According to the CAST website, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is “a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.” Although UDL is not exclusive to digital accessibility, this framework prioritizes inclusivity and thus inherently lends itself to the creation of courses that are accessible to all students.
UDL is built on an understanding of the term learning as the interaction and layering of:
- Recognition, or the “what”
- Skills and Strategies, or the “how”
- Caring and Prioritizing, or the “why”
The ultimate goal of UDL is to design a course that is accessible to everyone from its very inception and is open to flexibility. UDL can help instructors create accessible goals, methods, materials, and assessments.
UDL proposes the following three principles to upend barriers to learning:
- Representation – present material in a variety of ways
- Action and Expression – allow students to share what they know in their own
- Engagement – provide students with choices
Explore this topic further in CAST’s 5-minute video, “UDL at a Glance”.
UDL Guidelines
Learn more about the Guildlines for UDL via the accessible and interactive table on the CAST website.
Further Reading
- Instructional Technology and Development’s Incorporating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into Your Course Design
- Michigan Tech’s guide for UDL
- Weaver Library’s Research Guide Universal Design for Learning (UDL) & Accessibility for Faculty
- Introduction to Universal Learning Design (UDL) by Shannon Kelly
Sources
- About universal design for learning. CAST. (2024, March 28). https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl