Implementing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Approach in a High School Classroom to Enhance Students' Motivation and Learning Outcomes

Abstract

[eng] The task of a teacher was never easy, but it seems as though the list of responsibilities a teacher must be in charge of is only increasing. And one of the most pressing matters is the parallel growth of diversity and learner variability in the classroom. Teachers might sometimes feel abandoned and without the proper tools to address students’ needs. Amid this turbulent period, teachers turn to more advanced methodologies and frameworks that might help them. The Universal Design for Learning approach aims at posing itself as the answer, and rightly so. The main premise of UDL is the understanding of the learning process as a process that should favor all students and reduce all possible barriers to learning development. Based on three fundamental principles, UDL advocates for the creation of universal materials that can be used by each and every learner. This project does not only aim at providing an insight into the framework of Universal Design for Learning. On the contrary, it also concentrates on implementing the aforementioned framework with a group of second of ESO (Secondary Compulsory Education) through selected and carefully designed activities that target areas with which these students struggled. The three activities that constitute this Didactic Proposal were created following the three principles of UDL, providing students with several means of presentation of the content and allowing them the opportunity to choose how they wanted to express the knowledge they had recently acquired to enhance their engagement with both the activities and, on the long run, with the subject. The results obtained after implementing the designed activities satisfactorily proved the objectives of the thesis. Not only were the learners more actively engaged in the sessions, but they also reported better learning outcomes.