Overview:
Universal Design for Learning is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning based on why, what, or how we learn it.
Universal Design supports educators not by diluting instruction to meet learners at their current level but by devising ways to make learning accessible for every learner. Picture being a learner who hears phrases like: “I have a 9th-grade learner who reads on a 1st-grade level. There’s no way I can have them engage in the content of 9th grade” or “I have a learner in my 5th-grade class on a pre-school level.” Just because they can’t compute or read at grade level doesn’t mean they can’t think at that level. Truthfully, as educators, we can be the most significant barrier a learner faces upon entering the education system. Our mindsets can bleed onto the learners we serve and that contributes to the disproportionate outcomes.
The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) states that Universal Design for Learning is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on why we learn, what we learn, and how we learn it.
Every educator must ensure that our instruction is developmentally appropriate, culturally meaningful and relevant, and contextually fit for learners and their abilities. When designing instruction universally, we should consider these three concepts.
Developmental and Age Appropriate Pedagogy
In an inclusive classroom, materials and teaching strategies must align with the developmental stages and abilities of all learners. For learners with disabilities, this might involve using various tools and methods such as multisensory teaching, assistive technologies, or alternative assessments accommodating their learning pace and styles. For instance, using visual aids or interactive software to aid comprehension for learners with cognitive challenges. I once observed a class where a high school learner was expected to engage in a puzzle designed for early learners focusing on rhyming. It’s not appropriate for a high schooler to be engaged in a puzzle that isn’t developmentally fit for them. There are other ways to engage in rhyming activities that don’t involve materials meant for younger learners. Developmental appropriateness means using song lyrics with embedded rhyming words, aligning with their age group and goals without watering down the instruction.
Culturally Meaningful and Relevant Approaches
While ensuring developmental appropriateness, consider culture. Understanding the learner and making connections can help make instruction culturally meaningful and relevant. For example, if a learner is interested in music, incorporate that interest into instructional approaches. Culturally diverse perspectives should be integrated into the curriculum and learning materials. For learners with disabilities from different cultural backgrounds, this could involve providing content representative of various cultures. Using storytelling or literature that not only teaches but also respects and reflects the diversity of the learners’ backgrounds and disability is crucial.
Contextually Fit Practices
Identify resources available to support universally inclusive instruction. How universal design is applied will differ in a high school versus an elementary school setting. Collaboration with various content area teachers may be necessary at the high school level, while responsibilities at an elementary level may be confined to a specific grade level. To ensure contextual fit, consider the learning environment, available resources, physical accessibility, adaptive technologies, and appropriate visual and digital resources tailored to the specific learning setting. For example, ensuring classrooms are wheelchair accessible or providing assistive technologies like screen readers to suit individual needs.
Magic happens when all educators design instruction to meet the needs of learners. Inclusive instruction begins with every educator, general and special, considering the appropriateness, relevance, and fit of activities, materials, and direct instruction. Meeting learners where they are doesn’t entail lowering the standard. We must cease allowing learners with special education services to be taught in mediocrity. How will you sprinkle the universal design pixie dust in your instruction?
