7 Universal Design for Learning

Learning Objectives

1. Articulate Universal design for learning’s (UDL) rationales and benefits and describe UDL’s principles and practical guidelines.
2. Reflect on UDL examples and identify additional opportunities to apply UDL strategies.
3. Connect the principles and practice of UDL to your professional practice, in bite sized UDL strategy chunks.

What is UDL

Students enter the post-secondary education sector as highly variable learners, with a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, abilities, skills, attitudes, interests, and motivations. Students come from diverse experiences and have generated knowledge and information in different ways. As educators, we must offer a number of ways to learn new content to maximize students’ potential. This is a complex and important task.

Universal design for learning (UDL) is a key part of the solution to make education accessible to all learners. UDL supports what educators are increasingly aware of: that one-size-fits-all learning environments do not sup­port all learners. Chen^[1] builds on this and writes that “UDL is the recognition that a standardized learning environment is no longer productive; it is vital — and, with today’s technology, possible — to acknowledge differences among students”.^[2]

There are five key reasons why UDL is essential in the post-secondary education sector and these reasons are what make it distinct from other frameworks:

1. Designs and plans for learner variability and for accessibility
2. Layers onto other design processes
3. Is highly adaptive because learning is contextual
4. Uses flexible means and methods
5. Is essential for some, helpful for all

UDL Examples

College STAR is a grant-funded project in North Carolina that seeks to help college campuses become more welcoming of students with learning differences. The following section provides several examples of their efforts to utilize the UDL framework throughout their participating campuses.

Read

UDL Examples from the College STAR project to see how faculty redesigned their courses using the UDL framework across disciplines:

• Education UDL Example
• Music UDL Example
• Construction Management UDL Example
• Criminal Justice UDL Example

Reflect

As you read these examples:

• What is the most important message?
• What surprised you?
• What is one thing you could implement in your own professional practice?

Introduction Video

Throughout the module, we use this icon to suggest times to reflect on a concept, your professional practice, or yourself. We hope these questions help spark your thinking in new and creative directions.

Reflecting on Identity

Reflecting on our identities and acknowledging how they manifest in our education practice is ongoing work. Take a moment to reflect and think deeply about your own identities and how they relate to this module.

Consider your own personal learning about the topic. Where do you fall on the following continuum?

I have not yet begun thinking about this	I have started to learn more about this.	I am actively thinking and learning about this.	I am applying my new learning and remain committed to further reflection and growth.

• In what ways does my social and geographical location influence my identity, knowledge, and accumulated wisdom? What knowledge am I missing?
• What privileges and power do I hold? In what ways do I exercise my power and privilege?
• Does my power and privilege show up in my work? If so, how?
• Am I aware of if/how my biases and privileges might take up space and silence others?

It’s important to realize that you do not have to be an expert on these topics to actively engage in self-reflection and conversations with students. Being an equity-centred educator requires regular and repeated reflection on the Eurocentric assumptions, knowledges, and ways of being that guide our thoughts and actions.

Being aware of which knowledges, experiences, and ways of being in the world are privileged in your discipline, classroom, and institution are a critical first step to making education equitable. The next step is legitimate action to combat the impacts of oppression.

Why is UDL Important?

Many traditional teaching practices tend to cater to or privilege only certain types of learners, such as those learners who are able-bodied, fluent in the language of instruction, or good at learning course content by reading textbooks or listening to lectures. However, in reality, all learners bring their varying backgrounds, strengths, needs and interests to our education system, classrooms, and campuses. When this diversity is not recognized and addressed by proactive design, it can create barriers to learning. The UDL guidelines can help us reduce environmental and curricular barriers by bringing flexibility and options into learning design from the outset.^[3]

Accessibility is an important component of UDL, but UDL doesn’t approach accessibility only from a disability perspective. It is more broadly concerned about reducing any barriers to learning by making sure that all the instructional materials (e.g., texts, images, audio) as well as classroom environments, support services, and activities are accessible to as many learners, instructors, and staff as possible. For example, UDL encourages us to use a video with captions, but it is to help not only students with hearing challenges but also students who speak English as an additional language. It can also help reinforce other students’ understanding of the content.^[4]

Ultimately, the goal of UDL is to support students to become “expert learners” who are purposeful and motivated, resourceful, and knowledgeable, strategic and goal driven. UDL serves as a framework for making sure that ALL students will see success.^[5]

The implementation of UDL strategies can have a positive impact on instructors and staff as well. The benefits include:

• Having concrete strategies to improve student learning
• Reducing workload by avoiding a need to accommodate varying individual student needs retroactively
• Enhancing professional capacity in the area of inclusive design and teaching
• Maintaining academic rigour and high expectation by making support and learning activities tangible for students

UDL is a way to enact a NS government call for implementation and research of CRP and UDL in Higher Education. It is a direct response to:

• Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) Calls to Action
• NS Human Rights Act
• NS Culture Action Plan
• NS Accessibility Act

Beyond legislation and Calls to Action, it is part of our moral responsibility as educators to rectify systemic inequity.

Watch this short video by CAST to explore an overview of UDL: UDL at a Glance

Watch this short video by CAST to learn how UDL can help diverse learners in higher education settings: UDL in Higher Education

Read

Universal Design for Learning is a Philosophy – Not a Practice by Harman Brar posted on the D2L Blog July 8, 2016.

Learning Networks and UDL Principles

Informed by cognitive neuroscience, UDL addresses three broad distinct and interrelated learning networks of the brain  and UDL has three principles that correspond with these networks. This module is organized by these UDL principles, and here is an overview.^[6]

Affective Networks

These networks represent the why of learning and are located at the medial regions of the brain. This area of the brain evaluates patterns and the emotional significance of the information being perceived and stimulates motivation for learning. Learners perceive and respond to new information or tasks differently (e.g., excited, overwhelmed). To support these networks, it is important to provide a balance of challenge and support, different ways to recruit learners’ interest, and multiple ways to engage learners. It is also important to remind students of goals and objectives to help them stay focused and motivated.

Affective networks inform UDL’s Principle: “Provide multiple means of engagement.”

Recognition Networks

These networks, being situated at the posterior half of the brain’s cortex, represent the what of learning. This area of the brain helps us gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read, but everyone processes information differently. To support different learners’ recognition networks effectively, it is necessary to provide information and content using a variety of media.

Recognition networks inform UDL’s Principle: “Provide multiple means of representation.”

Strategic Networks

These networks represent the how of learning and are situated in the anterior regions of the brain’s cortex. This area of the brain helps us to plan, execute and monitor action and skills. Learners are different in the way they acquire patterns and in higher-level strategies such as planning, organizing, and monitoring. It is important to give students choices, strategies, and appropriate tools for planning and demonstrating their knowledge.

Strategic networks inform UDL’s Principle: “Provide multiple means of action and expression”.

UDL Framework

The UDL framework offers an overarching approach to designing meaningful learning opportunities that address learner variability and suggests purposeful, proactive attention to the design of goals, assessments, methods, and materials.^[7]

The UDL Framework was first defined by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in the 1990s, now simply called CAST.

CAST’s UDL Guidelines are a tool to support educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and more to apply the UDL framework to practice. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.^[8]

UDL on Campus provides many tangible examples of UDL in Higher Education.

Principles of UDL Framework

Now we’ll take a deeper dive into each of the Principles of UDL, and the strategies for implementation in Higher Education.

UDL Principle 1 — Provide Multiple Means of Engagement^[9]

Have you heard questions such as: “When will I ever use this in my life?” or “What does this have to do with me?” or “Why do I need to learn this?”?

These questions show how important it is for learners to know the why of learning as we try to engage them with any learning process, be it a classroom activity or an assignment. Yet, learners greatly differ from one another in what attracts their attention and curiosity and how their motivation needs to be stimulated and supported.

