Universal Design for Learning (UDL) originated in architecture, and was adapted, and developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) to provide options that help educators eliminate barriers, address learner variability, and meet the varied learning styles that exist among students today. It is the expression of a belief that all students are capable of learning and that instruction, when crafted and implemented with this belief in mind, can help all students succeed in inclusive and equitable learning environments. UDL is neither a curriculum nor a program but a proactive approach to improve and optimize teaching and learning based on the most widely replicated findings in educational research. UDL is a standards-based framework that guides educators to heighten the salience of goals and objectives in order to design engaging, challenging learning experiences that allow all students to become knowledgeable, strategic, and motivated.
"The most common approach to curriculum design is to address the needs of the so-called ‘average student.’ Of course, this average student is a myth, a statistical artifact not corresponding to any actual individual. But because so much of the curriculum and teaching methods employed in most schools are based on the needs of this mythical average student, they are also laden with inadvertent and unnecessary barriers to learning."
Anne Meyer, David H. Rose, and David Gordon, authors of Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice
Accelerate Learning with Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning
Promising Practices
1. UDL Guidelines and Principles
The UDL guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. It incorporates three main principles (Engagement, Representation and Action and Expression) that align with three learning networks. These networks are parts of the brain that manage the “why” (affective network), the “what” (recognition network), and the “how” (strategic network) of learning.
Text Version: Three Primary Brain Networks Diagram
2. Key Questions to Consider when Lesson Planning Aligned to UDL Principles
UDL is a framework to think about how different tools and resources can be leveraged to reduce barriers and support all learners to engage in challenging ways of thinking. This includes using focus questions to drive the way we plan and deliver our lessons across content areas. (Key Questions to Consider when Lesson Planning Aligned to UDL Principles)
3. Flexible Grouping and UDL: Remediating Learning Loss and Accelerating Learning After COVID-19
A potential solution to learning loss, differentiated flexible small groups, and offers a roadmap for classrooms to implement it. (Flexible Grouping and UDL)
