Universal Design for Learning
(UDL)
The What, the Why and the How
for Enhancing Learning for All
Promoting Collaboration
A New Function for Special Education
Today’s Session at a Glance
 What is Universal Design for Learning
(UDL)?
 Why UDL?
 Components of UDL
 Guidelines of UDL
 Principles of UDL
 Tools, Resources, and Supports
What is UDL?
 UDL was born from an architectural
world intended to design and
construct equal access facilities
 The concept was then transferred to
education.
Universal Design
“Consider the needs of the broadest
possible range of users from the
beginning.”
— Ron Mace
What is UDL? (c0nt’d)
 A set of principles for curriculum development that
give all individuals equal opportunities to learn
 A way to provide learning opportunities
in the general education curriculum that are
inclusive and effective for all
)
What is UDL? (cont’d)
Universal Design for Learning refers to
a process by which a curriculum (i.e.,
goals, methods, materials, and
assessments) is intentionally and
systematically designed from the
beginning to address individual
differences.
What is UDL? (cont’d)
The purpose of UDL curricula is not
simply to help students master a
specific body of knowledge or a specific
set of skills, but to help them master
learning itself—in short, to become
expert learners.
What is UDL? (cont’d)
 Not an afterthought
 Full access is designed from the
onset
 More cost-effective than retrofitting
 More elegant and easy-to-use
What is UDL? (cont’d)
 UDL provides a blueprint for creating
instructional goals, methods,
materials, and assessments that work
for everyone.
 UDL is not a single, one-size-fits-all
solution, but rather flexible
approaches that can be customized
and adjusted for individual needs.
WHY UDL?
Individuals bring a huge variety of skills,
needs, and interests to learning.
Neuroscience reveals that these
differences are as varied and unique as
our DNA or fingerprints.
Why UDL? (cont’d)
Three Primary Brain Networks
Recognition Networks
 The "what" of learning
 How we gather facts and categorize
what we see, hear, and read.
Identifying letters, words, or an
author's style are recognition tasks.
Why UDL? (cont’d)
Three Primary Brain Networks (cont’d)
Strategic Networks
 The "how" of learning
 Planning and performing tasks. How
we organize and express our ideas.
Writing an essay or solving a math
problem are strategic tasks.
Why UDL? (cont’d)
Three Primary Brain Networks (cont’d)
Affective Networks
 The "why" of learning
 How learners get engaged and stay
motivated. How they are challenged,
excited, or interested. These are
affective dimensions.
Why UDL? (cont’d)
 Eliminates or reduces barriers to academic
success for all students
 Values diversity in the classroom through
proactive design of inclusive curriculum
 Provides appropriate accommodations
[and] supports
 Maintains high achievement expectations
WHY UDL? (cont’d)
 Increasing options
for access
 Increasing options
for participation
 Increasing options
for demonstrating
learning
Leading to increased
equitable access to
the general
curriculum 
– Higher achievement
– Higher graduation
rate
– Lower drop out rate
Why UDL? (cont’d)
More Educators are…
 Teaching effectively in classrooms with
diverse student needs
 Spending more time on
instruction and facilitating
learning
 Helping ALL learners succeed
Why UDL? (cont’d)
More Students are…
 Engaged in their own education
 Learning at greater breadth and depth
 Achieving at higher levels
 Motivated to continue learning
Components of UDL
Goals are often described as learning
expectations.
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Traditional
– Learning goals may
get skewed by the
inflexible ways and
means of achieving
them.
UDL
– Learning goals are
attained in many
individualized ways,
by many customized
means.
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Methods are generally defined as the
instructional decisions, approaches,
procedures, or routines that expert
teachers use to accelerate or enhance
learning
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Traditional
– Teacher centered
(lecture)
– Homogeneous
grouping
– Burden on student to
adapt to “get it”
UDL
– Interactivity
– Heterogeneous
grouping
– Rich supports for
understanding,
independent
learning
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Materials are usually seen as the
media used to present learning content
and what the learner uses to
demonstrate knowledge
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Traditional
– Mostly print and
everyone gets the
same materials
– Few options
UDL
– Variety of materials
and formats to
reach learners with
diverse abilities,
styles, and needs
equally well.
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Assessment is described as the
process of gathering information about
a learner’s performance using a variety
of methods and materials in order to
determine learners’ knowledge, skills,
and motivation for the purpose of
making informed educational decisions.
Components of UDL (cont’d)
Traditional
– Confuse goals with
means.
– Summative—when
it’s too late to adjust
instruction!
UDL
– Many positive
means as long as
they measure
learning!
– Supports
instructional
improvement.
Guidelines of UDL
Guideline 1: Provide options for
perception
 Learning is impossible if information is
imperceptible to the learner, and difficult when
information is presented in formats that require
extraordinary effort or assistance.
 To reduce barriers to learning, it is important to
ensure that key information is equally
perceptible to all learners by:
– providing the same information through
different modalities
– providing information in a format that will allow
for adjustability by the user
Guidelines of UDL (cont’d)
Guideline 2: Provide options for language,
mathematical expressions, and symbols
 A picture or image that carries meaning for some
learners may carry very different meanings for
learners from differing cultural or familial
backgrounds. As a result, inequalities arise when
information is presented to all learners through a
single form of representation.
 An important instructional strategy is to ensure
that alternative representations are provided not
only for accessibility, but for clarity and
comprehensibility across all learners.
Guidelines of UDL (cont’d)
Guideline 3: Provide options for comprehension
 The sole purpose of education is not to make
information accessible, but rather to teach
learners how to transform accessible
information into useable knowledge.
 Proper design and presentation of
information – the responsibility of any
curriculum or instructional methodology - can
provide the scaffolds necessary to ensure
that all learners have access to knowledge.
Three Fundamental Principles of UDL
 Multiple Means of Representation
– To increase recognition
 Multiple Means of Expression
– To expand purposeful output
 Multiple Means of Engagement
– To enhance involvement
Multiple Means of Representation
 Provide options for
perception
 Provide options for
language,
mathematical
expressions, and
symbols
 Provide options for
comprehension



