Universal Design for Learning (UDL) The What, the Why and the How for Enhancing Learning for All

1. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)The What, the Why and the How for Enhancing Learning for All Promoting Collaboration A New Function for Special Education

2. Today’s Session at a Glance • What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? • Why UDL? • Components of UDL • Guidelines of UDL • Principles of UDL • Tools, Resources, and Supports

3. What is UDL? • UDL was born from an architectural world intended to design and construct equal access facilities • The concept was then transferred to education.

4. Universal Design “Consider the needs of the broadest possible range of users from the beginning.” — Ron Mace

5. What is UDL? (c0nt’d) • A set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn • A way to provide learning opportunities in the general education curriculum that are inclusive and effective for all )

6. What is UDL? (cont’d) Universal Design for Learning refers to a process by which a curriculum (i.e., goals, methods, materials, and assessments) is intentionally and systematically designed from the beginning to address individual differences.

7. What is UDL? (cont’d) The purpose of UDL curricula is not simply to help students master a specific body of knowledge or a specific set of skills, but to help them master learning itself—in short, to become expert learners.

8. What is UDL? (cont’d) • Not an afterthought • Full access is designed from the onset • More cost-effective than retrofitting • More elegant and easy-to-use

9. What is UDL? (cont’d) • UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone. • UDL is not a single, one-size-fits-all solution, but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.

10. WHY UDL? Individuals bring a huge variety of skills, needs, and interests to learning. Neuroscience reveals that these differences are as varied and unique as our DNA or fingerprints.

11. Why UDL? (cont’d) Three Primary Brain Networks Recognition Networks • The "what" of learning • How we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks.

12. Why UDL? (cont’d) Three Primary Brain Networks (cont’d) Strategic Networks • The "how" of learning • Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks.

13. Why UDL? (cont’d) Three Primary Brain Networks (cont’d) Affective Networks • The "why" of learning • How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions.

14. Why UDL? (cont’d) • Eliminates or reduces barriers to academicsuccess for all students • Values diversity in the classroom through proactive design of inclusive curriculum • Provides appropriate accommodations [and] supports • Maintains high achievement expectations

15. WHY UDL? (cont’d) • Increasing options for access • Increasing options for participation • Increasing options for demonstrating learning Leading to increased equitable access to the general curriculum  • Higher achievement • Higher graduation rate • Lower drop out rate

16. Why UDL? (cont’d) More Educators are… • Teaching effectively in classrooms with diverse student needs • Spending more time on instruction and facilitating learning • Helping ALL learners succeed

17. Why UDL? (cont’d) More Students are… • Engaged in their own education • Learning at greater breadth and depth • Achieving at higher levels • Motivated to continue learning

18. Components of UDL Goalsare often described as learning expectations.

19. Components of UDL (cont’d) 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.

20. Components of UDL (cont’d) Methodsare generally defined as the instructional decisions, approaches, procedures, or routines that expert teachers use to accelerate or enhance learning

21. Components of UDL (cont’d) Traditional • Teacher centered (lecture) • Homogeneous grouping • Burden on student to adapt to “get it” UDL • Interactivity • Heterogeneous grouping • Rich supports for understanding, independent learning

22. Components of UDL (cont’d) Materialsare usually seen as the media used to present learning content and what the learner uses to demonstrate knowledge

23. Components of UDL (cont’d) 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.

24. Components of UDL (cont’d) Assessment is 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.

25. Components of UDL (cont’d) 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.

26. Guidelines of UDL Guideline 1: Provide options for perception • Learning is impossible if information is imperceptible to the learner, and difficult when information is presented in formats that require extraordinary effort or assistance. • To reduce barriers to learning, it is important to ensure that key information is equally perceptible to all learners by: • providing the same information through different modalities • providing information in a format that will allow for adjustability by the user

27. Guidelines of UDL (cont’d) Guideline 2: Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols • A picture or image that carries meaning for some learners may carry very different meanings for learners from differing cultural or familial backgrounds. As a result, inequalities arise when information is presented to all learners through a single form of representation.  • An important instructional strategy is to ensure that alternative representations are provided not only for accessibility, but for clarity and comprehensibility across all learners.

