Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

Part One: Case Study- Derek

Global Developmental Delay is a condition characterized by a delay in two of the following

areas: “gross/fine motor skills, speech and language, cognition, social/personal behavior and
activities of daily living” (Tirosh & Jaffe, 2011, p.85). This case study will focus on a year 10
student named Derek who is from a school in Western Sydney. Derek was diagnosed with
Global Developmental delay (GDD) at age five, when he was just entering kindergarten. The
nature of Derek’s developmental is a combination of social and intellectual delays, which has
affected his performance in class as well as the way he interacts with his peers and teachers.
Derek shows a keen interest in mathematics and the practical component of visual arts and
tends to thrive in those subjects’ due to their straightforward nature. Visual art is especially
appealing as it offers a tactile, tangible means of learning and he has a deep interest in the
history of artists from the 20th century onwards. Derek struggles the most with English and
history, finding it difficult to grasp abstract concepts and complete longform tasks such as
essay writing. Derek excels in short tasks where the objective and answer is explicit, enjoys
problem solving tasks and as a result, takes an interest in class debates and persuasive
writing. Derek’s cognitive delays make the processing of new information in an unfamiliar
subject area and the understanding of complex concepts difficult. This is not to say that Derek
cannot process complicated ideas or new information, but rather needs more time and
repetition to truly understand them.

Derek’s social/personal delay also means that he struggles to ask for help when required and
will often sit idly during a task until prompted to continue with his work. Group work is
challenging for him as he tends to become overwhelmed when sharing responsibilities with
others and as a result will sit quietly and let the other group members take charge. As Derek
is aware of his academic shortcomings in some areas, he deliberately isolates himself from
his peers in a classroom setting to avoid perceived embarrassment. However, it is also
important to note that the classes where Derek is at his most social and engaged in the works
are the one’s he excels in (mathematics, visual arts), suggesting his confidence is inherently
linked to his ability to understand successfully participate in a key learning area.

A slightly delayed diagnosis of GDD means that opportunities for Derek to attend early
intervention programs before entering school were not possible (Hofer et al., 2019). Despite
this setback, Derek receives behavior therapy, English tutoring and is involved in a social
support program that is targeted towards youths with mild intellectual disabilities. His parents

1
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

play an active role in Derek’s intellectual development, assisting him with his schoolwork
when they can.

While he may require assistance from in-school independent learning facilities in completing
assessments, Derek thrives in a mainstream classroom setting that has made reasonable
adjustments to accommodate his learning needs (Shaddock, Giorcelli & Smith, 2007). These
reasonable adjustments should be informed by the Universal Design for Learning. The
Universal Design for Learning has three main principles to accommodate students with
special needs in the mainstream classroom: representation, expression and engagement.
Providing multiple modes of representation in preparing lesson material will help Derek
identify with the message of the lesson (Courey et al., 2012). A good example of this is
showing an interesting video on the lesson subject or creating an interactive PowerPoint
presentation. In terms of expression, the teacher must offer him, and any student who requires
it, extended support in completing tasks such as a scaffold for an essay or a glossary of terms
to help with writing analytical texts. Additionally, the task or activity chosen should offer
multiple means of completion. For example, if a task requires a student to present an
argument to the class orally, the teacher can give Derek the option to submit his task in
written form. Offering a variety of means to express student knowledge and understanding
caters to the strengths of different students and take the pressure off them to conform to a
traditional and often challenging mode of classwork (Courey et al., 2012). The third and final
principle is offering meaningful and creative lesson activities to increase the engagement and
interest levels of the diverse learners (Courey et al., 2012). This may take the form of getting
Derek and his peers to build a diorama of World War one trenches in history class.

Part Two: UDL Lesson Breakdown

(For actual lessons, please see appendix)

All three lessons are centered around the stage five history unit Australians at War and focus
on three different aspects of it, incorporating UDL principles as well as accommodating for
Derek’s specific learning needs. Lesson one looks at the topic of conscription and plays to
Derek’s strength in problem solving with him figuring out ways in which to solve low
enlistment numbers in creative ways. The lesson also develops his need to engage with and
better understand abstract concepts such as ethics by applying ethics to a real-life scenario.
These history lessons are no longer looked at as simply recollections of the past but a

2
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

discussion of moral and ethics and their perpetual relevance. The informal debate also plays
to Derek’s interest in persuasive writing but helps him develop his social and debating skills.
This lesson’s strength is in the multiple modes of engagement it creates through the
‘planning’ aspect of the first activity and the informal class debate that allows all students to
feel as though they have stakes in the lesson topic (UDL guidelines, 2019).

Lesson two focuses on the fall of Singapore in 1942 and the Bangka Island Massacre. The
lesson begins with an effective use of multiple modes of representation in timeline of events
which take students step by step though this major event in World War 2 (UDL guidelines,
2019). Rather than simply reciting a paragraph on the event, a timeline organises information
from a linear perspective, a helpful tool in teaching diverse learners the concept of cause and
effect (e.g. an attack caused an army to retreat, and the effect/outcome was that the army
surrendered). The visual aide of drawing the events assists in student understanding. The
lesson caters to Derek’s needs in using the compelling narrative of Vivian Bullwinkle in the
Bangka Island Massacre to engage him in the historical narrative. Derek is then made to
engage with the concept of the ANZAC legend and discuss Bullwinkel’s contribution to this
narrative. While this may present a challenge, additional comprehensive structure is given to
him to write a short analytical response, taking him step by step in how to properly structure
such a response.

