Shannon Horan

UDL Engagement

9/29/19

The third guideline under Universal Learning Design is titled, “Engagement”. Grabbing

the attention of an audience is an extremely important aspect to public speaking. Whether the

event be in relation to teaching, training, business, etc, the level of participant engagement is

crucial. In the sense of Universal Learning Design, students in the classroom each have their own

individual ways of finding the motivation to learn. Aspects of neurology, culture, personal

relevance, subjectivity, and background knowledge can all influence a person’s engagement

level with a topic. For example, one subject area may intrigue one group of learners but frighten

or inflict stress upon another. Another example could be, one student preferring to work

individually while classmates prefer to work with a partner or in a small group. There is no right

or wrong way to find the ultimate level of engagement. The checkpoints under the Engagement

section of UDL highlight multiple options for engaging all learners.

One way to ensure engagement from all students is to provide options for recruiting

interest. It is important for teachers to discover what attracts the interest of their students. It is

also important that teachers be aware of the possible changes that could occur within student

interest overtime. For example, a student’s interests may change as they develop new skills and

gain new knowledge. One way to keep up with these changes is to optimize individual choice

and autonomy (checkpoint 7.1). This means providing students with the opportunity to create

and develop their own classroom learning activities. By offering choices in how a specific

objective may be reached, students will develop a sense of self- determination. It will also

increase their confidence and their degree of interest in learning. Other areas to include students
are the level of challenge, choices for reward, context for practicing and assessing skills, tools

used for information gathering, and color, design, and graphics (UDL Guidelines). Students may

also benefit from creating their own personal, academic, and behavioral goals. These choices for

learning help students to stay focused, motivated, and on track for success.

Another way to engage students in learning is to provide options for sustaining effort and

persistence. Many types of learning require a prolonged attention span and significant effort.

When motivated, it is possible for students to control their attention span and level of

concentration on a topic. It is important for teachers to educate their students on skills regarding

self-regulation and self-determination. As students acquire these skills, the surrounding

environment should provide learning options that result in academic equality. Checkpoint 8.3:

foster collaboration and community provides tips for creating a team in the classroom.

Collaborative groups of students working together, highlight more key information than one

student can produce on their own. As students learn to communicate and discuss effectively with

peers, the level of student interest may increase. Some ways to promote a collaborative

classroom are to create cooperative learning groups with clear goals and objectives, create school

wide behavioral support groups, provide prompts that guide learners, encourage learners to ask

for help, support peer interactions, and create expectations for group work such as rubrics or

guidelines (UDL Guidelines).

Lastly, teachers can engage students in the learning by providing options for self-

regulation. It is important for teachers to develop a classroom model that provides support for

student learning among various areas of interest. However, it is also important that teachers

provide just as many opportunities for students to learn and implement skills regarding self-

regulation. Being able to self-regulate personal emotions and motivations is a key component of
human development. Some individuals may struggle with developing the necessary skills to self-

regulate. Therefore, it is important for teachers to provide a curriculum through modeling and

prompting that aids in the acquisition of these skills. Checkpoint 9.2 is centered around

facilitating personal coping skills and strategies. At times, learning can be overwhelming and

stressful for students. Teachers should implement strategies for dealing with anxiety and

academic frustration. Students may benefit from reminders, models, or checklists. These

scaffolds should highlight ways of managing frustration, seeking emotional support, and

developing controls and coping skills (UDL Guidelines). Teachers should also provide positive

feedback to students who are struggling. For example, have students ask themselves, “How can I

improve?” rather than, “I am not good at this” or “I cannot do it”. It may also be beneficial for

teachers to use real life situations and simulations to demonstrate these coping skills (UDL

Guidelines). Providing students with an outlet for their emotions may result in less academic

frustrations or feelings of defeat.

In conclusion, it is a teacher’s responsibility to engage and encourage all students

throughout learning activities. Just as each student has a unique learning style, each student also

has a unique way of diving into a topic. Students should be encouraged to find their own

motivations based on their personal interests and connections to a lesson. Teachers are there to

guide and aid in self-discovery, self-regulation, and self-determination.

 Works Cited

(2018, August 31). The UDL Guidelines. Retrieved from

http://udlguidelines.cast.org/?utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=none&utm_source=udlcenter

&utm_content=site-banner