home

== = = = UDL: UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING =

=** LEARNING FOR EVERY STUDENT ** =

The Universal Design for Learning, which maps out a flexible system for creating instructional objectives, strategies and methods, as well as resources and assessments, gets its inspiration from the world of architecture. When accessibility to public buildings for all people became a major concern a couple of decades ago, ramps were built for wheelchair access, and other accommodations were made so that public buildings could be used by everyone, including the physically disabled. After a time, architects began to design buildings that, instead of being outfitted with add-ons, incorporated accessibility into their blueprints. This became known as Universal Design. Examples of Universal Design are captions on the television, which aids a variety of people, including language learnings, people with hearing disabillites, people who like to work out in gyms, or families that share a room for different activities, some of which may involve the need for quiet. Ramps are useful for strollers, wheelchairs, bicycles, and people who feel too tired to take the stairs; and the curb cuts on sidewalks make it possible for wheels to navigate around the streets. media type="custom" key="8863214"

Whereas many educators are aware that the standard "one-size-fits-all" methods for education are not effective for a population that has, in many locations, always been diverse, and in most locations, is increasingly so, often the curriculum has been made to adapt with "retrofit" or added-on adaptations and accommodations. UDL proposes that the curriculum remove barriers and provide access to all students from the outset. In order to accomplish this, the purpose of UDL is to establish a curriculum with: flexible methods and goals that engage and provide appropriate challenges for all students; flexible materials that include digitized text, multimedia resources such as video and recording tools, software, and the Internet; and flexible assessments that inform instruction through the continuous gauging and evaluating of student knowledge (Meo, 2008). media type="custom" key="8863370"

For more general information on UDL:

This is the home page for CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology): http://www.cast.org/ http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl This is a website develop by the National Center on Universal Design for Learning http://www.pattan.net/files/UDL/UDL-Booklet.pdf This is an informational brochure published by the Department of Education of Pennsylvania.

The Three Principles of UDL
This idea has been transposed into the world of education by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology www.cast.org/index.html) a non-profit research and development orgnaization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals. UDL is based on three principles.