This document discusses promoting inclusive classrooms through adopting Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is an educational framework that provides flexibility in how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged. The three principles of UDL are providing multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of engagement. UDL aims to reduce barriers in instruction by accommodating individual student differences and maintaining high expectations for all. When adopted in the classroom, UDL provides students with choices for how they learn and demonstrate their learning through flexible lesson content, methods, and assessments.

1. Promoting Inclusive
Classrooms
by
Adopting Universal
Design for Learning(UDL)
Suresh Kumar,
Ph.D. Research Scholar,
Aryabhatta Knowledge University, Patna

2. Which is closer to your
classrooms?

3. Today’s Session at a Glance
 Inclusive Classroom
 Origin of UDL
 The Need for UDL
 What is UDL?
 Principles of UDL
 UDL Learning Guidelines

4. Defining Features of Inclusive
Classrooms
 Access:
–All children have access to the general
education curriculum and learning
environment.
 Participation:
–All children can participate in all activities and
routines through scaffolding and intervention.
 Support:
–All teachers have the tools they need to help all
young children, who have unique strengths and
needs.

5. “Creating classroom norms,
expectations and rules are a
golden opportunity to
establish and sustain
student engagement, use it.”
- Dr. Mary Magee Quinn

6. The Need for UDL
 To fulfill the need of increasingly diverse students with
special reference to differently abled students.
 Increased emphasis on student retention.
 Shift in pedagogy from delivering instruction to promoting
learning.
 Students report:
– Unclear expectations
– Textbooks inaccessible
– Lectures that require extensive note taking
– Assessments that don’t reflect their learning
– Difficulty attaining accommodations

7. UDL is built on the premise that…
Learning differs across
tasks
Learning differs across
development
Learning differs across
individuals

8. What is UDL?
“The design of instructional
materials and activities that makes
the learning goals achievable by
individuals with wide differences
in their abilities to see, hear,
speak, move, read, write,
understand English, attend,
organize, engage, and remember”
(U.S. Council for Exceptional Children)

9. Origin of UDL
 Born from architectural world
 Intended to design and construct
equal access facilities
 Concept transferred to education in
1990s.

10. Universal Design:
Access for everyone!
Old design:
Some are denied

11. Universal design principles
 Not an afterthought: Full access is
designed from the outset (beginning)
 More cost-effective than retrofitting
 More elegant and easy-to-use

12. Three Fundamental Principles
 Multiple Means of Representation
– To increase recognition
 Multiple Means of Expression
– To expand purposeful output
 Multiple Means of Engagement
– To enhance involvement

13. Multiple Means of Representation
In order to support the many
ways children learn, teachers
need to introduce and share
concepts in formats that make
sense to the children.

14. Multiple Means of Action and
Expression
Refers to the opportunities that
we give to children that allow
them to show us what they
know and what they are able to
do in different ways.

15. Multiple Means of Engagement
Provide multiple means of
engagement to tap
individual learners’
interests, challenge them
appropriately, and
motivate them to learn.

16. Students have:
1. Choices which will
engage student
interest
2. Options for how they
learn
3. Choices for how they
demonstrate their
learning
Teachers provide:
1. Flexible options
for student
engagement
2. Flexible ways of
presenting lesson
content
3. Flexible methods of
expression, and
assessment
Universal Design for Learning

17. Universal Design for Learning
 Reduces barriers in instruction
 Provides appropriate accommodations
[and] supports
 Maintains high achievement expectations

18. Universal Design for Learning
 Eliminating or reducing barriers to
academic success for all students
 Valuing diversity in the classroom
through proactive design of inclusive
curriculum

19. UDL applies to the whole curriculum

20. Goals
Traditional
–Learning goals
may get skewed
by the inflexible
ways and means
of achieving
them.
UDL
–Learning goals
are attained in
many
individualized
ways, by many
customized
means.

21. Materials
Traditional
– Mostly print and
everyone gets the
same materials
– Few options
UDL
– Variety of materials
and formats to
reach learners with
diverse abilities,
styles, and needs
equally well.

22. Methods
Traditional
– Teacher centered
(lecture)
– Homogeneous
grouping
– Burden on student to
adapt to “get it”
UDL
– Interactivity
– Heterogeneous
grouping
– Rich supports for
understanding,
independent
learning

23. Assessment
Traditional
– Confuse goals with
means.
– Summative—when
it’s too late to adjust
instruction!
UDL
– Many positive
means as long as
they measure
learning!
– Supports
instructional
improvement.

24. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines

25.  Apply UDL to your instruction
 Demand universally-designed products
 Share your UDL resources and lesson
plans with others
 Advocate curriculum adoption policies that
require UDL principles
What can you do now?

26. Summing it all up
The old days will not be again,
even as a man will never again
be a child.(Dakota)
You are shaping the future!

27. May you be one who makes
things happen for the students
you teach.
May you have a wonderful and
successful school year.

28. THANK
YOU !