Lesson three is on the impact of war on returned servicemen and civilians and is focused on
the UDL concept of different modes of expression, playing to Derek’s strength and interest in
visual arts. The lesson contrasts the romantic notions of heroes returning to their homeland in
glorious and romantic fashion to the more real, gritty effect of war from an individual to a
global scale. This lesson offers a diverse range of perspectives on war through the study of
two paintings by famous twentieth century artists, who Derek has a deep knowledge of. The
artworks are connected to the notions of the destruction of war and how even civilian lives
were changed forever. The class is made to do something that is rarely done in a stage five
history class, and that is to create a work of art by colouring in images of returned
servicemen. The idea that students can take these historical images of servicemen and apply
their own meaning to them through use of colour highlights the importance of multiple modes
of expression in connecting historical events to abstract notions of fear, pain, loss and trauma
(UDL guidelines, 2019). Another important facet of this activity is the use of groupwork.
Derek struggles with peer collaboration in unfamiliar subjects. However, if we use

3
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

groupwork in an activity where he is confident and knowledgeable, he will hopefully take a

more active role in the group activity and may carry this enthusiasm over to other group
projects.

Part Three: Lesson Reflection

The three lessons created utilise the three principles of Universal Design for Learning and
attempt to effectively meet Derek’s specific learning needs. Reasonable Adjustments did not
have to be made to the learning environment as the nature of Derek’s disability is not
physical or sensory. The main adjustments were made to learning activities, to suit Derek’s
specific social and academic demands that characterise his disability (Shaddock, Giorcelli &
Smith, 2007). The lessons provide a variety of modes of representation of information and
learning materials, utilising historical narratives, timelines, drawn visual aides, images and
engaging videos. This deviates from the traditional classroom mode where the teacher
transmits information in large excerpts of texts and students are to simply absorb this
information as it is written (Spencer, 2011, p.11). Expression is encouraged through a variety
of tasks such as the class debate and colouring task and offers the clearest evidence for the
teacher that the learner has understood the message and content of the lesson (Spencer, 2011,
p.11). It might be more challenging for Derek to express his understanding through analytical
writing, but practise at this is nonetheless necessary to help him engage his critical thinking
skills as well as his literacy skills. Observing Derek in this way would mean assessing his
participation in class and his colour work to make sure he is learning this content and its
significance. In terms of engagement, each lesson had a different activity attached to it,
another deviation for the traditional classroom setting that offers little more that
comprehension tasks. The activities aim to motivate students to learn through keeping their
interest. One of the simplest ways to do this is to discuss ethical issues and offer them real
historical accounts of wartime and survival, subjects that are universal to the human
condition.

Incorporating the principles of UDL and the specific learning needs of students with a
disability into my lessons is simple at a planning level and would be easier when one
familiarise themselves with the nature of a specific student’s disability. In all levels of lesson
planning and teaching, collaboration with other teachers, parents/carers and the student
themselves is necessary to ensure the best approach is taken to a student’s education.

4
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

Part Four: Report for Stakeholders

In order to optimise Derek’s learning and personal growth, the Universal Design for Learning
principles should be evident in lesson planning and execution. This report will touch on
Derek’s strengths, interests and areas in need of development and how educators and parents
can use them to help him learn and develop effectively.

Derek is extremely proficient in mathematics and finds most numeracy-based tasks simple,
because of the clear nature of the task. He is a natural problem solver and will thrive if given
an opportunity to find a solution to practical scenarios. Activities that require Derek to plan
are pleasing to him and the completion of such tasks gives him confidence in his academic
ability.

Derek displays a keen interest in modern art amongst other things and the incorporation of
modern art reference into a lesson, where appropriate, is an effective way of engaging him in
the work. This is also an effective way to connect analytical subjects such as English to art by
exploring the abstract concepts that are present within a work.

The most important area for improvement for Derek lies in his critical thinking skills and
analytical writing skills. While the completion of longform analytical tasks is encouraged, it
is recommended to start off with a small response and increase word counts expectations
from there. It is also recommended to provide Derek with additional support via writing
scaffolds, or exemplars so he knows exactly exactly what is expected of him.

In terms of making sure that Derek is well accommodated into mainstream classrooms and is
learning effectively, educators and carers need to be on the lookout for behaviours that
suggest that Derek has become disengaged in his classwork, such as inactivity and becoming
easily distracted. In this situation, it is important to ask Derek if he needs extra assistance and
to encourage him to ask for help.

Derek will benefit from lessons that incorporate his strengths and interests but needs to be
challenged think critically in order to grow.

5
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

6
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

Appendix: UDL Lesson Plan

7
Assessment 3 Inclusive Education 18573480

Reference List

Courey, S., Tappe, P., Siker, J., & Lepage, P. (2013). Improved Lesson
Planning With Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Teacher Education
and Special Education, 36(1), 7-27.

Höfer, J., Hoffmann, F., Kamp-Becker, I., Poustka, L., Roessner, V., Stroth, S., ... &
Bachmann, C. J. (2019). Pathways to a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
in Germany: a survey of parents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental
Health, 13(1), 16.

Shaddock, A., Giorcelli, L., & Smith, S. (2007). Students with disabilities in
mainstream classrooms. A resource for teachers. Barton, ACT:
Commonwealth of Australia.

Spencer, S. A. (2011). Universal Design for Learning: Assistance for Teachers in

Today's Inclusive Classrooms. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and
Learning, 1(1), 10-22.

Tirosh, E., & Jaffe, M. (2011). Global Developmental Delay and Mental
Retardation—A Pediatric Perspective. Developmental Disabilities
Research Reviews, 17(2), 85-92.

The UDL Guidelines. (2019). Providing multiple means of engagement.

Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement

The UDL Guidelines. (2019). Providing multiple means of representation.

Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation