UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF A GLOBAL UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING (UDL) VIRTUAL CLASSROOM ON JAMAICAN EDUCATORS THROUGH THE LENS OF HOW PEOPLE LEARN (HPL)

摘要

This case study examined learning components and outcomes of the UDL Virtual Classroom project, a web-based professional development program that was a collaboration between educators in the United States and Jamaica. The study applied the HPL lens (NRC, 2000) in order to understand the ways that Jamaican educator-participants perceived the integration of learner-centered learning, knowledge-centered learning, assessment-centered learning, and community-centered learning in the program itself, and also examined the impact of these components, despite numerous hurdles, on teachers’ mindsets and practices and the engagement and performance of students in their schools and classrooms. The researcher’s intent was to address the contextual nature of teacher learning, which must contend with the challenges of meeting the needs of individual teacher-learners, as well as obstacles and real-world situations impacting the implementation of theories and strategies. A multi-case study design was used to gather data through observations, interviews, group meetings, and surveys. Findings were analyzed using qualitative methods, focusing on the experiences of participants both as adult-learners in the professional development program and as educators themselves as they returned to their own educational contexts to implement what they had learned. This study provided insights about strengths and challenges of hybrid learning, international resource-sharing, and long-term impacts of teacher learning.