What is Universal Design for Learning?

This post explains what Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is and the importance of implementing UDL in order to give all students equal opportunities to learn.  UDL provides a blueprint for developing goals, methods, materials, and assessments to reach all students including those with special needs.  There are 3 primary brain networks that come into play concerning UDL:

• 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.
  Present information and content in different ways

  More ways to provide
  Multiple Means of Representation

  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.

  Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know

  More ways to provide
  Multiple Means of Action and Expression

  Affective Networks

  The "why" of learning

  

  How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions.

  Stimulate interest and motivation for learning

  More ways to provide
  Multiple Means of Engagement

 

Students have different strengths, weaknesses, and learning needs and lessons need to be flexible so that all learners can benefit.  UDL is a framework for designing learning experiences that can make learning achievable and also, help alleviate the barriers that some students experience within the classroom.  All students have the ability to learn, and with the proper tools in place, students can achieve their academic goals.

Video explaining UDL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaSZqgr2eUM&noredirect=1

To learn more about UDL visit: http://www.cast.org/udl/