 Universal Design for Learning aims to reduce barriers to the educational process and provide accommodations for individual learners through flexible curricular materials. It focuses on presenting information through multiple means, allowing for multiple expressions of knowledge, and providing multiple options for engagement. UDL breaks away from traditional textbooks and uses technology tools to reach the three brain networks important for learning.

2.  It is accomplished by “simultaneously providing rich supports for learning and
reducing barriers to the curriculum, while maintaining high achievement standards
for all students”. (www. Cast.org)
 Universal Design began in the field of Architecture (Laureate, 2009b) when
builders realized that current methods for creating access actually hindered certain
groups of people, such as the physically handicapped, from moving freely from
place to place.

3.  Adopted by the Center for Applied Special Technology, or CAST, Universal
Design morphed into the Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, as a means to
transform the traditional one-size-fits-all educational schema that is designed to
meet the needs of the large middle, but tends to exclude those with more diverse
abilities, learning styles and preferences, or backgrounds

4.  CAST understood that current educational practices failed “to provide all
individuals with fair and equal opportunities to learn” (Cast, 2009a, p. 3) and that
it was not the students who needed to be fixed, but rather it was the way in which
they were being taught that needed to change. Instead of maintaining the status
quo, Universal Design for Learning “focuses educators on developing flexible
curricula that provides students with multiple ways of accessing content, multiple
means for expressing what they learn, and multiple pathways for engaging their
interest and motivation” (Howard, 2004) and, in turn, increasing achievement
because teachers are not just imparting knowledge, rather the students are
constructing it themselves.

5. Principle 1: Presentation
 To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of
presentation.
 Instructional examples include: larger, formatted, and highlighted text,
chunking, scaffolding, and utilization of supplemental resources.
Principle 2: Expression
 To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of
expression and apprenticeship.
 Instructional examples include: alternative keyboards, digital text, and
programs that record voices, draw, or write text.
Principle 3: Engagment
 To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for
engagement.
 Instructional examples include: digital text, choices of media for
interaction, and multimedia presentation programs.

http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4_3.cfm

6.  With the implementation of the three principles, UDL allows educators to meet the
needs of all learners by building more flexibility into materials, techniques and
strategies so that, from the beginning, the needs of the greatest number of users are
being met; thus eliminating expensive and time-consuming changes to curriculum
unnecessary once it is implemented.

7.  Due to students differing in the way they view and comprehend the information
being taught, teachers should provide multiple options for:
› Customizing the display of information using both visual and auditory media
 Graphic Organizers
 Auditory Devises
 Podcasts
 Audiobooks
› Defining and clarifying terminology
 Flash cards
 Electronic Dictionary
 Non-linguistic
› Implementing strategies that increase comprehension
 Activate prior knowledge (KWL)
 Highlight the important points and ideas

8.  Students differ in the way they navigate through any learning environment and in
the way they are able to express that they know, teachers should provide options
for:
› Physical action and navigation through tools and assistive technologies
 Student response systems such as clickers or buzzers
 Manipulatives
 Interactive while boards
 Touch screens and keyboards
› Increasing expressive skills and fluency through scaffolding, tools, and problem solving
 Oral VS written reports
 Digital storytelling
 Concept mapping
› Implementing executive functions
 Teaching how to set goals through guides and checklists
 Support planning and strategy development via templates or think aloud
 Managing information and resources with organizers for data collection and guides for note-
taking
 Monitoring students though self-reflections templates

9.  Students differ in the way they can be engaged and motivated to
learn, teachers should provide options for:
› Recruiting interest through
 Providing choice and autonomy to increase self determination, pride, and connection
 Enhancing relevance and authenticity to increase real world value that means something to
students.
 Allowing active participation, exploration, and experimentation
› Sustaining effort and persistence by
 Creating persistent display of goals
 Visualizing and scaffolding of desired outcomes
 Scheduling tools
 Fostering collaboration and communication
› Allowing self regulation by
 Guiding personal goal setting and expectations
 Teaching coping skills and strategies
 Developing self assessment and reflection skills

10.  Key Ideas (Rose & Meyer, 2002):
› Increased student diversity means a greater emphasis on standards and accountability
and makes it harder for teachers to help all students achieve.
› Research into the learning brain exposes learner differences and how to effectively use
technology to increase motivation, engagement, and learning.
› UDL maximizes rapidly evolving communication technologies to create flexible
methods and materials that can reach various types of learners in ways that are more
effective.
› By making methods and materials more flexible, learning opportunities are maximized
not just for students with identified disabilities, but also for every student.
› UDL is not "just one more thing;" it is an vital element in improving student learning
and it is well-suited to be incorporated into other types of education reform.