28. Guidelines of UDL (cont’d) Guideline 3: Provide options for comprehension • The sole purpose of education is not to make information accessible, but rather to teach learners how to transform accessible information into useable knowledge. • Proper design and presentation of information – the responsibility of any curriculum or instructional methodology - can provide the scaffolds necessary to ensure that all learners have access to knowledge.

29. Three Fundamental Principles of UDL • Multiple Means of Representation • To increase recognition • Multiple Means of Expression • To expand purposeful output • Multiple Means of Engagement • To enhance involvement

30. Multiple Means of Representation • Provide options for perception • Provide options for language, mathematical expressions, and symbols • Provide options for comprehension • Perception • Customized displays • Auditory alternatives • Visual alternatives • Expression • Vocabulary and symbols • Syntax and structure • Decoding • Understanding • Multiple illustrations • Comprehension • Background knowledge • Patterns and relationships • Information processing • Transfer and generalization

31. Multiple Means of Representation (cont’d) Examples • Offer text-to-speech, video, audio, and other multimedia; integrate assistive technologies into learning environment • Provide vocabulary support and background knowledge • Highlight critical features & main ideas

32. Multiple Means of Representation (cont’d) • Read aloud • Highlight phrases • Listen to audiotapes • Text-to-speech • What are your ideas? • Generate examples of how you have represented information in alternative formats. • Generate new and creative possibilities.

33. Provide Multiple Means for Actionand Expression • Options for physical action • Options for expression and communication • Options for executive functions • Physical action • Vary response and navigation • Optimize tools and technologies • Expression and communication • Multiple media • Tools for construction and composition • Graduated levels of support • Executive functions • Goal setting • Planning and strategy development • Managing information and resources • Enhance monitoring progress

34. Multiple Means of Action and Expression (cont’d) Examples • Let students show what they know with voice recording, graphic displays, performance, etc. • Provide models of expert performance • Offer executive-function supports such as graphic organizers, outlines, etc.

35. Multiple Means of Action and Expression (cont’d) • Voice recording • Graphic displays • Graphic organizers • Dance or movement • Embedded prompts • Checklists • Spellcheck • Story webs and outlines • Sentence starters • What are your ideas? • Generate examples of how you have allowed multiple means for action and expression. • Generate new and creative possibilities.

36. Provide Multiple Means for Engagement • Options for recruiting interest • Options for sustaining effort and persistence • Options for self-regulation • Recruiting Interest • Individual choice and autonomy • Relevance, value and authenticity • Minimize threats and distractions • Sustaining effort and persistence • Heighten salience of goals and objectives • Vary demands and resources • Foster collaboration and community • Increase mastery-oriented feedback • Self-Regulation • Promote expectations and beliefs

37. Multiple Means of Engagement (c0nt’d) Examples • Vary levels of challenge and support to prevent frustration or boredom • Tie work to real-world examples • Where possible, give choices • Teach self-assessment and reflection • Implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and support

38. Multiple Means of Engagement (cont’d) • Flexibility in use of tools • Provide choice in mode of expression • Connect to community opportunities • Use flexible grouping strategies • Create positive school culture • Peer tutoring • Differentiated goals • What are your ideas? • Generate examples of how you provided multiple means for engagement. • Generate new and creative possibilities.

39. Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: Managing Student Behavior “Creating classroom norms, expectations and rules are a golden opportunity to establish and sustain student engagement, use it.” - Dr. Mary Magee Quinn

40. Universal Design for Learning Guidelines

41. What are the Take -Aways? • Learn more about UDL • Research universally-designed products • Share your UDL resources and lesson plans with others • Consider UDL when adopting curriculum policies

42. Supports for UDL Statutes and Regulations • No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) • Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)

43. Supports for UDL (cont’d) US Department of Education • Office of Special Education Programs • Institute for Education Sciences • Office of Postsecondary Education National Science Foundation

44. Supports for UDL (cont’d) Exploring the Three Principles http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines

45. Supports for UDL (cont’d) • The Role of Technology in UDL • http://www.udlcenter.org/resource_library/articles/udlunplugged • The Seed Lesson • Example lesson illustrating how all principles of UDL can be met even with limited technology

46. For More Information • OSEP Ideas that Work - UDL Toolkit http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/udl/ • National UDL Task Force www.udl4allstudents.org • CAST www.cast.org • National UDL Center www.udlcenter.org

47. Have you smiled today?