Shift Writing into the Classroom with UDL and Blended Learning

INTRODUCTION

THE VALUE OF SHIFTING WRITING INTO CLASSROOMS

WE NEED NOT FEAR CHATGPT

Catlin

I remember the morning I woke up to three text messages about ChatGPT. I had no idea what it was or why it inspired three people to text me before 6:30 a.m. I climbed out of bed, turned on my coffee machine, and stood in my dark kitchen doing a Google search. The articles that popped up in the results immediately piqued my interest: ChatGPT Will End High-School English, Anti-cheating Education Software Braces for ChatGPT, and Will ChatGPT Kill the Student Essay?

It didn’t take me long to learn why this new AI technology that specializes in dialogue and can generate sophisticated and original responses to questions in moments was causing such a stir in education. Yet, as I read about it, my response was comparatively calm, even though I’d spent sixteen years teaching high school English. As I set my phone down to consider what I had just read, my initial thought was, ChatGPT will only kill the student essay and authentic writing if we continue to send inauthentic writing tasks home with students. If teachers asked students to engage in the writing process in the classroom, be it a lab report, research paper, argumentative essay, or cause-and-effect analysis, they would not need to fear ChatGPT. Technology is not the problem; traditional teaching practices are the problem.

The emergence of this AI technology is another force beyond the classroom that’s shining a spotlight on the shortcomings and limitations of the traditional approach to teaching. Two hundred years ago, it made sense for teachers to spend a significant amount of time sharing what they knew with students because they were the sole source of information in the classroom. Now, most students at the secondary level have a powerful computer riding around in their pockets, making information easily accessible. They can do a Google search and access up-to-date information about any topic. Granted, they need a lot of coaching on how to do an effective search, analyze sources for credibility, and think critically about information, but those are skills teachers can help students to cultivate. It’s the perfect example of how technology is (or should be) changing the role of teachers and learners. Now that learners have access to limitless information online, why would we spend our precious class time at the front of the room transferring information? Instead, we should be focused on human connection and sitting alongside learners to understand their specific needs and provide individualized instruction and support.

As I think back to my first book with Katie, I remember we felt compelled to write it because COVID had rocked the educational community, pushing educators outside their comfort zones and highlighting the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach to designing and facilitating learning. We wanted to arm teachers with two complementary frameworks—Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and blended learning—that would allow them to confidently navigate any teaching and learning landscape to ensure all students were progressing toward firm standards-aligned goals and developing into expert learners. With the emergence of AI technology, like ChatGPT, as the latest threat to the status quo, educators can get angry and accuse technology of killing authentic writing and making it easier for students to cheat, or we can get creative and reimagine our approach to this work with a focus on designing for human connection.

UDL and blended learning are innovative approaches to education that focus on creating inclusive learning environments that meet the diverse needs of all students. Benefits of integrating these frameworks include:

more equitable access to grade-level learning

increased mastery of learning standards

a more self-directed, personalized learning experience

the development of twenty-first-century skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and communication, which are essential for success in our world

more balance for educators as there is a shift to the co-creation of learning experiences, as well as more student autonomy

more time and space for authentic, meaningful learning experiences

MOVE OVER, ROSEY

Katie

Saturday mornings in the 1980s were made for cartoons. Although the original Jetsons episodes were produced in the 60s, the show was syndicated by the time my Saturday morning cartoon ritual began. I was a big fan of Rosey, the family’s robotic maid. One of my favorite inventions was the automatic vacuum cleaner that came out of her torso. Growing up, I had a fluffy white Samoyed named Boomer, and vacuuming up his marshmallow-fluff fur seemed like a never-ending task. If only I had a robot to do it for me! Fast-forward a few decades, and many people have indeed welcomed robot vacuums into their homes.