This principle addresses why and how we should recruit and sustain students’ interest, motivation, and engagement. It is comprised of the following three guidelines:

1. Provide options for recruiting interest
2. Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence
3. Provide options for self-regulation

UDL Principle 2 — Provide Options for Recruiting Interest^[10]

Learners tend to be more interested in learning when they understand how the knowledge they’re learning can be useful or meaningful to them. For example, when you keep presenting examples only from a certain social or cultural group, those students who do not belong to that group would not only find little relevance of those examples to them but also feel invisible, marginalized, or excluded, and their interest, motivation, and engagement in the course will decline. Research shows^[11] a sense of belonging plays a crucial role in students’ academic persistence and success. Therefore, creating multiple ways to engage diverse students’ interest is essential.

Relevancy is key for students, so they understand why they are learning what they are learning. It’s also about making the content relevant to them.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to allow students to recruit interest?
• What practices can you implement that offer multiple ways to engage in content?
• How can you give students choices to both make the experience relevant to them and give them a sense of ownership of their learning?
• How do you create opportunities for your students to develop skills in self-assessment and reflection to improve student success?

Learn more about recruiting interest

Recruiting Interest: Spark excitement and curiosity for learning.

CAST UDL Recruiting Interest Checkpoints

• Optimize individual choice and autonomy
• Optimize relevance, value and authenticity
• Minimize threats and distractions

Provide Options for Sustaining Effort and Persistence

How can we support our learners to sustain their effort and concentration through the learning process? As learners differ in their initial motivation, some learners need support for remembering the goals and objectives, managing their emotional responses, staying focused on assignments, and/or setting learning goals for each study session. This can be addressed through offering different levels of challenge; fostering community and collaboration; and providing feedback by using reminders, checklists, frameworks, early alerts, progress-oriented support, peer mentoring, and peer support groups.

Characteristics of Good Student Feedback

In this 4-minute video, Gavan Watson introduces four characteristics of effective feedback to improve and sustain student learning.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to sustain effort and persistence?
• What practices can you implement that offer
• What opportunities exist to incorporate student choice in my professional practice?
• How do you create opportunities for your students to develop skills in sustaining effort and persistence to improve student success?

Learn more about Providing Options for Sustaining Effort and Persistence

CAST UDL Effort and Persistence Checkpoints

• Heighten salience of goals and objectives
• Vary demands and resources to optimize challenge
• Foster collaboration and communication
• Increase mastery-oriented feedback

Provide Options for Self-Regulation

How can we encourage student self-regulation and personal coping skills?

Self-regulation is about setting goals; selecting strategies; observing progress; revisiting and restructuring goals that are not met; managing time; achieving focus amid distractions; self-evaluating the strategies used and adapting them for the future based on lessons learned. While many learners develop these skills on their own, either by trial or observing successful adults, many have difficulties in developing these skills. Therefore, self-regulation skills must be explicitly addressed.

This UDL Guideline offers different strategies on how to become a self-regulated learner, including: a) set personal goals that inspire confidence and ownership of learning; b) facilitate personal coping skills and strategies; and c) increase awareness around progress toward goals and how to learn from mistakes.

All your students have different skills and abilities related to self-regulation. Some students are excellent at setting goals for themselves and following through on them but struggle with staying focused when distracted; some may have strengths in managing time but not in setting goals; some may be really great at self-regulation with topics that interest them and struggle with topics that don’t. For some students in post-secondary education, this may be the first time that they are responsible for their learning, and they may still require a lot of development in these skills, while others may have had life experiences that have allowed them the opportunity to develop self-regulation skills well before they enter your course.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to allow students to develop self-regulation skills?
• What practices can you implement that encourage students to take ownership of their learning and implement personal coping skills?
• How do you create opportunities for your students to develop skills in self-assessment and reflection to improve student success?

Learn more about providing Options for Self-Regulation

Self-regulation: Harness the power of emotions and motivation in learning.

