Universal Design for Learning

1
Universal Design for Learning

• A national educational priority for classrooms
  that include all students, regardless of
  exceptionality or diversity.

2
Barriers to Learning

• The single most significant barrier that keeps
  all students from learning is the fixed medium of
  presentation and assessment of knowldge.
• Universal Design for Instruction (UDL) is a form
  of instruction that benefits all students,
  regardless of disability.

3
UDL

• provides equal access to learning, not just equal
  access to information.
• allows students to control the method of
  accessing information while the teacher monitors
  the learning process.
• is designed to work with all students in a
  mainstreamed classroom where a range of student
  ability levels are present.

4
UDL

• takes into account students with learning
  difficulties, speech or language difficulties,
  emotional disturbances, autims, health
  impairment, mild mental retardation, traumatic
  brain injury, hearing impairments/deafness,
  visual impairment, deaf-blindness, orthopedic
  impairments, and those with multiple disabilites.

5
UDL

• does not remove academic challenges or water down
  the curriculum.
• removes barriers to equal access and helps to
  provide a least restrictive environment for
  students with disabilities.

6
Four Main UDL Components

• Goals and milestones for instruction (often in
  the form of scope sequence)
• Media and materials to be used by students
• Specific instructional methods
• Means of assessment to measure student progress

7
UDL provides multiple, flexible

• methods of presentation active engagement
  including discovery, interactive demo, inquiry
  lesson, inquiry lab, PBL, case study, etc.
• expression and practice writing, oral,
  whiteboard, PPT, drawing, projects, etc.
• options for engagement allow students to select
  some of the content to study, allow for choice of
  tasks on tests, etc.

8
Framework - before instruction

• Get to know your students abilities, special
  needs, and learning styles
• After reviewing standards, determine learning
  needs
• Devise instructional approaches to reach greatest
  number of students

• Recognize individual needs of students
• Set curricular goals
• Determine learning supports
• Adapt methods and materials to individual student
  needs
• Select appropriate UDL strategies, tools, and
  features to adapt instruction.

9
Framework - during instruction

• Differentiate instruction to reach students on
  their own levels
• Special educator and general educator consult
  with one another
• Use other methods and ongoing feedback to adjust
  instruction

• Use equitable, flexible, accessible methods to
  fit instruction to student needs
• Special educator and general educator collaborate
  to resolve residual problems
• Use UDL features to determine student progress
  for feedback and to adjust instruction

10
Framework - after instruction

• Employ ongoing or alternate assessments to
  determine progress, needs, and future direction
  of class
• Repeat planning cycle

• Make sure assessments reflect UDL characteristics
• Assess continuously through variety of formats to
  track student progress
• Adapt delivery of instruction as needed