Design Lab Virtual Tour

Henry comes to your classroom with a reputation for disrupting other students and creating friction in the classroom environment. You see a bright student but he certainly has difficulty paying attention and staying on task without disrupting others. You notice that he does well with active learning assignments. You wonder how to prompt Henry to focus better and behave more appropriately so that your classroom can run smoothly.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Henry in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Henry may reach his full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?

Monica is a delightful student who excels in reading and writing. She, however, struggles in math. She has very low confidence in this area and is a reluctant math learner. Monica takes care of her younger siblings after school while her mom is away at work. She has a cell phone to use in emergencies and responsibly in other situations.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Monica with math?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?

Yen and her family have recently become naturalized citizens. Korean is spoken at home, though the family is learning English. Yen is eager to learn but only understands part of what is said in the class and little of what is presented as text. She has an ESL teacher for a few hours each week, but she seems to be falling behind other students. You want to help her before she becomes discouraged and falls too far behind.

1. How will you make accommodations to her activities that support her learning while reading and writing are still being developed?
2. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Yen in your classroom?
3. In what other ways might you universally design learning so that Yen may reach her full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?

Tamara is a student in your class with a documented physical disability. She uses a walker or crutches, depending on her surroundings. She also struggles with handwriting, therefore has difficulties with writing activities. She works well with a group and has good ideas to contribute however Tamara requires a lot of individual support. She is bright and achieving on grade level, but you need to find ways to help her complete her work more independently.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Tamara in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Tamara may reach her full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?

Asha recently found out she is losing her vision. Though now corrected by glasses, her vision is poor and stands to continue to deteriorate. She is typically a happy, energetic girl, but understandably is now sad and scared. Asha has always enjoyed reading and music and just hanging out with friends in general.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Asha in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Asha may reach her full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting? What if there is currently no specialist in your school system who works with students with visual impairments?

Mia is a student in your class with a documented physical disability. She uses a wheelchair. She also struggles with verbal expressive communication. She works well with a group and has good ideas to contribute the group projects and discussions, however, it often takes her a little while to express her thoughts verbally. Mia requires a lot of individual support. She is bright and achieving on grade level, but you need to find ways to help her complete her work more independently.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Mia in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?

Kyle is a student in your class with a documented cognitive disability. His speech is severely limited and he often sits makes inaudible or indistinguishable sounds in the learning environment. Because he fails to express even simple thoughts and responses in a manner that can be understood by you, the teacher, and his peers, he often retreats to silence and pulls away from class participation. Most of his day is spent struggling to communicate or passively waiting for the day to pass.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Kyle in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?

Tasha comes to your classroom with a reputation for exhibiting difficulty staying on task and an inability to get along with others. She has difficulty verbally expressing herself and get frustrated in group activities. You suspect her slow verbal response time embarrasses her and she “acts out” to camouflage this weakness in class. She loves group activities and games, even when they are academically oriented. However, she often disrupts these activities and is separated from the group because of her inappropriate behaviors.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Tasha in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Henry may reach his full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?

Sabrina has a learning disability. She struggles with executive functioning, reading, writing and notetaking. She needs help with organization, planning steps of projects, getting started on tasks, reading assignments, new vocabulary, spelling, planning writing, grammar and math concepts and processes.

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Sabrina in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Sabrina may reach her full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?

Davis has a diagnosis of ADHD. He has been suspended and even has to miss class field trips due to his behavior in school. He is too active in class, squirming in his seat and finding any excuse to “roam around the classroom.” He taps his pencil, knocks his own as well as classmates’ materials off the desks. He appears impatient and asks too often “what are we doing next?” He loves electronics and “playing on the Internet.”

1. Take a look around the lab. What do you find that may help Davis in your classroom?
2. How would using the tools or activities presented in the lab incorporate Universal Design?
3. In what other ways might you and your team universally design learning so that Davis may reach his full learning capacity and thrive in your classroom setting?