TEAL Center Fact Sheet No.

2: Universal Design for Learning 2010

Universal Design for Learning

verse needs. A universally designed curriculum is
UDL is an approach to curriculum design that can
shaped from the outset to meet the needs of the
help teachers customize curriculum to serve all
greatest number of users, making costly, time-
learners, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender,
consuming, and after-the-fact changes to the curricu-
or cultural and linguistic background. UDL provides a
lum unnecessary.
blueprint for designing strategies, materials, assess-
ments, and tools to reach and teach students with
The UDL framework is grounded in three principles
diverse needs.
● Multiple means of representation – using a va-
riety of methods to present information, provide a
range of means to support
About UDL ● Multiple means of action and expression –
providing learners with alternative ways to act
Universal design for learning (UDL) is a set of prin- skillfully and demonstrate what they know
ciples for designing curriculum that provides all indi-
● Multiple means of engagement – tapping into
viduals with equal opportunities to learn. UDL is de-
signed to serve all learners, regardless of ability, disa- learners’ interests by offering choices of content
bility, age, gender, or cultural and linguistic back- and tools; motivating learners by offering adjusta-
ground. UDL provides a blueprint for designing goals, ble levels of challenge.
methods, materials, and assessments to reach all
students including those with diverse needs. Roots of UDL
Grounded in research of learner differences and effec- The term Universal Design refers to a movement in
tive instructional settings, UDL principles call for va- architecture and product development that aims to
ried and flexible ways to make places and things more accessible to individuals
● Present or access information, concepts, and with disabilities. Many adaptations for people with dis-
ideas (the "what" of learning), abilities benefit a variety of users. For example, ramps
and curb cuts make it easier for parents with baby
● Plan and execute learning tasks (the "how" of
strollers, elderly people, and delivery people to nego-
learning), and
tiate walkways and street. Similarly, closed captions
● Get engaged—and stay engaged—in learning on television and movies can be appreciated not only
(the "why" of learning) by the deaf and hard of hearing, but by people who
UDL is different from other approaches to curriculum can read them in noisy environments. They can also
design in that educators begin the design process ex- be used as support for listening comprehension by
pecting the curriculum to be used by a diverse set of viewers learning the language. The concept that
students with varying skills and abilities. everyone benefits when designs incorporate the
needs of every user has become known as universal
UDL is an approach to learning that addresses and design. UDL extends this concept to education by ap-
redresses the primary barrier to learning: inflexible, plying advances in the understanding of how the brain
one-size-fits-all curricula that raise unintentional processes information to the design of curricula that
barriers. Learners with disabilities are the most vul- accommodate diverse learning needs.
nerable to such barriers, but many students without
disabilities also find that curricula are poorly designed Under the UDL Umbrella
to meet their learning needs. UDL helps meet the
The good news is that UDL is not in conflict with other
challenges of diversity by recommending the use of methods and practices. It actually incorporates and
flexible instructional materials, techniques, and strate- supports many current research-based approaches to
gies that empower educators to meet students' di-
teaching and learning, such as the following:

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 TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 2: Universal Design for Learning 2010

