Transformative Principal

[00:00:00] Welcome to Transformative Principle. I am here live for this episode at the CAST UDL Con International Conference, and here we are talking about all things related to Universal Design for learning, which is a way to make it so that learning is accessible to all students. This has been a great conference

so far, the one you're listening to right now is from the UDL Conference. And really a great time. Check it out, Check out cast.org for information about UDL. UDL-Con and so much more.

Welcome to the special episode of Transformative Principle. We are here at cas UDL Con International, uh, presented by cast. Uh, for more information [00:01:00] about that, check out cast.org and the new UDL guidelines 3.0 that we're just released here at this conference. And I am excited to have with me today, Missy ler.

Uh, Missy, welcome to Transformer Principle. Great to have you.

Thanks, Jethro. I'm happy to be here.

So tell me why you come to this conference.

So I come to the UDL Con, uh, specifically this year because I was really excited about the UDL Guidelines 3.0 rollout. I was really excited to see what they were rolling out. I've been reviewing them every step of the way and providing feedback.

Every opportunity that we had, but I wanted to be a part of the community when they were rolled out. So that's why I came physically. Um, but I actually serve as the statewide systems coach for UDL in Wisconsin.

And, uh, you've done a ton to create resources for that to help people and to make sure that people know how to implement [00:02:00] UDL across the state and and beyond because of the community that you've created with that.

Uh, will you, because you've done this for so long and are so good at it, what to you are the essential parts of implementing UDL effectively?

Yeah, it's interesting. So Wisconsin has been implementing UDL, uh, for 10 years. Well, at least that's how long the grant has been around, and I don't think we actually figured it out until a few years in.

However, the project that. Is essentially UDL in Wisconsin was designed through the lens of implementation science. So universal design for learning was the usable innovation. And then we used the implementation science active frameworks to progress the work.

So what does that mean? The implementation sciences framework? Tell me more about that.

So in implementation science, there's essentially Five active [00:03:00] frameworks, and, essentially requires, a usable innovation. It requires establishing some linked teams and understanding that every implementation goes through phases and stages. And then it, I then we look at, The drivers, which are looking at selection, who are the people that are most prone to implementing?

Then we do teaching and coaching and training around the innovation. And then the other side of the drivers is the environmental readiness. So do the policies and the practices support the implementation of Universal Design for Learning in this case. And then we look at all of the changes from, uh, technical to adaptive changes, and then all of those come together to have some level of fidelity with the implementation.

And so those drivers are really important, but without understanding the phases and stages. And without having linked teams. And then subsequently we've introduced, um, the plan, study, [00:04:00] do act cycles to measure the impact of the innovation on the learners. So are the learners actually experiencing and having the outcomes that we anticipate with the innovation.

So tell me more about the plan, study, do, act

So essentially one. Uh, so in Wisconsin we have multiple, consultants working on this work. And Joe Miller and Michelle Ring Hanson were the two professionals that really dug in and created the technical assistance around a process that we call the UDL trials. And the UDL trials are the plan, study, do act cycles.

And initially because we didn't have good technical assistance around what those trials look like. They were the barrier to implementation for a lot of districts. So we noticed that when we didn't have the technical assistance, [00:05:00] people would drop out because we didn't really know how to do them. However, lots of people talk about plan, study, do act cycles, right?

You make a plan, you study what that plan might be, then you do something and then you review it and you go through the cycle again. The problem is, is that. No matter what innovation you're doing and no matter what plan, study, do, act cycle, you're trying to run, most of the time we don't have an accurate way to measure if we actually achieved anything.

And so, and Joe and Michelle set to work in creating the technical assistance that help, that helped us. Measure the outcomes and the impact that the change in practice had on the learner outcomes, and it was that work and the technical assistance work around it. That was really helpful and we started doing those measurements using spreadsheets.

Mm-hmm.

And the

Spreadsheets [00:06:00] retired into a technology that, um, a team of people created, um, at one of our CSOs in Wisconsin. And so that is, that technology is really helpful in gathering the data, keeping the data straight, and then using, helping us use the data to inform the next plan, study, do act cycle.

And in this plan study do act cycles. We essentially do three to four different cycles. Every year or in a semester long timeframe. And so we essentially plan what we want to study. We, we specifically look at engagement and find a way we've determined the criterion that is, um, indicative of engaged students.

And that is what we observe and measure.

measure.

So you

So you kind of answered the questions that I was starting to think about asking, which is around, what is that, what does that data look like? Go in a little bit more to those spreadsheets that are now a, a actual solution. What is it that you're tracking specifically?

Give an example from one of your, [00:07:00] plan, study. Do. Review cycles and give us an idea of what that would look like specifically.

Okay. So. She's not here right now, but Mia we're gonna bring Mia into the podcast in a bit because she has very specific examples with very specific schools of how those cycles worked. But what I will speak to, so as the systems coach, I am coaching the people carrying out the different elements of the system.