CAST UDL Self-regulation Checklist

• Promote expectations and beliefs that optimize motivation
• Facilitate personal coping skills and strategies
• Develop self-assessment and reflection

Examples of Strategies to Enhance Engagement

Questions for Considering Multiple Means of Engagement

• How can you incorporate variety in your approaches and student learning activities?
• How might you incorporate student interaction and collaboration into your professional practice?
• How might technology be used to engage students in authentic learning?
• What opportunities exist to incorporate student choice?
• How can you encourage student self-regulation and personal coping skills?

Cynthia Bruce: The importance of being open.

Principle 2— Multiple Means of Representation^[12]

Multiple Means of Representation

Have you ever asked your students…“What does this mean?” or “What do you see in this picture?” and received very different responses?

These varied responses show that we rely on our experiences and prior knowledge to fill in gaps in information to make meaning. Therefore, presenting course content only in one way cannot effectively reach all learners who have different frames of reference. For that, the Multiple Means of Representation guideline encourages us to present course content in multiple ways so that students have different ways to access and engage with the course content.

This principle includes practices that help learners recognize patterns in the information they receive through senses. For example, the recognition network helps us to understand the meaning of text by paying attention to patterns, such as the organization of paragraphs, use of transition words, and choice of words that communicate certain tone and style. Therefore, it is important to help students process information in an intentional and systematic way.

The representation principle is comprised of the following guidelines:

1. Perception: Interact with flexible content that doesn’t depend on a single sense like sight, hearing, movement, or touch.
2. Language & Symbols: Communicate through languages that create a shared understanding.
3. Comprehension: Construct meaning and generate new understandings.

This 2-minute video focuses on how we can provide multiple means of representation to support the variability in our learners’ recognition networks.

Provide Options for Perception

Learning can be impossible or difficult when we present key course information in only one format or in formats that require assistance. For example, for many of us printed text may have been the primary format of our educational materials, and some of us may have had no problem with accessing text and may have been good at deriving meaning from it.

However, presenting materials only in text format can be a barrier to many learners, including those who have a vision impairment or a learning disability, such as dyslexia that causes difficulty in reading. To reduce or remove these types of barriers, when possible, you may consider providing textual materials in different formats (e.g., alternative visual, audio), or ensure textual materials are accessible to screen readers (assistive technologies) and allow learners to enlarge text.

In presenting any materials, it is important to explicitly explain what you are trying to teach through those materials.

Read

Digital Content and Media Accessibility, by UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology.  Identify two to three ways to make digital materials more accessible.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to provide options for perception?
• How can you ensure that your course materials are accessible to as many students as possible?
• How might you present concepts in more than one format?

Learn more about Providing Options for Perception

Perception: Interact with flexible content that doesn’t depend on a single sense like sight, hearing, movement, or touch.

CAST UDL Perception Checkpoints

• Offer ways of customizing the display of information
• Offer alternatives for auditory information
• Offer alternatives for visual information

Provide Options for Language and Symbols

Words and symbols can mean different things to people who have different points of reference due to their varying prior knowledge or experiences. When learners do not understand verbal and non-verbal language being used in the course material and delivery, their access to the content knowledge is limited. For example, when course readings are full of jargon that are specific to a certain academic discipline, students who are new to the discipline would have a hard time in understanding the content. Therefore, it is important to provide options for learners to learn about language and symbols (e.g., vocabulary, symbols, syntax, plain language) being used in course materials.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to allow options for students to learn about language and symbols?
• What activities could emphasize comprehension of key concepts?
• How might you informally gauge students’ understanding of concepts?

