Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mitchell Cavens
John Smith is a year 12 Music student who is seventeen years old. He has been diagnosed
with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). AS is a cognitive disability widely recognised under the
branch of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) but is unique to Autism in the way that it might
be seen in learners by their unusual posture, eye contact irregularities and unusual facial
expressions (Konza, 2005). AS may also affect a learners’ social capability. Often, learners
with AS have difficulty in understanding the body language of others and personal space,
which can present significant social challenges for secondary learners with AS (Konza,
2005).. John Smith often struggled to interpret verbal input from myself and other students,
and often interpreted questions and statements very literally and specifically; actions which
are typical of learners with AS (Church, Alisanski & Amanullah, 2000). However, students
with AS often exhibit specific strengths, such as average to superior vocabulary skill as well
as the possession of average to above average intelligence (Attwood, 2003). Also, students
with AS often have no difficulty in understanding and completing basic tasks (Attwood,
It is important that teachers consider these aspects of the strengths and challenges of students
with AS in their lesson planning so that they may effectively involve and include their
student in a way that he/she might become a valuable member of the classroom. John exhibits
many of these strengths in the classroom. He was able to aurally analyse music and
determine what instruments were playing and when, generally in a superior manner than all
of his classmates. However, consistent with the common factors of AS, John was also met
with challenges. Often, he would take more time to answer a direct question, as in the subject
of music, often answers are quite subjective, so John would take more time to process the
question and answer it concretely/literally. John also did not often provide the teacher with
eye-contact, even when asked a direct question. John was still engaged with the question, but
he did not adhere to basic social expectations, which negatively influenced the way in which
he operated in group work. It was also clear that John could not understand sarcasm, aligning
with the symptoms of AS, which influenced the way in which he socially interacted with the
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a scientifically informed framework for educational
practice which aims to provide quality education for all students regardless of ability or
disability (National Centre on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). It aims to provide
flexibility in the way in which content is presented, expressed and received. In the pursuit of
quality education for all students, UDL also aims to remove instructional barriers and provide
appropriate support and accommodations, whilst maintaining high expectations for students
(National Centre on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). This framework has been seen to
positively affect learners with a disability (Johnson-Harris & Mundschenk, 2014), as well as
leaners without a cognitive or behavioural disability (Vitelli, 2015). This framework requires
the teacher to provide the flexibility for quality learning to be assured, rather than the belief
that the student must adapt to the way in which a particular teacher presents content
(Kortering, McClannon & Braziel, 2008). There are three underlying principles within the
make-up of the UDL framework; the first is the provision of multiple means of
representation; the second is the provision of multiple means of action and expression, and
the third is the provision of multiple means of expression. These three principles aim to
address the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of learning (National Centre on Universal Design for
Learning, 2014).
The first principle of UDL; the provision of multiple means of representation refers to ways
in which content is delivered from the teacher. This first principle recognises that students
with differing disabilities, social contexts, cultural backgrounds and language backgrounds
all primarily learn through different means of representation. For example, a child with
dyslexia might learn best through kinetic means, whereas a child with autism may learn best
through audible representation (National Centre on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). In
a classroom where all students come from different learning environments, a teacher who
delivers his/her content through only one means of representation is automatically hindering
some students from learning in the best way that they can. Therefore, this principle of UDL
aims to include all students in the learning process in the way in which is most beneficial for
all students in understanding the classroom content, through teaching content through
multiple means of representation (National Centre on Universal Design for Learning, 2014;
Rao & Torres, 2016). Furthermore, teachers that deliver their content through multiple means
of representation allows for the opportunity for each student to build on their knowledge of
the content through the use of their own learning methods which they have gained from their
Consistent with the symptoms of AS, John Smith can often struggle to understand content
delivery where there is a heavy focus on a new topic, as the teacher will tend to explain the
content using only their verbal description (Konza, 2005). John responds far better to learning
from an aural and visual source, where the new information can be processed without the
barriers surrounding how AS affects his interpretation of the body language involved in
verbal communication (Church, Alisanski & Amanullah, 2000). Due to this, the lesson plan
included below demonstrates changes made to how the teacher presents the information
about the musical topic of ‘texture’. A change is made to the review section of the lesson
plan, where the students will be given a visual aid to help them be reminded of what they
previously learnt, and further in the lesson, aural examples will be played as well as verbal
explanation to help all students understand the difference between thick and thin texture.
Also, an activity is included where the student must perform an instrument to demonstrate
textural density. In this way, the lesson content is demonstrated not only aurally but through
the students’ kinetic experience of the activity. Through multiple means of representation
(Verbally, aurally, kinetically and visually), this lesson plan ensures the inclusion of John and
all students, as each student is given the opportunity to learn the content in a way which is
familiar to them in regard to their social context or cognitive condition (Johnson-Harris &
Mundschenk, 2014).
