In this post you will find:

• Principles required for UDL
• Elements of a UDL lesson
• Why planning with a UDL mindset will improve the effectiveness of your planning

Ever been frustrated or overwhelmed by creating lessons for the average learners in the class and then have to differentiate for the top and bottom learners? It seems to be double the planning for not much gain right?

I have some questions for you to ponder:

• Do you really have average learners in your class?
• Is the differentiation you are using marginalising some learners or communicating to learners their ability to learn?
• After all that planning, are all learners engaged in the learning?
• Have you considered using Universal Design for Learning to design learning experiences for all your learners?

How does UDL help?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework developed by CAST that acknowledges that no two learners are the same. There is learner variability in every learner and context. The framework is used to design learning experiences that are proactive in planning for learner variability from the start. This way all learners are considered in the one lesson not added on or considered after the main lesson is planned. 

What is involved in a UDL lesson?

Before design learning experiences with UDL there are a few principles that you need to be aware of.

Firm Goals, Flexible Means

We keep the expectations high for every learner. The goals of lessons are derived from the curriculum standards and those goals stay firm. We do not lower those goals for our learners. Instead we provide multiple ways for our learners to achieve those goals. This is done through choice in scaffolds, supports and authentic tasks. 

Variability is the Norm

Let’s be real. Our learners are not average. Every learner is unique. They come to us with a variety of experiences, knowledge and skills. Some will come to us with more experiences, knowledge and skills in one area of the curriculum and less in others and so on. When we acknowledge learner variability from the very beginning, we support more of our learners.

Engage the Brain to Eliminate Barriers

Even though we have learner variability, we can predict barriers when we consider the three brain networks that are required in learning. These are the affective network, recognition network and strategic networks. The affective network engages our emotions and motivations to learn. Without it learners are disengaged from the start. The recognition network engages how learners input information into their working memory and then long term memory. When barriers occur in the recognition network, learners do not retain information we are teaching them. The strategic network is about how learners engage with the information they have learned. Without this network we can not determine if learners have learned the content. We can predict and eliminate barriers when we engage all three networks in our learning experiences.

Promote Expert Learning

The best gift we could give our learners is empowerment to make choices about their own learning. When we provide choice and authentic learning, we are communicating to our learners that they are important in their learning journey. When we empower our learners to make decisions about their learning we promote expert learning. 

Elements of a UDL Lesson

Once we understand the principles of UDL, we can then start to plan our learning experiences. You will notice that the elements of a UDL lesson are very similar to any good lesson structure. These include goal, relevance, formative assessment, methods and materials. Let’s dive into these elements.

Learning Goal

The learning goal is derived from the curriculum standard. Without the learning goal the teacher and learners do not have a clear idea of what is being taught. That is pretty straight forward right? Every lesson needs a learning goal. The difference here is that when we consider learner variability we write the learning goal in a way that is inclusive of all learners. We write the goal in a way that is clear but does not dictate the means. If we were to look at the curriculum it typically does not dictate the means in which learners need to demonstrate their learning. It usually dictates the skill or knowledge learners need to acquire therefore we do not need to dictate the means in our learning goal. For more information about writing a learning goal read this post. When we leave the means out of the learning goal, we have already provided flexibility and challenge in how learners can demonstrate their learning. This means that all learners have the opportunity to be successful. 

Relevance

Once we have the learning goal, we then need to understand how the learning goal is relevant to our learners. Relevance is important to engage the affective network of the brain and promotes motivation to learn. Remember it is how the goal is relevant to your learners and this will be different for every class, in every context. For more information on how to do this, have a read of this post. It is also important that we state the relevance of the learning goal in our lesson so learners can see how it is relevant to their lives.

Formative Assessment

When we have our goal, we then need to consider how we are going to determine if learners have achieved it. Without formative assessment, we can not know where to go in the next lesson. This is where we can provide authentic choice for our learners to demonstrate their learning. One way to determine what formative assessment to use is to identify the skills and the concepts in the goal and then brainstorm all the ways learners could demonstrate their learning of those skills and concepts. Then select the options that would be relevant to your learners. Remember we want to provide choice because choice supports the elimination of barriers.

Methods and Materials

UDL is a great lens to look over any instruction and pedagogy. We can select any type of instruction or pedagogy that supports the learning goal and then use the framework as a lens to ensure that the methods and materials we are using are used in a way that provides multiple means that eliminate barriers for our learners. Here we can ask:

• How does this instruction or activity align with the lesson’s learning goal?
• What is the goal of this instruction or activity?
• What is the variability of your learners in relation to the goal?
• What guidelines or checkpoints support those learners?
• How can the instruction or activity be designed with those guidelines or checkpoints in mind?

This way the learning experience is designed in a way that all learners are included in every lesson with their peers and every learner is catered for in the teaching.

So next time you need to plan a lesson for a range of learners, consider using the elements and principles of UDL to design learning experiences that are inclusive of all your learners. This way serves your learners better and eliminates that overwhelming feeling of differentiating a lesson in so many different ways. 

Until next time,

Happy educating,

Sam

References

Centre for Applied Special Technology. (2020). UDL Tips for Designing Learning Experiences. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from https://www.cast.org/binaries/content/assets/common/publications/downloads/cast-udltipsfordesigninglearningexperiences-20200920-a11y.pdf

Ralabate, P. (2016). It’s a Process: UDL Lesson Planning. https://www.learningdesigned.org/sites/default/files/Ralabate_2016.pdf

The Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network. (2021).UDL Instructional Planning Process. https://www.learningdesigned.org/resource/udl-instructional-planning-process

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