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Get ReportUniversal Design for Learning Guidelines Overview
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) builds on the design-for-all mindset by offering a research-based framework for creating flexible, inclusive learning experiences from the start. Below, you’ll learn the three guidelines used to help educators design courses that support diverse needs, preferences, and ways of learning.
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What is Universal Design for Learning?
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a research-based framework for designing flexible, inclusive, and accessible learning environments from the start. Rooted in scientific insights into how people learn, UDL provides educators with practical guidelines to create materials, activities, and assessments that accommodate diverse learning styles, abilities, and needs, making learning effective and equitable for all students.
The UDL Guidelines are a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied in any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners have access to and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. Unlike individualized accommodations, which are designed to make up for shortcomings in the main design for exceptional individuals, UDL is about designing instruction to accommodate various student needs and preferences from the start.
The overall goal of UDL is to foster learner agency, encouraging students to be purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, and strategic and action-oriented.
The framework is built around three main guidelines, each corresponding to different neurological networks involved in the learning process. We’ll explore each of those guidelines in more detail below.
Guideline 1: Multiple Means of Engagement
This guideline addresses the crucial role of affect (emotion and motivation) in learning. Learners differ markedly in how they can be motivated to learn, factors influenced by culture, personal relevance, background knowledge, and neurology. Since no single engagement method is optimal for everyone, providing multiple options is essential.
This guideline supports learners in three main areas: Access, Support, and Executive Function.
Applying Engagement in Practice
When designing a course or lesson, accessibility professionals and educators should include options for Engagement, such as:
Welcoming interests and identities
Educators should optimize the relevance, value, and authenticity of the learning material. This may mean allowing students to optimize their choices and autonomy regarding the learning context, or encouraging joy and play within the instructional process.
Sustaining effort and persistence
To help learners keep going, instructors can foster a sense of belonging and community among students, optimize the level of challenge and support, and provide action-oriented feedback to help students track their progress.
Emotional capacity
Designing for emotional capacity involves recognizing students’ expectations, beliefs, and motivations. This also includes cultivating empathy and restorative practices, and promoting individual and collective reflection.
Which of the following UDL considerations falls under the guideline of Engagement?
Think about what keeps students motivated and invested. This guideline is all about encouraging participation, choice, and sustained interest.
Guideline 2: Multiple Means of Representation
The Representation guideline focuses on how learners perceive and comprehend information. Learners vary widely in how they grasp content; for example, some learn more quickly through visual means, while others prefer auditory information or printed text. Additionally, learners with sensory disabilities (such as blindness or deafness), learning disabilities (like dyslexia), or language differences may require alternative approaches. Learning is maximized when content is presented in multiple flexible formats.
Applying Representation in Practice
This guideline guides the presentation of content across three main areas: Perception, Language and Symbols, and Building Knowledge.
Perception
Support multiple ways for learners to perceive information by allowing customization of display settings, such as text size, contrast, or playback speed. Materials should also represent a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways.
Language and symbols
Clearly define vocabulary, symbols, and language structures used in instruction. Promote understanding across languages and dialects, and address potential language biases. Use multiple media to illustrate concepts; for example, provide text descriptions for images or diagrams.
Building knowledge (comprehension)
Help students connect prior knowledge to new concepts and ideas. Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas, and relationships within the content. Maximize learning by offering multiple ways for learners to construct understanding and make meaning.
Providing text, audio descriptions, and diagrams to explain a complex engineering concept specifically fulfills which UDL consideration?
Think about how information is being presented. This example focuses on offering multiple ways for learners to understand the same content.
Guideline 3: Multiple Means of Action and Expression
This guideline addresses the diverse ways learners can navigate the environment and express what they know. Learners vary greatly due to factors like significant movement impairments (e.g., cerebral palsy), challenges with strategic and organizational abilities (executive function disorders), or language barriers. Because action and expression demand considerable strategy, practice, and organization, offering different learning options is essential.
Applying Action and Expression in Practice
This guideline supports three main areas: Interaction, Expression and Communication, and Strategy Development.
Interaction
Designers must vary and honor the methods for response, navigation, and movement. It is crucial to optimize access to accessible materials, including accessible technologies, assistive technologies, and tools.
Expression and Communication
Students should be able to use multiple media for communication. This means allowing them to use various tools for construction, composition, and creativity. Furthermore, instruction should build fluency through graduated support for practice and performance.
Strategy Development (Executive Function)
You should help learners develop their own strategies by requiring them to set meaningful goals, organize information and resources, and plan for challenges. Additionally, enhancing the capacity for monitoring progress supports strategic development.
A professor allows students to complete a final project by choosing between writing a research paper, creating a video documentary, or giving an oral presentation. This scenario primarily addresses which UDL guideline?
Focus on how learners are allowed to show what they know.
KEEP LEARNING
Move to the next chapter:
Understanding Physical Accessibility and the Built Environment
IAAP Suggested Study Resources
The UDL Guidelines(opens in a new tab)
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)Universal Design for Learning(opens in a new tab)
Centre for Universal Design Australia