Reaching All Students with Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning recognizes that variability exists in student populations along many spectra. It guides the design of learning experiences with as few barriers to success as possible for all learners but particularly for those on the margins.

Introduction to Universal Design for Learning

What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Let’s start with Universal Design

An Oxo Good Grips Vegetable Peeler

Universal Design removes potential barriers for full use and enjoyment of products or items, recognizing the great variability in the human population along many spectra and due to many different circumstances, whether situational or permanent. A simple way to think about this sort of design is “necessary for some, beneficial for all.” The term Universal Design was originally defined in 1988 at NC State University by Ron Mace and colleagues, who defined it as “usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design”. To learn more, visit the RL Mace Universal Design Institute webpage, including a summary of Universal Design principles.

Mark Wilson (2018) offers a great example of Universal Design in the form of the OXO Good Grips vegetable peeler in a 2018 article from Fast Company.

As the story goes, in 1990 housewares entrepreneur and businessperson Sam Farber was cooking with his wife Betsey, whose mild arthritis was making it difficult to operate her vegetable peeler. According to Wilson, Sam was inspired to design a new vegetable peeler that 

“…had to work for people with arthritis, but it had to work for everybody. This was a hard and fast rule. We couldn’t design something for people just with special needs, because it would have to be in a special catalog, and no one is able to have access to those products. It had to work for everybody, so it could be at a decent price for everyone… 

…With inclusive design, you never know when you might have the need for a product like this. You could injure your hand playing sports, or your grandmother could be dropping in for a visit. Just this idea of making a product that was better for anybody, and be for everybody!”

What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) takes the principles of Universal Design into an educational setting. When we recognize that variability exists in student populations along many spectra, we strive to design learning experiences that present as few barriers to success as possible for anyone and everyone.

Watch: UDL in Higher Education (2 min 9 sec)

Many accessibility accommodations are included in part of the UDL guidelines. These include offering content in multiple formats, providing captions and transcripts, and ensuring learners have control over things like speed of videos and the ability to zoom into images. By designing with UDL, many accessibility features end up being built-in to a course from the start, meaning fewer revisions or accommodations will need to be made if a student with a disability enrolls in the course. As such, following UDL guidelines helps ensure equity for students with disabilities.

Watch: Accessibility and UDL (1 min 32 sec)

Other aspects of the UDL guidelines like considering learner interests, personal connections and community and collaboration are important ways to support equity and inclusion for all learners as each learner brings their own culture, background and identity into the classroom.

How can applying the UDL guidelines help your learners succeed?

One of the premiere proponents of Universal Design for Learning is CAST.org. CAST has developed Universal Design for Learning Guidelines which build on principles of Universal Design, particularly the principles of equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive use, and perceptible information. Each guideline targets different networks of learning.

Guideline 1: Provide multiple means of engagement

The first of CAST’s guidelines targets the “Why” of learning and focuses on providing multiple means of engagement. Enacting this principle can help boost learners’ motivation to engage. 

To identify aspects of your course that might be improved by adding more flexibility and choice, consider:

  • What content are your students are not engaging with as you’d like?
  • What are they finding boring, or are they showing less motivation for?

Then, consider whether choice can increase accessibility, equity and inclusion.

  • Can students with a disability (physical or cognitive) engage in what you are asking them to do?
  • Can students see the relevance of this content or task to their lives and goals?
  • Are you monitoring your content for any possible perceived threats or distractions?
  • Are you offering students choice and opportunities for autonomy?

Visit the Teaching Resources Page on Boosting Motivation with UDL to learn more about providing multiple means of engagement and boosting learner motivation.

Guideline 2: Provide multiple means of representation

The second of CAST’s guidelines targets the “What” of learning and focuses on providing multiple means of representation of content. Enacting this principle ensures that all students have the opportunity to perceive and comprehend your course content in the most effective way.

To identify aspects of your course that might benefit from this guideline, consider:

  • What instructional materials do students often skip?
  • What content do they always have more questions about?
  • What content do you find yourself having to go over multiple times?

Then, consider whether flexibility and choice can increase accessibility, equity and inclusion.

  • Can you provide the content in a way that relies on a different sense to perceive it?
  • Do students have options or choices for how they access that content?
  • Might you be assuming some background knowledge that a student might not have?
  • Can you highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas and relationships more clearly?
  • Is your language and presentation of the material as clear as it can be?

Visit the Teaching Resources Page on Elevating Your Content with UDL to learn more about providing multiple means of representation to make your content more accessible to all learners.

Guideline 3: Provide multiple means of action and expression

The third of CAST’s guidelines targets the “How” of learning and focuses on providing multiple means of action and expression. Enacting this principle ensures that students can express, communicate and perform in a way that facilitates their learning and their success in a course.

To identify aspects of your course that might benefit from this guideline, consider:

  • What assessments or activities do your students struggle with?
  • Do you see students with certain identities or disabilities struggling more than others?

Then, consider whether flexibility and choice can increase accessibility, equity and inclusion.

  • Do you need to provide other assessment options?
  • Can you provide more time or more flexible timing?
  • Can you allow students to perceive and express the same information using different forms of communication?
  • Might you be assuming some background knowledge and skills you have not taught?
  • Are your assessments aligned with your learning objectives?
  • Do your assessments reflect cultural knowledge that may not be universal?

Visit the Teaching Resources Page on Optimizing Student Performance with UDL to learn more about providing multiple means of expression and thus optimizing student performance.

Resources

This 3 min 27 sec video introduces the UDL Guidelines from CAST.
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