11.  “Much of the art of teaching patterns lies in selecting and presenting numerous,
effective examples. Digital media and tools can facilitate finding and presenting
these examples in the form of text, image, sound, or video” (Rose & Meyer, 2002).
Technology plays a key part in the implementation of UDL. Technology tools can
be sued to provide choices and differentiation in student learning.
Examples of Technology Tools:
› Hearing Aids
› Glare-reduction screens
› Voice-recognition software
› Internet programs
› Interactive books
› Blogs
› Podcasts
› Wikis

12.  Children are diverse learners and need materials that adapt to their needs in ways that printed materials
often cannot.
 Text to speech
 Digital highlighting and tagging
 Audiobooks
 Using technology, learning experiences can be scaffold and personalized so that students are learning
content in ways that are most effective for them.
 Digital storytelling
 Drill and practice software
 Hands on or kinesthetic learning
 Technology allows more flexibility by providing students with alternative ways to engage with the content
as well as ways to create products and contribute to the classroom collective.
 Pod casting
 Wikis
 Presentation software
 Technology prepares students for the global marketplace by creating real-world connections with which
they can apply what they are learning to relevant contexts.
 Go to meeting or virtual meeting applications
 Online collaboration
 E-pals

13.  According to Rose & Meyer (2002), “When two students perform the same academic task,
the patterns of activity in their brains are as unique as their fingerprints. The uniqueness
may not be visible in the overall level of brain activity, but rather lies in the pattern of
activation: how the activity is distributed across different brain regions. For this reason, no
one measure of brain activity and no one learning score or variable differentiates or
describes individual learners in any meaningful way.”
› Recognition networks are specialized to sense and assign meaning to patterns we see; they
enable us to identify and understand information, ideas, and concepts.
› Strategic networks are specialized to generate and oversee mental and motor patterns. They
enable us to plan, execute, and monitor actions and skills.
› Affective networks are specialized to evaluate patterns and assign them emotional
significance; they enable us to engage with tasks and learning and with the world around us.
(Rose & Meyer, 2002)

14.  Universal Design for Learning allows flexibility and support in student learning
which means better differentiated instruction for each individual student.
 Universal Design for Learning breaks away from the traditional textbooks and
utilizes technology tools to reach the three brain networks in learning.
 Universal Design for Learning reduces the amount of barriers to get the most out
of student learning.

15.  Universal Design for Learning’s main purpose is to reduce any barriers to the educational process and
provide accommodations for the needs of individual learners through the widest range of curricular
materials possible (Department of Education, 2010).
› Providing multiple means to access the content
 Video
 Text
 Digital text
 Oral presentation
 Graphic organizers
› Providing multiple ways to express knowledge, opportunities for practices, and timely feedback
 Oral reports
 Written reports
 Digital storytelling
 Power Point
 Group presentations
› Providing students with choices of content and tools, activities and rewards
 Group work
 Independent work

16.  CAST UDL Interactive Lessons, Activities and Information
http://www.cast.org/pd/tes/index.html
›Will enable the teachers at Pulaski Heights Middle School to access a free interactive website for further
exploration of UDL lessons, activities and information.
 CAST UDL Book Builder http://bookbuilder.cast.org/
› Will enable the teachers at Pulaski Heights Middle School to develop their own digital books to
support reading instruction and literacy learning.
 CAST UDL Lesson Plan
http://www.cast.org/learningtools/lesson_builder/index.html
›Will enable the teachers at Pulaski Heights Middle School to create lessons that are aligned with their
curriculum and standards.

17. Center for Applied Special Technology. (2009a). UDL guidelines, version 1.0. Retrieved March 23, 2012 from
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
Center for Applied Special Technology. (2009b). Educator Checklist. Retrieved March 23, 2012 from
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines
Department of Education. (2010). The access center: Using a universal design approach to find barriers and solutions in the curriculum.
Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved April 2, 2012 from
http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/UniversalDesign_BarriersSolutions.asp
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Brain research and universal design for learning: Reaching and engaging all learners
through technology. Baltimore: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Universal design for learning: Reaching and engaging all learners through
technology. Baltimore: Author.
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development. Reprinted by permission of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development via the Copyright Clearance Center. Located at http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes