Reimagining Universal Design for Learning

01/03/2024

Reimagining Universal Design for Learning

True belonging doesn’t require that we change who we are. It requires that we be who we are.
Brené Brown, researcher, author and public speaker

The Universal Design for Learning Guidelines outline “a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn… 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.”

The guidelines invite educators, curriculum developers, trainers, researchers, and others to provide learners with:

Multiple means of engagement, to activate the ‘why’ of learning
Multiple means of representation, to activate the ‘what’ of learning
Multiple means of action and expression, to activate the ‘how’ of learning

According to the Center for Applied Special Technology, which has spearheaded the UDL Guidelines since 2008, they are “a living, dynamic tool that is continuously developed based on new research and feedback from practitioners … When we decided to embark on this current update, we made the decision to not only update the research, but also to involve many voices and perspectives from our growing UDL Community.” They received feedback such as:

“I want to make sure we capture this notion of ‘multiple ways of knowing.’ Really thinking about heritage and culture in terms of what students bring to the classroom…”
“Sometimes we treat students as if they have to earn the learning environment...you have to come … in a very compliant, buttoned up kind of way. I wonder if the Engagement Guidelines can be broadened to allow for more than one way of being…?”
“How do we help…people realize that it’s not about me dispensing knowledge?... Is the word co-design anywhere in the guidelines? Maybe that ought to be somewhere?”

CAST welcomes input: “If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey.”

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