Universal Design for Learning and diversity of verbal repertoires among preschool students: Individualized intervention with teachers

Abstract

The diversity in the verbal repertoires of early childhood education students has challenged teachers to arrange inclusive teaching contingencies. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has proven to be a useful tool, although still underexplored in Brazil. Interventions with teachers employing collaborative consultations or addressing UDL have documented good results, but based on indirect measures of teacher changes. The aim of this work was to evaluate, through an observational measure and quantitative data, the effects of an individualized intervention with early childhood education teachers on their classroom performance in applying UDL principles to foster the development of students' verbal repertoires inclusively. A single-subject multiple probe design among behaviors was used with four teachers, who participated in a workshop and nine individual consultations. Fifteen probes of the results were conducted, across 15 filming sessions, analyzed by categorizing the teachers' behaviors and calculating behavior rates per minute. The proposed professional development program had a very modest effect on the teachers' performance, each showing improvement in one of the UDL principles. Implications for the application and analysis of future interventions are discussed, highlighting the advantages of detailed descriptions of teacher behaviors as opposed to general and indirect measures. The need for caution with ready-made formulas for teacher intervention is emphasized, as there is still a significant lack of empirical evidence of effectiveness in this area.