• Cooperative learning (group work), new concepts using pictures, artifacts, videos, and
• Differentiated instruction (see the TEAL Center other materials that are not lecture-based. Scaf-
Fact Sheet No. 5), fold student learning (provide temporary support
to reduce the complexity of a task) by providing a
• Performance-based assessment, course syllabus, outlines, summaries, study
• Project-based learning, guides, and copies of PowerPoint slides.
• Multisensory teaching, • Teach to a variety of learning styles. Build
• Theory of multiple intelligences, and movement into learning. Give instructions both
• Principles of student-centered learning (see the orally and in writing to engage students auditorily
TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 6). and visually. Consider using large visual aids for
slides, graphics, and charts.
How Can Students Benefit from UDL? • Provide flexible opportunities for assessment.
Allow students to demonstrate their learning in
Adult students benefit from two major aspects of UDL:
multiple ways that include visual and oral presen-
(1) its emphasis on flexible curriculum, and (2) the
tation, rather than only written assessment.
variety of instructional practices, materials, and learn-
ing activities. All students, including those learning How might this work in the adult education class-
English, older students, and those with disabilities ap- room? Because adult education classes do not always
preciate the multifaceted ways content is presented, rely on textbooks only for curriculum material, but ra-
as well as options for demonstrating what they know. ther utilize realia and authentic materials, instructors
UDL helps educators meet the challenge of serving can be at an advantage when trying to incorporate
those with special needs while enhancing learning for principles of UDL. A common example is the tech-
all. nique of using total physical response (TPR) exercis-
es for adult English language learners. An example in
How Can Instructors Incorporate UDL? the ABE classroom might be to teach weights and
measurement using real objects and a variety of mea-
Instructors may want to try the following strategies surement tools. Show video clips to demonstrate
(Rose & Meyer, 2002): measurement in various ways. Hands-on activities
• Use multiple strategies to present content. En- and demonstrations can help learners grasp the con-
hance instruction through the use of case studies, cept more readily than textbook readings and discus-
music, role play, cooperative learning, hands-on sion. Have learners demonstrate their understanding
activities, field trips, guest speakers, Web-based through created visuals, oral presentations or demon-
communications, and educational software. Ex- strations, maps and charts, or simulated tasks.
ample: Students can role play important events in
American history to give them a better under- What’s the Research?
standing of the events and people involved. Also,
According to the National Center on Universal Design
offer a choice of learning contexts by providing
for Learning at CAST, the research that supports UDL
opportunities for individual, pair, and group work comes first from the research basis for the general
as well as distance learning, peer learning, and principles of UDL, which come from cognitive learning
field work. science and neuroscience, and also derived from the
• Use a variety of materials. To present, illustrate, work of Lev Vygotsky and Benjamin Bloom on under-
and reinforce new content, use materials such as standing individual differences and the pedagogies
online resources, videos, podcasts, PowerPoint required to address them. Research has been identi-
presentations, realia, manipulatives, and e-books. fied on specific practices for meeting the needs of in-
dividual differences as well as research on the specific
• Provide cognitive supports. Give students or- applications of UDL. Links to the research can be
ganizing clues; for example: “I have explained the found under Research at the National Center on UDL
four main points, and now I am going to summar- Website.
ize them.” Present background information for

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 TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 2: Universal Design for Learning 2010

Resources
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) ogies related to the National Instructional Materials
(www.cast.org) offers extensive UDL resources and Accessibility Standard (NIMAS).
strategies on its Website.
Teaching Every Student
Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and (http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent) is a CAST
Technology (DO-IT) (http://www.washington.edu/doit) Website that includes a multimedia version of the
offers supports for incorporating UDL principles into book, Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Uni-
the postsecondary setting and experiences of stu- versal Design for Learning (see reference below). This
dents with disabilities. Website is designed for kindergarten through grade
National Center for Accessible Media 12 teachers, but can be informative for adult educa-
(http://ncam.wgbh.org) provides information and re- tion teachers.
sources for expanding access to educational and me-
UDL Guidelines
dia technologies for students with disabilities.
(http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines) from
National Center on Universal Design for Learning the National UDL Center provide a set of strategies for
(National UDL Center) (http://www.udlcenter.org/) implementing UDL along with practical suggestions.
supports the effective implementation of UDL by con-
necting stakeholders in the field and providing re- References
sources and information about UDL and UDL imple-
mentation. Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student
in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alex-
NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance
andria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curricu-
Centers (http://aim.cast.org) serve as a resource for
lum Development.
information about the policies, practices, and technol-

Authors: TEAL Center staff

Reviewed by: Tracey Hall and Boo Murray, CAST.

Adapted from CALPRO Fact Sheet No. 2, Universal Design for Learning. Author: Sally Ianiro with
Anestine Hector-Mason. AIR: Sacramento, CA.

About the TEAL Center: The Teaching Excellence in Adult Literacy (TEAL) Center is a
project of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE), designed to improve the quality of teaching in adult education in the content areas.
Beginning with writing instruction for Adult Basic Education (ABE) students, the TEAL Cen-
ter will offer an intensive program of professional development and individualized technical
assistance to participating local staff in 12 states.

This publication was prepared with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education,
under contract No.ED-VAE-09-O-0060. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Page 3
U.S. Department of Education. This document is in the public domain and may be reproduced without permission.