Universal Design for Learning

How can teachers meet the needs of all their students during a single lesson? This is one of the greatest challenges teachers face, as students all have differing prior knowledge, experiences, interests, strengths, and needs.

There are multiple frameworks teachers can choose to utilize in their classrooms as they work to meet the needs of their students. One framework is known as Differentiated Instruction, or DI, and consists of a teacher designing a lesson, then later differentiating the instruction based on their assessment of student performance. Another framework is known as Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, and involves the teacher carefully designing a lesson in such a way that it anticipates varied needs from the beginning.

In this video, we will describe Universal Design for Learning and its goals. We will also describe the three categories of the Universal Design for Learning guidelines and provide examples of each.

What Is Universal Design for Learning?

UDL is an inclusive framework for designing instruction that can be used for all ages and subject areas, and is currently in use in classrooms and schools all around the world.

According to CAST, the nonprofit organization that developed the UDL framework beginning in 1984, the guidelines are designed to “ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.”

The UDL framework guides all parts of a lesson’s design: the learning environment, types of materials used, ways information is presented, assessments, and more. It requires teachers to anticipate and plan for student needs in advance rather than waiting for formative assessment results. Since UDL is designed to ensure that all learners have access to challenging learning opportunities, it benefits all learners, not just those with learning difficulties or disabilities.

The UDL guidelines are divided into three categories. Let’s explore each category now.

Multiple Means of Engagement

The first category of guidelines focuses on providing multiple means of engagement. This is important because students are motivated by different things, including personal interests, goals, strengths, and other factors. For example, some students may be motivated by creative projects, while others may prefer more analytical tasks.

To provide multiple means of engagement, teachers should ensure that students see the relevance of lessons to their own lives, building in real-world problem solving. Lessons should be culturally and socially relevant and encourage active learning. For example, a high school teacher may highlight the connection between a lesson on writing personal narratives and completing a college-entrance essay. If students understand that the lesson may help them achieve personal goals, like college acceptance, they are more likely to be motivated to participate.

When possible, teachers should also provide opportunities for student choice while still adhering to the learning objectives. For example, a teacher may give students the option of exploring a lesson topic individually or in groups from the outset to ensure everyone is motivated to continue.

In order for students to be engaged in a lesson, the learning environment also needs to be safe. This includes establishing classroom routines, providing visual reminders like posted schedules, minimizing outside distractions, and encouraging respectful collaboration.

This category also includes helping students to self-regulate their learning. To facilitate this process, teachers can clarify expectations and assist students with setting goals and monitoring their progress. Goals should focus not only on content but also on learning behaviors, such as increasing the amount of time spent on a task.

Ensuring that students are engaged in a lesson and motivated to learn increases the likelihood of a successful outcome.

Multiple Means of Representation

The second category of guidelines focuses on providing multiple means of representation. This ensures that all students have access to the content and can explore it using various formats in order to facilitate comprehension.

First, teachers should provide alternatives to audio and visual content. This may include providing access to both a printed and audio version of a textbook, adding “alternative text” that can be read by a screen reader to digital images, including closed captions and transcripts with videos, and including written descriptions next to charts and graphs. Additionally, a topic can be explored using multiple media. For example, when learning about the solar system, students can explore images, newspaper articles, and videos.

This category also includes clarifying language and symbols to assist with comprehension. Teachers can pre-teach vocabulary words found in texts, identify important words and phrases in questions, use text features and formatting to draw attention to key information, and provide graphic organizers to clarify relationships.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

The third category of guidelines focuses on providing multiple means of action and expression.

This includes varying the ways that students complete the learning activities and the tools they have available. For example, when learning addition, young children may use counters, number lines, “ten frames,” or mental math to solve problems.

It also includes providing options for how students can demonstrate their learning. For example, students who are responding to a discussion question may be allowed to type a response or record a video response. During a science lesson on biomes, students could select from building a model, creating a multimedia presentation, writing a report, or creating a podcast for the final assessment.

Following the UDL framework, students are also given frequent prompts to stop, reflect, and explain their thinking to encourage self-monitoring and reflection on their progress.

Lessons should also be designed to gradually decrease scaffolding as students increase their proficiency. At first, multiple models are provided, followed by guided practice with immediate, customized feedback. Over time, more of the ownership is transferred to the students, and they begin completing the task independently, reflecting on their progress.

Review

Let’s review what we learned in this video.

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an instructional framework designed to help all students engage in meaningful learning experiences.
• Using the UDL framework, teachers anticipate varied student needs and design learning environments and lessons with these considerations in mind.
• UDL guidelines are divided into three categories. Multiple means of engagement refers to designing lessons that engage and motivate all learners. Lessons should be culturally and socially relevant and encourage active learning.
• Multiple means of representation refers to presenting content in different ways, such as providing both audio and visual options and drawing attention to key information.
• Multiple means of action and expression refers to varying the methods and tools used for both learning activities and assessments.

Questions

Let’s take a look at a couple of review questions before we go.

1. A seventh-grade ELA teacher is planning a lesson on plot. How might the teacher incorporate UDL guidelines when selecting the materials she will use for the lesson?

2. After a unit on life cycles, a teacher gives students a menu of project choices. Students can create an infographic, a children’s book, a multimedia presentation, or a speech about the life cycle of a chicken. Which category of UDL guidelines is demonstrated with this menu project, and how could the teacher change the project to make it even more aligned with UDL guidelines?

That’s all for this review! Thanks for watching, and happy studying.