So I am supporting people in making sure they have the linked teams. I'm making sure that. The schools that are starting understand the phases and stages, and I'm working at that exploration phase with most of our schools, really getting clear on that common vocabulary of UDL. And then the other teammates on our statewide systems team work specifically with districts on those plan, study, do act cycles and provide.

Coaching to get those started. They provide coaching after they do each round of them and [00:08:00] whatever emerges out of the coaching, they're prepared to take them to the next step. So to get those very specific examples, we need to bring Mia to the mic and I'll help you do that. But ultimately. What we did see is, in the last year, we had 12 schools that did trials throughout the year.

Um, some did it with a single team in a grade band. Some did it with multiple teams across their schools, and there were, um, several data points. And so what we, what we could see is that the engagement increased every, with every trial and. It was fascinating and more than just what the data showed, it was the anecdotal reaction to the teachers explaining the data.

That was, is really where the power in the experience was because. The process is really iterative in conversational, in coaching it, it's filled with coaching conversation after coaching [00:09:00] conversation, and that's where the teachers learned. And so the implementation of the Universal Design for Learning strategies, the, the pieces of the guidelines as an example, really emerged through those conversations and they become part of the muscle memory in the designing of learning.

And so. It's been really exciting to see that, and I think that that's a piece. the plan study Due Act technical assistance is essentially what has propelled the implementation of UDL and the schools we're working with significantly.

Well, what's so true about that is that when you have data to know how you're doing and how things are working, people can get more on board with it and can. Be more invested, they can, participate in it more fully because they know how the, how it's working. And so many times, we use things like test scores to say, yes, kids got it or not, but there's more to it than [00:10:00] that.

and so we need to understand how multiple aspects, not just the test scores, because while the test scores matter to a certain extent, they don't tell the whole picture. And you need something else to help you tell that story.

Yeah. So what's really interesting about the trials is they are, the measurement happens in the act of the learning experience, so it. Observational data based on the criterion set, um, to establish the, to what extent the student was engaged. The other piece of the trial is, so we measure for engagement and we are very intentional about setting up the criterion for engagement to not necessarily be anything related

be anything related to compliance. Mm-Hmm.

And so that, that's a really important piece and it's very nuanced, but the tool allows us to establish that criterion. But the second set of criterion is related specifically to an academic goal. So we're not just measuring engagement, but we are [00:11:00] also measuring in an, A specific academic goal and what we see is the attainment of the academic goal is more likely when the engagement is higher.

Now we know that we know that that's natural, like we, we wouldn't have to have the data to know that, but the data helps us have permission to focus on designing for engagement, and that is really important to the work.

Yeah. Well, and in that situation specifically, the data becomes a thing that, maybe it's a test score, maybe it's a different kind of academic measure, but because you are actively engaged in creating the thing there, you can make a determination about what the correct academic goal is without saying, uh, state standardize the test.

Standardized assessment scores will go up by X percent. And it's like, well, those are confounding [00:12:00] variables. They, it could be something else that's causing that, but we're looking here at this particular strategy, this thing in our classroom, and we can now say, look, we know the kids were engaged over here.

We saw the scores on this thing go up. And the thing that made the most sense to to measure was this other thing, not necessarily the state standardized test. And so you can make those decisions a lot better. Does that sound about right?

Yeah. Well, actually we have made a conscious effort at this point, um, because we've only been Dr. Doing trials, uh, in a very strategic and systemic way for, we're on our, we just finished our second year. We're going into our third and a half year.

You know, the first year was sort of piloting the process and the technical assistance. Um, but we also believe that, What the data says in the trials may not necessarily be causal or relative to what we experience in the standardized test [00:13:00] for exactly the reason you explained. There's too many variables to measure, but I think one of the biggest challenges that cast is facing is the research to practice gap and, The reason that that's happening is because we can't seem to find a way to get data around the specific practices that are related to UDL. and we think we found a way to do that through, um, the trials process, which is really just the tech, the plan, study, do act process, but providing the technical assistance and the technology that wraps around those pieces.

we believe that when we.

we

Do the, when we, our grant team works, the whole process, the whole system that was designed through the lens of implementation science for the purpose of implementing UDL. That is when there's the most gains, not only in the student outcomes that we're hoping to [00:14:00] see, but in the culture of a classroom or the culture of a school because, We know that the trials process changes the way in which teachers design learning experiences, and when they exercise that design muscle in classroom experiences, that translates to hallways and recesses and cafeterias and other places. Because we are always thinking about what the student is experiencing and we understand that what they experience.

In the whole of the environment impacts what they experience for a specific timeframe in a classroom before, after another element of something impacts what they're doing in the, in the whole built environment.