Here’s the thing: the robot vacuums of the non-cartoon world don’t compare to the real thing. A Roomba can’t climb the stairs or get behind furniture. (To be honest, I’m surprised no one has figured that out yet!) Now, before you accuse me of pointing fingers at a vacuum cleaner, hear me out. This kind of technology is meant as a tool and a supplement—something to take an item off our to-do list—but it has limitations. The same is true for chatbots like ChatGPT. Don’t believe me? Let’s check it out. I decided to go all Jetsons and ask ChatGPT to write this introduction for me. Our dialogue went a little something like this:

Katie: Can you write an introduction for my book about UDL and blended learning to prove that this tool can’t write better than me?

ChatGPT: Sure! Here is a potential introduction for your book about UDL and blended learning:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing educational environments that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. It emphasizes the importance of providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement to support the diverse needs and abilities of students. Blended learning, on the other hand, is a teaching approach that combines traditional face-to-face instruction with online learning. By combining the strengths of both modes of instruction, blended learning can create a more flexible and personalized learning experience for students.

Katie: Wow, that is really generic. Cat and I write with much more voice, and we love anecdotes. Can you try again?

ChatGPT: Certainly! Here is a revised introduction that incorporates more voice and storytelling:

Welcome to our book on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and blended learning! As educators, we are constantly seeking ways to engage and support all of our students. That’s why we were drawn to UDL, a framework that helps us design educational experiences that are inclusive and accessible to all learners. And when it comes to blended learning, we love the flexibility and personalization it offers. By combining face-to-face instruction with online learning, blended learning can provide a tailored education that meets the needs of each student.

Katie: You call this a story? Not cutting it. Please give me a funny anecdote about UDL.

ChatGPT: One time, I was working with a student who struggled with dyslexia. He was having a tough time understanding a history lesson, no matter how I presented the material. I tried using different fonts, colors, and text sizes, but nothing seemed to work. Frustrated and at a loss, I turned to UDL for guidance. I remembered one of the principles of UDL is to provide multiple means of representation, so I decided to try something a little unconventional. I dug out my old theater puppets and used them to act out the lesson, with each puppet representing a different historical figure. It was a bit of a wild idea, but it ended up being a huge success! My student was able to understand the material much better through this hands-on, visual representation, and he even asked if we could do more lessons with the puppets.

Okay, so at this point, you may be thinking, Wow, that’s pretty good. I would like to add, For a robot who is not an expert in UDL. Let’s examine some problems with the story. First, UDL is about providing options and choices to eliminate barriers. If a student is struggling with dyslexia, inaccessible text may be a barrier that prevents learning about historical figures. A UDL practitioner can help to eliminate that barrier by providing options for students to access digital text, collaborate with classmates to find high-quality multimedia resources, and share what they know using a choice board. A teacher may provide a digital text but certainly wouldn’t try every single font size. Rather, the teacher would empower students to customize the display of information, access tools like text-to-speech, and work together to make meaning. Students in classrooms that are universally designed are expert learners and have autonomy in their learning.

What is ironic about ChatGPT’s anecdote is that one of my favorite stories is about how I used to think I was universally designing my class because I used puppets to teach The Old Man and the Sea. Spoiler alert: this is actually a non-example of UDL. UDL isn’t about just making learning fun or bringing puppets to life. Our classrooms are not scenes in Pinocchio, for goodness’ sake. Instead, UDL invites educators to recognize barriers that prevent students from deep learning and sharing what they know in authentic assessments. Sorry, ChatGPT. I win.

The humble ChatGPT, it turns out, does have its own limitations, which it recognizes as soon as you log in. Here are three it shared with me:

may occasionally generate incorrect information

may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content

limited knowledge of world and events after 2021

And the biggest limitation of all is that the robot, for all its capabilities, does not write like I do. And if you know me well, really get to know me, you would know that. It can’t come close to my level of sass. Believe me. I tried.

After reading its lackluster and inaccurate portrayal of UDL, I prompted ChatGPT to write like me.

ChatGPT: I’m sorry, but I am not able to write like you as I do not have enough information about your writing style. Could you provide more context or give me some examples of your writing so that I can better understand your style and try to imitate it?

Being the generous and helpful teacher I am, I shared some of my writing.

