Yesterday I stopped by during the writing block in a Kindergarten class at Harmony Hills ES. The students in Ms. O'Melia's class had several choices for writing. At the same table I noticed four different ways of engaging in the writing process. Place the mouse over each image to read the explanation.
I must say that I was intrigued by the perseverance that I noticed with the boy who chose to use the graphic organizer before writing in his journal. I will post a couple more pictures below as he progresses through his work. He was completely engaged in his task, working continually for quite some time. Now that is the sign of true engagement in that he was interested to work on a task for a sustained amount of time without wavering for a second- he was still working on it when I left!
I've heard teachers comment that UDL might be more work up front but it is the type of work that builds independence. I believe the independence stems from deep levels of engagement and a fostered self direction of learners. In many ways, this self directed learning shifts the heavy lifting from a traditional teacher led model and distributes the decision making to students so they are empowered to make learning decisions for themselves. Exciting stuff to watch!