/

So Mia, tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do, and then why you came to UDL Con.

Sure. So my name [00:15:00] is Mia Shamiel. I'm one of the associate directors of continuous school improvement at CSA nine, and I am one of the members of the UDL State and the implementation team. And I was really excited to attend the UDL Con just to be surrounded with folks that have the same UDL.

Kind of burning at their core and to be able to talk with people about their successes and really get a sense as to what, you know, folks have been able to build around equitable systems and what we've been able to do in the state of Wisconsin to support our schools and how potentially what we've been able to trial and kinda take through a pilot process have some application to folks outside of our

state.

it's been really interesting.

to be

surrounded with folks who have the same, um, kind of educational mission and to talk about what's working and where do we need to go next.

uh, so can you give us [00:16:00] some of those specific examples that Missy was talking about of the plan, study, do, act, process and what that looks like?

Absolutely. So one of, the opportunities I have in this role is to actually work with teachers in bringing UDL to the classroom. So what we've been able to build as a state team is what we call the UDL implementation trials. And within those trials, we take time to really look at what's happening in the classroom.

Our first trial is all about educators really focusing on the learning goal and being clear about what that learning goal is for themselves and also for their students. So what we do is we, we help teachers kind of look at some different strategies that will work. I have the opportunity in the smaller districts in our region to go in and actually do that kind of coaching.

We collect data around student engagement and also, um, we have some academic criteria that teacher teams will develop together and we collect [00:17:00] that data based off of, you know, what we're seeing with students. So in, in the first trial, it's all about the teachers and the students understanding the learning goal.

We plan around that. I come in and then collect the data, and then we meet as a team, typically of three to five teachers to talk about what was that like,

What did we see

in, like the observations that we've had. And from that. There becomes this beautiful conversation about instruction, which can feel lacking from people that have kind of gone through the very traditional PLC model and, and that has been really exciting.

So in trial one, we help teachers understand the power of the learning goal. We also build this very collaborative community of teachers at the same time.

So from

that, we, we go into trial two and we follow that same PDSA cycle in trial two, it is about students being able to clearly articulate, well, what is the learning goal?

And, and that [00:18:00] sounds really easy, but our students in our systems have been trained to talk about the stuff they need to get done

Mm-Hmm.

versus the learning that they get to be a part of, and being able to talk about eventually what they need. Right?

So, so

Okay.

for example, the, the learning goal as we've been trained is I need to write a five paragraph essay.

And the learning goal we want is, I can. Reason and explain why I am making a choice that I'm making. I

love that you just said that

great. It

sounds very easy for people to

make that shift, but it,

that's a

challenge. Mm-Hmm. It's so

challenging for educators to move away from. Well, the goal of today's lesson is the thing that we're working on and it's not Right.

Right. It's about the learning that we're, we get to lead students through and that in trial one sets the stage for [00:19:00] all of the other work that we do. So even though we, we start with the learning goal and trial one.

That is the foundation for the rest of the work that we do with

our teacher teams.

Mm-Hmm. That never leaves.

And in fact, in, in a couple of the teams I've worked with, they in, you know, the upcoming trials have said, we, we don't talk about the goal well enough. Can you help us do

this better? Mm-Hmm

So even though our system is currently built on three different trials that start with the learning goal, the second trial, we focus on students being able to clearly articulate what that goal is.

Um, and we go through that same process of being able to plan together. We look at the data that we've collected, um, have a really deep, amazing collaborative discussion with the teaching team. In trial Three is where we begin to really look at, well, what are some potential UDL, pieces that we can begin to look at and what are some of the specific strategies that we can begin to, to talk about? oftentimes we get to trial three and teachers [00:20:00] are like, I'm, I'm not ready for this yet. I'm not clearly articulating the learning goal for kids. Students are still at this point of school is about tasks. Mm-Hmm.

Mm-Hmm. It's

about learning. and in trial three, when we really begin to put those things together and we begin to provide options, if we don't have a clear learning goal, if we're not providing the opportunity for students to make decisions about what they need.

They're not comfortable with it. We have to continue to practice some of those skills. So even though that the trials are set up in these, um, three kind of distinct ways of building on the learning goal, helping kids understand it, we really begin to plan for removing barriers in the, um, the instructional design.

It, it comes back to like, okay, what part of this process do I really need to focus on? Again, knowing the context of my school, here's where we need to really help kids feel empowered to make a decision about what they need next.

Yeah. So I want to talk a little bit about the word [00:21:00] that you chose, which is, uh, trials, because it sounds like the reason why you chose that is that this isn't anything that is set in stone or perfect.

You're learning. We're learning. It's okay. there's no expectation that, it's funny because Missy talked about. Implementation with Fidelity. But it sounds like the implementation with fidelity is not what we usually think of in education, which is you have to follow the script. Exactly. The, tell me about that.

