UDL Now! is 241 pages long. Novak arranged this book into twelve chapters. It also includes three useful resources primarily focused on professional learning communities (PLC).
In the foreword, David Rose shared, “One of the most basic aspects of UDL is representing key information in more than one modality: images are described, spoken language is captioned, texts are spoken aloud” (Novak, 2016, p. v). It is about increasing access and inclusion. By providing options, students can better engage with your content.
Chapter two really resonated with me. Novak pointed out that a lot of people do not succeed because they do not have the right supports. She highlighted the show, The Biggest Loser. With the right supports, participants could easily lose weight or implement the strategy being proposed. However, once they left the ranch, participants struggled. They slipped back to their old ways. Novak stressed that there needs to be a support system. There are three pieces to this supports:
- Educators need to learn about research-based UDL strategies.
- Educators need the tools to put UDL into practice.
- Educators need a long-term support system to keep encouraging growth.
Novak highlighted the importance of moving away from fixing kids to fixing the curriculum (Novak, 2016, p. 5). She also stressed that you do not have to make all the changes at once, and I definitely concur. But there needs to be steady progress. I like Novak’s suggestion to put together a support group where a cohort of educators works together to enhance their courses with UDL principles. She recommended creating a PLC around UDL.
The example of holding a dinner party with a group of people having different dietary needs and preferences was spot on. You want to ensure everyone has a good time and no one goes away hungry. What updates do you need to make to the menu to pull off an amazing meal?
Novak broke down each of the major UDL guidelines (representation, action and expression, and engagement). She used tables to cleanly highlight the barriers to common methods used in the classroom. Shae also shared strategies for overcoming these barriers.
One of the things that has been showing up in this book along with many other books I have recently been read. It is the importance of explaining why you are doing what you are doing to your students. It ties back to Simon Sinek’s Start with Why. Why are you offering this class? Why are they doing this lesson? Why are they doing this activity? Why, why, why!
Novak also encouraged readers to share the UDL guidelines with students. Involve them in the development process. Throughout the UDL Now!, she provided examples of how to involve students.
I walked away from UDL Now! with countless ideas. I now need to sit down with the book to pull out the ideas that I want to use with some specific faculty members. If you are an educator or instructional technologist, you need to read UDL Now! and have it as a ready reference in your library.
Additional Reading
- Book Review: Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education
- ITC: 43 – Using Concept Maps in the Classroom
- ITC: 42 – Strategies for Teaching Vocabulary to College Students
- ITC: 39 – Reviewing the Book: Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone
- ITC: 10 – See What Your Students Know Through Multiple Means of Action and Expression
- ITC: 9 – How Multiple Means of Representation Can Help Your Classroom
- ITC: 8 – What Is Universal Design for Learning?
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