Learn more about Providing Options for Language and Symbols

UDL Guideline: Provide options for Language & Symbols

CAST UDL Language & Symbols Checkpoints

• Clarify vocabulary and symbols
• Clarify syntax and structure
• Support decoding text, mathematical notation and symbols
• Promote understanding across languages
• Illustrate through multiple media

Provide Options for Comprehension

Learners vary in their skills for information processing, for accessing and connecting new information to their prior knowledge and for making sense of the new information. For learners to develop knowledge that is useful to them, being presented with new information is not enough. They need to learn how to actively process information so that they can integrate new information with their prior knowledge, categorize their knowledge, and retain information in a systematic way. For example, providing models, scaffolds, and feedback can help learners to build connections to their prior experiences.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to provide options for comprehension?
• How can you ensure that your materials are accessible to as many students as possible?
• How might you present concepts in more than one format?

Learn more about Providing Options for Comprehension

Comprehension—help learners develop ways to transform information into useable knowledge.

CAST UDL Comprehension Checkpoints

• Activate or supply background knowledge
• Highlight patterns, critical features, big ideas and relationships
• Guide information processing, visualization and manipulation
• Maximize transfer and generalization

Examples of Strategies to Enhance Representation

Questions for Considering Multiple Means of Representation

• How can you ensure that your materials are accessible to as many students as possible?
• How might you present concepts in more than one format?
• Do you offer opportunities to encourage student agency?
• What activities could emphasize comprehension of key concepts?
• How might you informally gauge student understanding of concepts?

UDL Principle 3 — Provide Multiple Means of Action and  Expression

Have you ever wondered “How do learners navigate a learning environment?” or “How do learners express what they know?”?

Focusing on the how of learning, this strategic network of the brain recognizes that there is no single means of action or expression that is optimal for all learners. For example, individuals with movement impairment may struggle with a certain learning activity, such as turning pages in textbooks. Other learners may struggle with expressing themselves in speech and/or in writing. Therefore, it is important to provide learners with different options for action and expression.

The Action & Expression principle is comprised of the following guidelines:

1. Provide options for physical action
2. Provide options for expression and communication
3. Provide options for executive functions

1. Provide Options for Physical Action

When designing our course materials, it is important to provide materials with which all types of learners can interact. For example, educational technologies may raise barriers to learners with movement impairments because their navigation options (e.g., keyboard, touchscreen, touchpads) can be limited. As you take this online module, you may have no problem with navigating the content by scrolling down the screen, but it’s not always the case for those who have moving impairments.

To increase accessibility, we need to optimize our learners’ access to tools, and teach them how to use them effectively. In addition, we should try to make the use of assistive technologies and services, if required, as seamless as possible for our learners.

Reflect

• What strategies can you use to allow students options for physical action?
• What choices might you offer regarding assignments, communication, and content delivery?
• What assistive technologies can students access?

Read

Providing Options for Physical Action

Physical Action: Interact with accessible materials and tools.

CAST UDL Physical Action Checkpoints

• Vary the methods for response and navigation
• Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies

2. Provide Options for Expression and Communication

Learners express their knowledge differently: some are comfortable with writing; some prefer to speak; and others may like to draw. The medium (e.g., writing, speaking, drawing) is the vehicle for self-expression and there is no medium of expression that can be equally suited for all learners. To give all learners opportunities to show their knowledge, we need to provide them with alternative modalities to express themselves and share their learning. This way, learners have a fair chance to demonstrate their learning.

Reflect

• What practices can you implement that provide options for expression and communication?
• How can you use multimedia as a resource?
• How might you provide opportunities for feedback?

Learn more about Providing Options for Expression and Communication

Expression and communication: Compose and share ideas using tools that help attain learning goals.

CAST UDL Expression and Communication Checkpoints

• Use multiple media for communication
• Use multiple tools for construction and composition
• Build fluencies with graduated levels of support for practice and performance

3. Provide Options for Executive Functions

Executive functioning is a term psychologists use to describe the many tasks our brain performs that help individuals learn new information, remember and retrieve information, and use information to solve problems of everyday life. For example, executive functions allow you to organize an event, complete a research project, meet a deadline, and get dressed in the morning. The capacity of executive functions is limited. Therefore, to perform any tasks well, we need to reduce distractions and free up the space in our executive functions so that we can focus and prioritize.

