A bit on UDL

  

Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, is a theoretical framework of learning, developed by the Center for Applied Special Technologies (CAST) in the 1980s, that draws on research in neuroscience, education, and technology.  Originally as an attempt to incorporate students with learning difficulties into mainstream classes and later expanded into a more universal vision, it values the individual needs and interests of the learner in an understanding of how real learning occurs.  Lesson, assessment and school design begin with those individual needs, offering choice for everything from seating, approach and output.  Student voice and needs are considered the primary guiding factor in all educational decisions.  Like universal design in other areas, universal design for learning is about providing access to the course material for all learners, regardless of barriers that may be present.

 “Students have varying abilities, preferences, cultures, languages, and experiences, all of which affect how they learn” (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014)  It is this understanding that guides practice.  It is a changing of the way that “fairness” is seen within an educational setting.  UDL moves from an idea of equality to equity. According to the UDL principles, each area of the curriculum should provide multiple, varied, and flexible options for representation, expression, and engagement.

 

 

So, how does UDL create engaged, knowledgeable and thoughtful learners?

The goal of learning is make experts out of learners.  As defined by Meyer et al, “Expert learners are defined as being: (a) purposeful and motivated; (b) resourceful and knowledgeable; and (c) strategic and goal directed” (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014).  Using the guidelines of UDL, students use choice to engage with the material and extend learning using their own lives and experience and express that learning in a meaningful, deeper way.  With this understanding of mastery, all learners can become experts, despite the complexity of student needs and individual barriers.  CAST defines the guidelines as universal – applicable to all students in all subject areas.

Using effective UDL strategies, students are engaged with their own education, they learn in more in depth way, they achieve at higher levels and they are motivated to continue to learn.

 I’ll examine more specific ways that UDL can be used to create engaged, knowledgeable and thoughtful learners in future blog posts and unpack research from educators who have already begun seeing the results of these principals in action.

 

 CAST (2011). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author

 Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014) Universal design for learning: Theory and practice, Wakefield MA: CAST.

 Hartmann, Elizabeth. "Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and learners with severe support needs." International Journal of Whole Schooling, vol. 11, no. 1, 2015, p. 54+. Gale In Context: Canada, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A420051484/GPS?u=ko_k12hs_d2&sid=GPS&xid=a7b757b0. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.