Special Education

1. Universal design for learning
and exceptionality across
the lifespan
Chapter 2 :
Planning and Providing
Special Education Services

2. UDL is the concept that curriculum, instruction, and
evaluation procedures should be designed to meet the
needs of all students by providing access to learning, not
simply access to information. Learning materials and
lessons are designed to allow for flexibility and offer
various ways to learn to ensure that all children achieve
success.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

3. Bringing universal design to the classroom
Even if you’re not familiar with the term universal design,
you’ve likely encountered it in your everyday life. Common examples
include automatic doors and dictation tools on smartphones.
These designs help people with disabilities. But other people
may also want to use them. For example, closed captioning is often used
in noisy places like restaurants and airports to help everyone follow
what’s being said on TV.
UDL brings that approach to the classroom or to workplace
training. UDL helps build in more ways a diverse group of learners can
access information and show what they know.

4. Origins of UDL
● The roots of UDL are found in early civil rights and
special education legislation that emphasized the right
of all students to a free, appropriate public education
in the least restrictive environment (Hitchcock, Meyer,
Rose, & Jackson, 2005). The UDL framework was
conceived by researchers at the Center for Applied
Special Technologies (CAST) in the late 1980s as the
result of the alignment of three conceptual shifts:
advancements in architectural design, developments in
education technology, and discoveries from brain
research.

5. Three Main Principles of UDL

6. Three Main Principles of UDL

7. Three Main Principles of UDL
Representation “The What”
Offer information in more than one format. For example, the instructor could provide a worksheet along with:
*Audio, which could be as simple as saying the written directions out loud
*Video showing how to solve one of the problems
*Hands-on learning
Action and expression “The How”
Give learners more than one way to interact with the material and to show what they know. For example, they might get to choose between:
*Taking a pencil-and-paper test *Making a video or comic strip
*Giving an oral report *Doing a group project
Engagement “The Why”
Look for ways to motivate learners and sustain their interest. Here are some examples:
*Let people make choices *Make skillbuilding feel like a game
*Give assignments that feel relevant to their lives *Create opportunities for learners to get up and move around

8. • Goals - are typically described as learning expectations. They
represent the knowledge, concepts, and skills students need
to master and are usually aligned to state standards.
The four interrelated components of
the UDL curriculum
• Methods are generally defined as the instructional strategies
used by educators to support student learning.
• Materials are the media used to present content and
demonstrate learning. UDL materials offer multiple media
options and include embedded supports.
• Assessment described as the process of gathering information about
a learner’s performance using a variety of methods and materials in
order to determine learners’ knowledge, skills, and motivation for the
purpose of making informed educational decisions

9. How UDL helps students who
learn and think differently
UDL helps all learners. But here are some of the ways it may be especially
helpful to the 1 in 5 kids and adults who learn and think differently:
 Makes learning more accessible in general education classrooms, which is
where most kids who learn and think differently spend most or all of the
school day.
 Presents information in ways that adapt to the learner, instead of asking the
learner to adapt to the information.
 Gives students and workplace trainees more than one way to interact with
material. UDL builds in flexibility that can make it easier for learners to use
their strengths to work on their weaknesses.
 Reduces stigma. By giving a variety of options to everyone, UDL doesn’t
single out the few who receive formal accommodations for a disability.

10. Disability Across the Lifespan
Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
with Special Needs
• Individualized Family Service Plan
(IFSP)
• Early Intervention (EI) (birth to age 2)
• Early childhood special education (age
3-5)

11. Disability Across the Lifespan
Adolescents and Young Adults
With Disabilities
• Transition
• Transition services
• Individualized Transition Plan (ITP)
• Transition challenges and concerns