px) 100vw, 176px\" \/><em>In this brief report I will be drawing on my experiences and reflections (recorded in a <strong>\u201c<span style=\"color: #568dc4\">UDL Journal<\/span>\u201d<\/strong>) throughout the UDL implementation phase of fall 2016. While working to implement some practical changes in my course, I became keenly aware that all the kinds of pedagogy that I have been learning about, in various faculty learning groups and in the New School, overlap with UDL in theory and practice, as well as in the way they affect <\/em><em>my relationship with my students and their learning experience in my classes. I will try here to articulate some of the ways I\u2019ve seen this overlap manifest itself.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">In practice:<\/span> The guidelines of UDL<\/strong><\/span> ask us to provide <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>multiple means of engagement, representation, and action\/expression<\/strong><\/span>. Active Learning demands much the same of us as teachers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In an<span style=\"color: #568dc4\"> <strong>Active Learning Classroom<\/strong><\/span> we provide an environment where students are asked to <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>engage<\/strong><\/span> with their peers, work on ideas\/problems in teams, and articulate their findings and solutions in various forms, oral and written (even drawn, acted out, etc.). While engaged in active learning activities, students move out of their chairs and around the classroom, writing on white boards, using the computer and SMART board, discussing in groups and at times thinking and writing individually.<a href=\"#_edn1\" name=\"_ednref1\">[i]<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>The Critical Humanistic pedagogy<\/strong><\/span> we try to practice in Dawson\u2019s New School is also a natural fit in a UDL class, where teachers allow students to bring their <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>prior knowledge<\/strong><\/span> and <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>personal experience<\/strong><\/span> to their reading, discussion, and writing about a given text or critical framework. This place for the \u201c<span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>whole person<\/strong><\/span>\u201d in the learning process allows all students a way to access the work, regardless of background and <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>neurological \u201cprofile\u201d<\/strong><\/span>, and it provides the best kind of engagement, both with the readings and with the social group(s) within the classroom.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>The use of creative assignments<\/strong><\/span> also has an obvious consonance with <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>UDL<\/strong><\/span>, as students can express their understanding of course material in a <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>variety of ways<\/strong><\/span> &#8212; ways that are chosen by them. The use of creative expression to engage with course material ultimately validates each <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>student\u2019s unique strengths and abilities<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"#_edn2\" name=\"_ednref2\">[ii]<\/a>. Creative assignments demand that students make deep and broad connections between course material and the world around them, as well as with their other courses. In my work in this vein, I have seen <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>creativity <em>unlock<\/em> a deep and meaningful understanding<\/strong><\/span> in students, even (and maybe especially) in those who\u2019ve had trouble with reading and writing and felt disconnected from their English courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000\">In relationships<\/span>: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In a less tangible way, <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>implementing UDL<\/strong><\/span> can improve students\u2019 learning experience through the relationships it encourages between instructor and students, and between the students as learners and peers.<\/li>\n<li>In trying to create a classroom where <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>barriers are lowered<\/strong><\/span> for all students, <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>the instructor must be an active listener<\/strong><\/span>, and be attuned to the needs and abilities of all and each. This obliges us to approach students as people, with a generosity of intent that creates a space for trust and openness, and suggests that students of all types and abilities have something to offer the class as a whole. <span style=\"color: #568dc4\"><strong>This feeling of trust and validation<\/strong><\/span> can also spread among the students, creating a dynamic where variety and diversity are valued as means to an enhanced student experience, both social and academic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-658 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/Slide1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Final slide from R. Million's PPT\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" \/>\n<h4><strong>Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/Million-UDL-Implementation-fall-2016.pptx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rebecca Million: UDL Implementation<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/160\/R.-Million-UDL-Implementation-F2016.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">R. Million-UDL Implementation, F2016-version PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">[i]<\/a> In an English class, we very often use the \u201cflipped\u201d class format, where students do the reading and thinking about questions before coming to class, and then work to deepen their understanding through classroom activities and discussion. This often makes the use of Active Learning strategies very rewarding, when I find ones that work!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">[ii]<\/a> This applies even to students who don\u2019t think of themselves as \u201ccreative.\u201d I work closely with them to find a way to express themselves that draws on their own interests and abilities, and they see that creativity isn\u2019t restricted to those with artistic inclinations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Reflection Paper on the Intersection of UDL with Active Learning, Critical Humanistic Pedagogy, and Creativity in the Classroom Drawn from the Implementation of UDL in the course 603-103-MQ, The Lord of the Rings By Instructor Rebecca Million In this brief report I will be drawing on my experiences and reflections (recorded in a \u201cUDL Journal\u201d)&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"parent":107,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-571","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1384,"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/571\/revisions\/1384"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/udl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}