ChatGPT: I apologize if my previous response did not meet your expectations. To write like you, I will try to incorporate the style and tone that you used in the provided text.

As a teacher at Millfield Elementary School, Karen was always looking for ways to make her classroom more inclusive and accessible for all of her students. She had heard about the concept of Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, and was determined to implement it in her class.

One day, Karen decided to try out a UDL approach in her lesson on ancient civilizations. She started by providing multiple ways for students to access the information, including text, audio, and visual resources. She also gave students the option to choose how they wanted to demonstrate their understanding, whether through a traditional essay, a presentation, or a creative project.

Karen was thrilled to see the results. All of her students were engaged and able to participate in the lesson, and she saw a noticeable improvement in their understanding of the material.

This is what the damn robot came up with. I kid you not. C’mon, ChatGPT, it’s like you’re not even trying! 😉

So, there is it. Technology can be a useful tool, but as you will learn throughout this book, as we get to know our students, help them to establish their voices, and carve out instructional time for them to write, revise, get feedback, and publish in authentic ways, we will help them realize that the Roomba doesn’t hold a candle to the real thing—yet.

It is true that AI technology is advancing rapidly, and we do not know what the bots will be capable of in the future. Regardless, it is important to remember that AI is a tool, and it is up to us, as teachers, to use it in a responsible and ethical manner. As technology becomes more innovative, we should continue to prioritize building relationships with our students and creating a safe and supportive environment for them to develop their unique voices. Additionally, as tempting as it is to leverage technology to provide feedback to students on their writing, we should be intentional about balancing its use with other forms of feedback, such as peer review and teacher-student conferences. The goal of AI-enhanced writing instruction should always be to supplement and enhance traditional teaching methods, not to replace them.

WHY WE WROTE THIS BOOK

AI technology like ChatGPT is one example of a force outside of education threatening the status quo, and it won’t be the last. The COVID-19 pandemic, which required teachers to shift quickly to online, hybrid, and concurrent teaching environments, is another example. These disruptions highlight the limitations of traditional education’s teacher-led approach. It is not flexible enough to weather the metaphorical storms happening beyond our classroom walls.

Writing is a cognitively challenging task. Students who feel unsure how to complete a piece of writing or who struggle to make sense of concepts and texts may turn to ChatGPT to avoid spending hours struggling through a writing assignment. As long as the bulk of writing is assigned as homework and completed outside of class, there is the potential for students to use technology to find and submit writing that is not their own. In the past, students might have copied and pasted text from various online sources. Teachers concerned about the authenticity of that text could simply google a couple of sentences that seemed suspicious to see if they appeared somewhere online. We have both had the experience of reading a student’s writing and immediately questioning if that student wrote the piece we were reading. We can hear our students’ voices in our heads as we read their writing, so as soon as the writing felt unfamiliar or did not sound like that student, we would google it. Now, ChatGPT complicates that workflow because it produces original writing that doesn’t appear anywhere online.

So, our approach has to change. We want to help teachers in every subject area to reimagine their approach to writing, pulling it into the classroom, where students can write with teacher and peer support. Universally designed blended learning creates the time and space to shift many tasks classically assigned for homework into the classroom where they belong. If educators implement more flexible, universally designed blended learning models, students will have access to inclusive and equitable instruction and support while they write. This eliminates the incentive for students to use a resource like ChatGPT, in which case disruptive technology won’t be so scary or threatening.

This book will break down the writing process and demonstrate how teachers can use UDL and blended learning to pull each part of this complex and cognitively challenging process into the classroom. Technology will continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, and so must our approach to teaching and learning. Educators must embrace and invest their time and energy in the aspects of this work that technology cannot do. So, let’s be clear about what technology does well and what humans do well.

When teachers transfer information in the classroom, students have one opportunity to get it. If they lack the vocabulary, background knowledge, focus, or auditory processing needed to take the information in and process it, transferring information in this way is unlikely to yield the intended results. Technology is really good for transferring information. Students can read digital texts, watch