Universal Design is an approach to designing products and environments to be usable by all people, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. When applied to education, Universal Design aims to make classrooms accessible to students of varying abilities through representation of content, multiple means of expression, and various forms of assessment. Teachers can implement Universal Design in the classroom by providing different ways for students to perceive, understand, and engage with content, as well as different options for demonstrating knowledge and skills. The goal of Universal Design in education is to create an inclusive learning environment where all students can thrive to the best of their abilities.

1. By: Leanne Miller
UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN
EDUCATION

2. • Universal Design is the process of designing products so that all
types of people (disabled, gifted, and typical people) can use them
• This design should be done prior to creating the product and
should not be adapted after creation
WHAT IS UNIVERSAL DESIGN?
A common example of
Universal Design is the
use of automatic doors
to enable use by all
people.

3. • Universal Design is mainly used for instructional purposes in
Education
• Education is normally set up to accommodate average students in
the classroom.
• This leads to disabled students and gifted students to not receive
the attention and specifications they need in the classroom
• Universal Design in the classroom strives to fix this problem so all
students can learn and thrive the best to their ability
UNIVERSAL DESIGN IN
EDUCATION?

4. • Teachers use Universal Design in the following
ways in the classroom:
• Providing different ways for representation of content (how
students perceive information, language and symbols used in the
classroom, and how students understand the content)
• Providing different ways of expression (Allow students to use
physical action, expressive ways and fluency, and teach goal
setting and strategy building)
• Use multiple ways of assessment (Use different ways to get
interest, provide options for keeping effort up, and provide options
for self- regulation)
HOW DO TEACHERS USE IT IN THE
CLASSROOM?

5. • Teachers should use Universal Design in their
classroom for many reasons:
• All students will benefit from Universal Design
• Students will get more out of their experience in the classroom
• We will have less students labeled “disabled”
WHY SHOULD TEACHERS USE
UNIVERSAL DESIGN?