I have probably some more thoughts when you're done.

absolutely. So we are modeling within the coaching trials, the very kinds of conversations we hope to hear teachers having with students, right? And when, when starting the, the trials process with teacher teams, it is not uncommon for them to come into that very first time we meet and have a lot of anxiety

Mm-Hmm. About

you're going to come in and you're going to,

to

um, judge and how do we [00:22:00] actually move this process forward?

And. As we begin to have these very powerful collaborative conversations around learning and learning design, that

anxiety just kind of falls by the wayside. Mm-Hmm. And we get

talk about instruction. And the teachers that I've had the opportunity to work with absolutely appreciate that opportunity to talk about instruction.

So it's, it's about meeting teachers where they are, but knowing. That we can move to. Yes, students are going to talk about their learning and not just completing a task. Um, we know what the goal is within this process. How we help people get there is the very same kind of model we hope to see in

classrooms. Mm-Hmm. Yeah. That's awesome. And I, and I love the approach of, it's not perfect yet, and you're not supposed to be perfect at it. And you're not even talking about UDL until the third trial. And so, like, it's just so accessible, right. [00:23:00] And it's so easy for someone to jump in and be part of it.

And I think that's the part where, you know, when, when teachers become part of this process, they think right away.

The guidelines, they think right away there are 150,000 things that I'm supposed to play in, in a, a lesson. And, um, removing that level of burden for them has been really key in them. Focusing in on this is about learning. It's not about checking boxes. It's not about being able to say, I've, done all of these things within the guidelines.

It, it's about the learning. It's about understanding what we provide options around. and it's really about understanding that it's about the, it's the kids,

That everything we're doing is really looking at what is it that our students need and how can I design to make sure those needs are,

Mm-Hmm.

Uh, so last question. How are teachers responding, to this and what's their, their feeling about it?

about So we actually brought together, [00:24:00] um, it was like 10 or 12 teachers who've been part of this process for a panel discussion, earlier this, uh, spring.

And they all talked about how it moved them to really think about learning and learning design that they now have this focus of.

am

actually having kids practice the thing I'm asking them to learn? And many of the, the folks that I've had a chance to, to coach, have talked about, I feel more empowered as a teacher now knowing that I'm helping kids find their voice in what they need.

And we had a, a really great conversation during the panel discussion about the power of the conversations folks have in these teacher teams. Because they're typically built across content areas. Um, we don't like, we're going to work with the math department or we're going to work with your social studies department.

And, and what that does is it removes the focus on content [00:25:00] and it really allows us to hone in on instruction. And all of the folks in our panel discussion talked about those powerful. debriefs, the powerful learning that they had with each other because it removed that burden of content and they got to focus on instruction and it being the most powerful PLC conversation that many of them have had within their careers.

So they, they appreciate the flexibility of the trials, they appreciate being able to focus in on instruction, which typically in A PLC we're, we're not able to do to the depth that we do with the trials. And also the trials teams typically will feed into then what is happening with the leadership teams in the buildings.

So in our context, here's what's working for our students. Here's what's working for our teachers. How do we begin to scale that in our building and in our district? So you have this core group of folks that are making it real in your [00:26:00] classrooms. And how do we then begin to build on that so that we can move it throughout your whole system.

Yeah, that, that is really powerful. Thank you so much for sharing and going into that. If people wanna learn more about these trials and get some resources, where should they go?

they can visit. They can visit the Wisconsin UDL community, and you can find that community at UDL community. And when you join that space, when you land there, you'll see some conversations happening. Just click the button in the top right hand corner that says, sign in and join us. And you can get all of the information about the implementation process and the trials in the trials toolkit, which is on the.

Left hand toolbar, but anybody's invited and we love to share our work.

That's awesome. Missy just explained how people can go to UDL four community. Is there anything else you'd like to add, uh, as a way for people to learn how to implement this more effectively?

So the UDL community [00:27:00] is, Just an invaluable resource within the community itself. We have the UDL trials toolkit, which, the discussion that I talked about earlier, the panel discussion is there, even if you're not quite sure that UDL is for your context. Hearing teachers talk about their experience there, I think is a really important resource that we've been able to build for our state.

Um, the, for the UDL Forward community provides that space for folks to connect. And myself, I, I work with mostly rural districts. And it can be very isolating when you're the only person who's a department or the only person who is beginning to think in this way, and the community provides that space for people to connect with

Yeah. And people don't have to be in Wisconsin to access the community. Right.

We're finding that there are people

who are not from Wisconsin

who are joining the community, which is amazing, and it only [00:28:00] enriches the conversations that we're able to have. So you don't have to be from Wisconsin. but you do have to be a Packers fan. I'm just

Okay. That's, that's, that's very important. All right. Thank you Mia, for being part of this today. Appreciate it.