The Model Classroom Project: Transforming Curricula and Teaching through Universal Design for Learning

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In the Model Classroom Project, CAST proposes to create and evaluate the first comprehensive working models of classrooms that incorporate the principles of Universal Design for Learning into learning materials and instructional approaches in each subject area of the curriculum. Working collaboratively with teams of teachers in two Boston-area middle schools, the project will serve as a learning laboratory in which to study the effectiveness of this approach in improving student learning and teacher practice.

The Model Classroom Project draws on CAST's ongoing work to create "Universal Learning Editions," Web- and CD-ROM-based versions of widely used literature, textbooks, and other curricular materials that combine digital text, multimedia, and embedded learning supports in innovative ways to support learning in students with diverse needs.

The goals of the project are:

• To develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive core of digital teaching materials that will transform a traditional "one-size-fits-all" print curriculum into an innovative, universally designed curriculum.

• To develop, implement, and evaluate new teaching practices that will take full advantage of the power and flexibility of that universally designed curriculum.

• To develop communities of practice that can support teachers as they initiate and sustain systematic change across the integrated school culture.

• To create a learning laboratory within a regular school setting where the impact of these innovations on student learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness can be nurtured and assessed.

Current and Future Activities

Beginning in early 2002 and continuing through the 2002-03 school year, CAST is working with teams of middle school teachers in the Ipswich Middle School (Ipswich, MA) and Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School (Jamaica Plain, MA) to create digital learning materials that support "spotlight" units in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts. As full partners in the project, the participating teachers received training in Universal Design for Learning theory and its practical applications and participated in intensive curriculum planning sessions with CAST developers. As the teachers identify learning goals for each content area, CAST developers build supported digital learning materials to help every student in the classroom access the material and achieve success.

Topics of spotlight units for the 2002-03 school year include:

• Mathematics: Probability and Problem Solving
• Science: Supports for Scientific Inquiry, including writing reports
• History: Ancient China and Colonialism
• Language Arts: Holocaust Fiction and Colonialism

CAST developers will then refine the materials and approach based on feedback from the classroom.

Funding

The Model Classroom Project has received extraordinary support over three years from an anonymous foundation.