The second principle of UDL; the provision of multiple means of action and expression refers
to the way in which a student might demonstrate that he/she understands the content
(National Centre on Universal Design for Learning, 2014). For example, a student with
cerebral palsy will differ in the way in which they may express that they understand the
content in comparison to a student with autism or different language barriers. A teacher that
restricts the students to providing the means of expression of understanding the content in
only one way (E.g. question and answer – verbal expression) is inherently placing students
who are challenged in expression in that area at a disadvantage. Therefore, this UDL
principle aims to direct teachers to allow for students to demonstrate their understanding of
the content through multiple means of action and expression (National Centre on Universal
Design for Learning, 2014). This allows for students with different cognitive learning
disabilities, and students who come from different social and cultural contexts to be able to
express the way in which they understand the content in a way that they are already familiar
with and practiced in. Multiple means of expression also minimises the stress on executive
functioning, allowing for a learning environment in which students who are challenged in
that area may better express their understanding (Rao & Torres, 2016).
Due to cognitive challenges that arise from AS, John struggles to demonstrate his
understanding of the content through verbal means. It often takes John more time to answer a
direct question than other students, but this is not representative of his understanding of the
topic, as he often demonstrates that his understanding of the content is superior to his
classmates through practical assessment tasks, which is not uncommon for students with AS
(Attwood, 2003). In order to better include John and all students in the classroom learning
environment, changes to the lesson plan have been included which aim to provide students
with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the content through a variety of
means. The main change in regard to expression was made to the body of the lesson plan
which is designed to allow the students the opportunity to express their knowledge of the
content through their choice of either verbal means, or visual/physical means. The students
are given the opportunity to answer an HSC style question on aural analysis of texture using
either words or drawing diagrams (a format which is allowable in the HSC). Students are also
able to integrate ICT into the task which will be suitable for some students. This
change/addition will enhance the learning environment, as all students are encouraged to
express their understanding of the content through a means which is familiar to them.
The third principle of UDL, the provision of multiple means of engagement refers to the way
ability or willingness to engage with the classroom content. A teacher who actively commits
to a single learning strategy in the classroom will inevitably restrict other learners who may
find difficulty in operating in that specific way. For example, a student with autism would
struggle to engage with the content if the teacher often uses group work strategies in their
pedagogy, as it relies heavily on communication and social skill, which many students with
autism as well as other cognitive disabilities may lack. Therefore, by the teacher providing
the class with multiple means of engagement through a variety of pedagogical methods (E.g.
the option to work with peers/alone/in groups), they best allow for all students to engage with
the content, as well as minimise classroom disruption which may arise from disengagement,
as they may learn in a way that is congruent with their learning strengths (Johnson-Harris &
Mundschenk, 2014).
John struggles to engage with the class content when the teacher organises the class to
complete small or large group work. Due to AS, John has not yet developed the social
understanding needed in order to function effectively as a group, but can work efficiently in
solitude (Church, Alisanski & Amanullah, 2000). Though John does not become disruptive to
other students, he demonstrates his disengagement by drawing in his book and not paying
attention to the teacher. Other students in the class often struggle to engage in certain tasks
due to their background or condition. Therefore, in this lesson plan, changes have been added
which aim to provide all students with multiple means by which they may be engaged with
the content. A change to the introduction to the lesson allows students the choice to work in
groups, as a class, or individually to address what was learnt in the previous lesson. This is
or condition. A simple musical performance task has also been added with the aim to provide
another means of representation and opportunity of expression, but also to provide the
students with another potential way of engaging with the topic of musical texture. Providing
Key:
15 minutes - Directs the class to talk to the student next to them or group
References
Attwood, T. (2003). Navigating social and emotional pathways of autism. Sydney: Southern
experiences of children with Asperger Syndrome. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental
National Centre on Universal Design for Learning. (2014). Three principles of UDL.
BD in a general education classroom: The case for Universal Design for Learning. Issues and
Konza, D. M. (2005). Secondary school success for students with Asperger's Syndrome.
Kortering, L. J., McClannon, T. W. & Braziel, P. M. (2008). Universal Design for Learning:
A look at what algebra and biology students with and without high incidence conditions are
saying. Remedial and Special Education, 29(6), 352- 363. doi: 10.1177/0741932507314020
Myles, B. S., Troutman, M. L., & Schelven, R. L. (2004). The hidden curriculum. Shawnee
Rao, K. & Torres, C. (2016). Supporting academic and affective learning processes for
English language learners with Universal Design for Learning. Tesol Quarterly, 0(0), 1-13.
doi: 10.1002/tesq.342
Vitelli, E. M. (2015). Universal Design for Learning: Are we teaching it to preservice general
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