Teaching & Learning
as Unique as Fingerprints…
Universal Design for Learning
Glenna Gustafson ED.D
ggustafso@radford.edu
TamaraWallace, PHD
twallace8@radford.edu
RADFORD UNIVERSITY
ASSESSMENT
1. What does UDL
stand for?
 A. Universal
Description of
Legalism
 B. United Dairy
Leaders
 C. Underdogs of
Louisiana
 D. Universal Design of
Learning
 TRUE/FALSE
 UDL asks the question:
How does the activity
need to be modified
for a particular child?
 UDL supports the
learning of all children
 UDL encompasses
multiple means of
representation,
engagement, and
expression
Higher Education Opportunity
Act, 2008
Stresses the importance of:
 awareness, outreach, and training activities for faculty on
exemplary practices for accommodating and supporting
students with disabilities – which includes UDL.
 colleges of education preparing “teacher candidates for
successful implementation of technology-rich teaching and
learning environments, including environments consistent with
the principles of UDL, that enable kindergarten through grade
12 students to develop learning skills to succeed in higher
education and to enter the workforce” (Part B, Sec. 231).
UDL Faculty Practices
 Faculty Survey - School of Teacher Education and
Leadership
 Purpose: To better understand the UDL practices
being implemented by school faculty
 Online 11 question survey of 34 faculty
 65% return rate
Demographics
N=22
•68% from elementary & special education
•100% with over 7 years teaching experience
•95% assistant or associate professors
•84% taught students with identified
disabilities
Survey Results Overview
UDL Beliefs
More than 80% indicated:
•a basic understanding of UDL
•use of UDL in their instruction
Most commonly identified
Instructional practices used
by professors
•lecture – 60%;
•facilitation of role playing & simulations – 50%
Most commonly identified
classroom activities for
students
•listening
•working with others
•discussing
Most commonly used
technology by faculty
•PowerPoint
•Web CT
•SmartBoard, video, email
Other activities
 Reviewed course syllabi for UDL components
 Created and distributed a UDL syllabus checklist for faculty
 Provided additional information for faculty on student
resources available on campus
 Presentations about UDL provided to:
 campus groups
 classes
 state and regional conference presentations
 UDL faculty reading group
 Burgstahler, S. E. & Cory, R. C. eds. (2008). Universal Design in
Higher Education: From Principles to Practice. Boston:
Howard Education Press.
Working with our pre-service
learners
 Obvious disconnect between learner considerations
on the lesson plan form and what was happening in
the classroom
 Often times learner considerations were added to
plans following instruction – not during the planning
stage
 General lack of consideration for learners at both
ends of the spectrum within learner considerations
Our First Steps
 Teaching the principles of UDL within courses
 Modeling UDL strategies within our own teaching
 Including UDL in our lesson plan template
 Including discussion of differentiation for ESL, gifted, &
special education students within our courses
 Encouraging the use of technology as an instructional
tool
 Providing multiple strategies for addressing the 3 UDL
principles
Teacher Candidate Survey
How would you define UDL?
Text Response
Universal Design for learning is a way of teaching that meets students where they are. It's
basically just good teaching practices by giving students as many opportunities as possible to
understand and learn the content.
Useful once you understand how to use it. Confusing until you figure it out.
Universal Design for Learning is a system in which the classroom is organized for differentiated
instruction. UDL is implemented in order to provide the most effective learning environment for
each individual student.
a formal lesson plan format
A means of teaching where the teacher takes into consideration every individual student in the
class- to meet every learners needs in the most beneficial way.
working to challange all students. have multipal ideas and activities. engaging lessons for all
students.
Teacher Candidate Survey
Explain why you feel the principle that you selected is
most important.
Text Response
While all of them are important, it is most important for students to understand the content. If
students do not understand the content it does not matter how many options they are given to
express their knowledge.