To help our learners develop their executive function skills over time, we need to give them options and prompts to generate ideas and organize tasks, support the development of their working memory by using checklists, course schedules, and reminders, and provide them with different options for monitoring their progress.

Executive Functioning in Online Learning Environments

This short 2-minute video highlights a learner’s struggle with transitioning to an online learning environment.

Reflect

This video highlights one student’s journey with the challenges in online learning environments, in particular for students with different executive functioning abilities.

• What are three strategies you could use to decrease some of the barriers for this student in the classroom and beyond?

Learn more about Providing Options for Executive Functions

Executive Function—help learners develop deliberate strategies for learning.

CAST UDL Executive Function Checkpoints

• Guide appropriate goal-setting
• Support planning and strategy development
• Facilitate managing information and resources
• Enhance capacity for monitoring progress

Examples of Strategies to Enhance Action and Expression

Questions for Considering Multiple Means of Action and Expression

• What opportunities exist to incorporate multiple means of expression?
• How might you provide opportunities for timely feedback?
• What choices might you offer students regarding assignments, communication, and content delivery?
• What decisions can you make to mitigate student anxiety regarding assessment?

UDL Summary

The UDL principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression comprise an instructional design model that allows instructors to strive for equitable access for all students. That is, these principles offer options, flexibility, and goals to accommodate diverse learners, regardless of discipline. In addition, UDL prompts faculty and staff to consider how they might improve their own professional practice by considering diversity in the classroom, learning environments, and student voice and agency.

This module has introduced you to UDL’s three principles and guidelines for each principle. Trying to implement all these guidelines can be overwhelming. Here are some suggestions for you to remember as you start implementing what you have learned in this module:

• You do not need to change everything all at once. You can redesign your professional practice gradually based on your priorities and available resources. Check at your institutions to determine if there are resources to help with your redesign
• Even one small change that you make can have a big impact on everyone. (For example, adding closed captioning to your videos benefits students learning in noisy environments, students with hearing disabilities and students who do not use English as their primary language.)
• Proactively design your course with flexibility and options based on the assumption that your students have diverse learning needs. Making retroactive changes or individual accommodations can take you more time and work

Reflect

• What engagement challenges do you have in your professional practice?
• What UDL strategies on engagement do you currently use?
• What would you like to try in your professional practice?

Incorporating UDL^[13]

Low Time Investment

• Use small group work and discussion
• Use a problem-based learning approach
• Prepare transcripts for video and audio files
• Offer students a choice of assignments and resources

Moderate Time Investment

• Open with a course trailer.
• Incorporate case studies, scenarios and examples.
• Use a student response system  to check for comprehension.
• Use an accessible survey tool.
• Use a variety of question types for student assessment.

Higher Time Investment

• Use small group work and discussions.
• Use a problem-based learning approach.
• Prepare transcripts for video and audio files.
• Create a study guide with exercises on key concepts.
• Offer students a choice on assignments and resources.

Learn more about incorporating UDL

• This UDL Progression Rubric by Katie Novak and Kristan Rodriguez helps you move from emergent, to proficient, to progressing toward expert practice.
• This 1-page UDL Rubric by Melissa Toland helps you shift from UDL Explorer to UDL Idol.

How are UDL and CRP Interconnected?

Both frameworks focus on:

• Identification and removal of barriers
• High expectations for all learners
• Building and maintaining relationships
• Fostering the learning process
• Connections to the neuroscience of learning
• Building on strengths
• Attitudinal investment and shifts from educators

Is my professional practice going to be completely inclusive and accessible if I use UDL?

No, unfortunately. Like any educational approach, UDL alone does not necessarily make your practice completely inclusive and accessible, although it does give us a very clear and useful framework to start making improvements.^[14] Integrating UDL with CRP and other equity-centred practices is critical.

