“The inclusive perspective in Brazilian teaching practice: Teacher voices learning about UDL” was a three part recorded session for the CAST UDL Symposium presented by Paula Lopes Miranda & Raquel Neves Matos Carvalho. Carvalho is writing a doctoral dissertation about UDL and is a history and geography teacher. Miranda was a pedagogical coordinator of a public school in Brazil. Their main question: “Are the UDL principles in every inclusive heart?” They reflected on several questions about UDL implementation in Brazil. The presenters shared quotes about changes and challenges in the Brazilian education system. They described struggles implementing UDL and supporting diverse learners. Carvalho and Miranda shared numerous quotes, including reviewing the Ecological Systems Theory by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Paulo Freire. The second video started with a Freire quote too. One quote I had not seen/read: “at its core, teaching is a(n) emotional work ” from David Rose from CAST. Miranda mentioned CAST Studio that I now want to explore. The presenters shared video clips from teachers explaining some of the challenges of UDL implementation in Brazil. One teacher mentioned that there is no “formula” and that we should ask “how do you learn best?” more often. Teachers also spoke about the approaches needed for effective inclusion work. Miranda shared some intriguing art pieces to represent learner diversity and inclusion. Another illustration was about learner variability. Miranda stated “exclusions cause imbalance” and UDL can help unite and manage differences. The third video asked participants to share their voice regarding “UDL in your reality” through a Google Form. The presenters shared a video describing a student with a learning challenge and how teachers helped. The young girl was probably four or five years old. Teachers helped with assistive technology and learning from human differences. The presenters shared their love for learning from diversity and worked so well together. This was a fun session to watch!