I feel that providing multiple means of representation is most important, because it is proven that
people fall into some category of learning modality, whether it's auditory, visual, etc... I feel that if
you cannot provide information in a range of ways, then the student may not get to the level of
expression or engagement. One needs to understand and grasp the concept or skill before they
will actively engage or express in their learning.
when children are engaged and interested, most of the time the information will stick with them.
literature, hands-on activites, food, music, jingles
If the teacher can represent in more than one way, then its more than likely going to click in the
minds of the students. Having different representions of the same thing is just how it works. We all
do not do things in the same way- we all do not learn in the same way. Represent the
lesson/topic in multiple ways!
I think that if the students are engaged in the lesson then they are going learn and want to work
harder. I try and havd fun activites everday. i try and see what lesson my students enjoy most in
the lessons so i can use there idea again.
Teacher Candidate Survey
The RU lesson plan format was designed to make you think
about UDL. Did you find the design and form helpful?
Text Response
I believe the lesson plan is helpful in implementing the elements of UDL but I found it difficult to fill
in all the boxes everytime because I felt that they did not always apply for every lesson.
Yes, the lesson plan format for RU is very helpful, in that it forces you to think through your thought
processes and means of representation. This ensure that the educator is going to provide the best
possible education.
Yes, I love the UDL format. The RU format is nice, however the chart section where you fill in the
representation, engagement, and so on is not necessary.
Yes, it makes me think of all the students in my class. I have learned to represent the content in
different ways such as- games, hands on experiments, and (but not limited to) scientific
investigation and teaching acrss the curriculum in all subjects. Math and Science!
yes but i do not feel that scripting is nessasary
Future Steps
 Extend instruction about the principles of UDL to
other elementary and special education cohorts
 Formally include the UDL table within our lesson plan
format for all elementary and special education preservice learners
 Model and use the language of UDL to reinforce it as
a habit of mind for our pre-service students
 Provide additional professional development for:
technology integration, instructional strategies for
ESL, and gifted learners
POST-ASSESSMENT
.
What does UDL stand
for?
 A. Universal
Description of
Legalism
 B. United Dairy
Leaders
 C. Underdogs of
Louisiana
 D. Universal Design of
Learning
TRUE/FALSE
 UDL asks the question:
How does the activity
need to be modified
for a particular child?
 UDL supports the
learning of all children
 UDL encompasses
multiple means of
representation,
engagement, and
expression
Let’s Recap
 Speed Chat
 What can you take back?
 How will you share?
 What are your next steps?
 Questions, comments, & feedback
For Additional Information on UDL
 National UDL Task Force -http://www.udl4allstudents.org
 CAST - www.cast.org
 National UDL Center - www.udlcenter.org
 San Jose State University- Center for Faculty Development http://www.sjsu.edu/cfd/accessibility/udl/
 Colorado State University – Access http://accessproject.colostate.edu/udl/
 San Francisco State University – UDL - http://ctfd.sfsu.edu/udl.htm
 Ensuring Access through Collaboration and Technology (EnACT) http://enact.sonoma.edu/
 National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) http://nimas.cast.org/
 IDEAS That Work UDL Toolkit http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/udl/index.asp
Technology Tools to Support UDL
 Wordle -Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you
provide. http://www.wordle.net/
 Readability - Readability™ is a simple tool that makes reading on the
Web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you're
reading.
http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/
 Quizlet -Quizlet is a lightning fast way to memorize vocabulary lists. It's like
flashcards, but much more fun and interactive. http://quizlet.com/
 Glogster - Poster yourself - Make your interactive poster easily and share
it with friends. Mix Images, Text, Music and Video. It is fantastic!
http://www.glogster.com/
http://mmkrill.glogster.com/udl/
 Spellchecker.net - Online Spell check, Grammar, and Thesaurus
checking http://www.spellchecker.net/
 Read Please - Software that allows your computer to talk - with AT&T
Natural Voices - Let the web talk to you with this easy and free software
http://www.readplease.com