Both UDL and CRP frameworks focus on:

• Identification and removal of barriers
• High expectations for all learners
• Building and maintaining relationships
• Fostering the learning process
• Connections to the neuroscience of learning
• Building on strengths
• Attitudinal investment and shifts from educators

CRP and UDL work together to create equitable learning for all students. Both approaches include the use of students’ backgrounds and high expectations for learning. Both UDL and CRP are grounded in neurological science and when implemented, have a positive impact on student learning and wellness.

UDL at Mohawk College

Reflecting on Systems

Take a moment to reflect and think deeply about your institution as a system and how it relates to this module. Think about the written and unwritten rules, policies, procedures, practices, and traditions that define your institution.

Reflect

Reflect on and write a few lines answering these questions:

• Who is welcomed and can fully participate?
• Who may be excluded, discriminated against, or denied full participation?
• Whose norms, values, and perspectives does the institution consider to be normal or legitimate? Whose does it silence, marginalize, or delegitimize?
• Who inhabits positions of power within the institution?
• Whose experiences, norms, values, and perspectives influence an institution’s laws, policies, and systems of evaluation?
• Whose interests does the institution protect?

Systems of Inequity

Thank you for taking the time to reflect on your own institution in relation to this module. Being aware of the policies, procedures, practices, and traditions and how they intentionally or unintentionally privilege some groups over others is a critical first step to making education equitable. The next step is real action to combat the impacts of oppression.

Conclusion

Summary

Universal design for learning, or UDL, is an approach to improve and optimize teaching and learning that helps give ALL students an equal opportunity to succeed. UDL is an evidence-based educational framework based on research in the learning sciences.

In this module you:

• Articulated UDL’s rationales and benefits
• Described UDL’s principles and practical guidelines
• Reflected on UDL examples and identify additional opportunities to apply UDL strategies
• Connected the principles and practice of UDL to your professional practice, in bite sized UDL strategy chunks

UDL is an essential framework in the post-secondary sector because:

 It designs and plans for learner variability and accessibility

• It layers onto other design processes
• It is highly adaptive because learning is contextual
• It uses flexible means and methods
• It is essential for some, and helpful for ALL

Learn More

Most institutions have an accessibility center to help guide and support you with making your course more accessible.

Read:

Top 10 UDL Tips for Designing Engaging Learning Environments – Cast Professional Learning

UDL Strategies – Goalbook Toolkit

7 Things You Should Know About Universal Design for Learning by EDUCAUSE

Top Tips for Online Course Accessibility by Colorado State University

Universal Design for Learning and Digital Accessibility: Compatible Partners or a Conflicted Marriage?  by Judy Ableser and Christina Moore in EDUCAUSE Review.

Watch:

What is Accessibility? (2:06)

Why Accessibility Matters. (2:47) In this short video, Ernie Perez explains how incorporating accessibility and universal design principles into your course is good for all students.

Legal Obligations for Accessibility | The importance of Accessibility: A Faculty’s Perspective  (2:22)

Review:

McGill University
McGill University has undertaken, from 2011 to 2015, a system-wide implementation of UDL. The McGill Office for Students with Disabilities offers resources that include: in-depth explanations of UDL; faculty resources; video resources; information about universal design research; concrete tips for implementing UDL; assistive technology information; and they also offer workshops on request.

Mohawk College
In 2018, Mohawk College completed the Universal Design for Learning for Technology-enabled Post-secondary Courses at Mohawk College research project with funding from eCampusOntario.

The two deliverables of this project were a college wide UDL standard for implementation and the UDL Course Assessment; both of which are unique to Mohawk College and its UDL implementation efforts. For more information on these UDL initiatives please visit the Universal Design for Learning Resources page on the Mohawk College website.

To review any of Mohawk College’s other UDL implementation initiatives and resources, please visit the Centre for Teaching and Learning’s Universal Design for Learning page

Attribution

Unit 7 Universal Design for Learning is adapted from University of British Columbia. (n.d.). Universal Design for Learning Module [online curriculum]. Shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.

• Learning Networks and UDL Principles adapted from 1.6 Learning Networks and UDL Principles

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org