Perception
– Customized displays
– Auditory alternatives
– Visual alternatives
Expression
– Vocabulary and symbols
– Syntax and structure
– Decoding
– Understanding
– Multiple illustrations
Comprehension
– Background knowledge
– Patterns and relationships
– Information processing
– Transfer and generalization
Multiple Means of Representation (cont’d)
Examples
– Offer text-to-speech, video, audio, and
other multimedia; integrate assistive
technologies into learning environment
– Provide vocabulary support and
background knowledge
– Highlight critical features & main ideas
Multiple Means of Representation (cont’d)
 Read aloud
 Highlight phrases
 Listen to
audiotapes
 Text-to-speech
 What are your
ideas?
– Generate examples
of how you have
represented
information in
alternative formats.
– Generate new and
creative possibilities.
Provide Multiple Means for Action
and Expression
 Options for physical
action
 Options for
expression and
communication
 Options for
executive functions



Physical action
– Vary response and navigation
– Optimize tools and
technologies
Expression and
communication
– Multiple media
– Tools for construction and
composition
– Graduated levels of support
Executive functions
– Goal setting
– Planning and strategy
development
– Managing information and
resources
– Enhance monitoring progress
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
(cont’d)
Examples
– Let students show what they know
with voice recording, graphic displays,
performance, etc.
– Provide models of expert performance
– Offer executive-function supports such
as graphic organizers, outlines, etc.
Multiple Means of Action and Expression
(cont’d)








Voice recording
Graphic displays
Graphic organizers
Dance or movement
Embedded prompts
Checklists
Spellcheck
Story webs and
outlines
 Sentence starters
 What are your
ideas?
– Generate examples of
how you have allowed
multiple means for
action and expression.
– Generate new and
creative possibilities.
Provide Multiple Means for Engagement
 Options for
recruiting interest

 Options for
sustaining effort
and persistence

Recruiting Interest
–
–
–
 Options for selfregulation

Individual choice and autonomy
Relevance, value and authenticity
Minimize threats and distractions
Sustaining effort and
persistence
– Heighten salience of goals
and objectives
– Vary demands and resources
– Foster collaboration and
community
– Increase mastery-oriented
feedback
Self-Regulation
– Promote expectations and
beliefs
Multiple Means of Engagement (c0nt’d)
Examples
– Vary levels of challenge and support to
prevent frustration or boredom
– Tie work to real-world examples
– Where possible, give choices
– Teach self-assessment and reflection
– Implement school-wide positive
behavioral interventions and support
Multiple Means of Engagement (cont’d)
 Flexibility in use of
tools
 What are your
 Provide choice in
ideas?
mode of expression
– Generate examples of
how you provided
 Connect to community
multiple means for
opportunities
engagement.
 Use flexible grouping
– Generate new and
strategies
creative possibilities.
 Create positive school
culture
 Peer tutoring
 Differentiated goals
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports:
Managing Student Behavior
“Creating classroom norms,
expectations and rules are a
golden opportunity to establish
and sustain student
engagement, use it.”
- Dr. Mary Magee Quinn
Universal Design for Learning Guidelines
What are the Take -Aways?
 Learn more about UDL
 Research universally-designed products
 Share your UDL resources and lesson
plans with others
 Consider UDL when adopting curriculum
policies
Supports for UDL
Statutes and Regulations
–
–
–
–
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA)
National Instructional Materials Accessibility
Standard (NIMAS)
Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)
Supports for UDL (cont’d)
US Department of Education
–
–
–
Office of Special Education Programs
Institute for Education Sciences
Office of Postsecondary Education
National Science Foundation
Supports for UDL (cont’d)
Exploring the Three Principles
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutu
dl/udlguidelines
Supports for UDL (cont’d)
 The Role of Technology in UDL
 http://www.udlcenter.org/resource_libr
ary/articles/udlunplugged
 The Seed Lesson
– Example lesson illustrating how all principles
of UDL can be met even with limited
technology
For More Information
 OSEP Ideas that Work - UDL
Toolkit
http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/udl/
 National UDL Task Force
www.udl4allstudents.org
 CAST
www.cast.org
 National UDL Center
www.udlcenter.org
Have you smiled today?
And Remember:
Life may not be the party I had hoped
for...........
But while I'm here I might as well
listen to the music and dance!