Barriers

A barrier is defined as anything that restrains or obstructs progress, access, etc. according to dictionary.com.  As teachers, we come in contact with many barriers as we teach.  We also need to understand that our students have these same obstacles they need to get passed in order to be successful in completing given projects, assignments, or even just understanding day to day lessons.  The CAST website has great information about the barriers that children might face during the presentation of the curriculum.  When using the Universal Design for Learning model in our classrooms, we need to think about potential barriers or missed opportunities and design our instruction so that they can present their answers and work in a way that motivates them. The UDL model helps keep the students engaged, focused, and interested despite possible academic barriers.