{"id":14031,"date":"2025-07-01T15:59:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T19:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/?page_id=14031"},"modified":"2026-02-06T16:24:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T21:24:49","slug":"ctai-teaching-resources-universal-design-for-learning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/ctai-teaching-resources-universal-design-for-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Design for Learning \u2013 Teaching Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

This page consolidates teaching resources that support Principle 4<\/strong>\u00a0of 麻豆传媒在线’s Teaching Principles<\/a>: Universal Design for Learning.<\/a><\/p>\n

What is UDL?<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Developed by the CAST organization, Universal Design for Learning<\/a> (UDL) is \u201ca framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.\u201d UDL evolved from an attempt to remove environmental barriers that obstruct any person\u2019s ability to fully participate in society.<\/p>\n

In education, UDL promotes and designs for accessibility and equity, accommodating all teaching and learning styles and preferences. Its framework \u201cguides teachers to heighten the salience of goals and objectives in order to design engaging, challenging learning experiences that allow all students to become knowledgeable, strategic, and motivated\u201d (Novak, 2022). UDL recognizes that there is no single way to learn, whether receiving, processing, or expressing knowledge. UDL is a supportive, inclusive practice that helps all students learn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recognizing that students have a diverse range of abilities, environments, and experiences, equitable course development incorporates multiple means of learning and expression for these students. By prioritizing accessibility in a course, instructors design their course from the vantage point of multiple perspectives, creating learning experiences that can engage a diverse group of students.<\/strong>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

UDL Serves All Students<\/h2>\n

UDL serves all students, not just students with accommodations.<\/strong> Instructors who practice UDL understand \u201c[v]ariability is the rule, not the exception. Learners may need to learn in different ways, using different materials to reach the same goals\u201d (Novak, 2022).<\/p>\n

As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, all people are affected by changes to their environment, be it social or academic. Practicing UDL in courses means maximizing opportunities to learn by making room for a range of abilities and methods of expression. For example, captioning course videos, which provides access to deaf or hard of hearing students, is also a benefit to students for whom English is a second language, to some students with learning disabilities, and to those watching the video in a noisy environment. Delivering content in redundant ways can improve instruction for students with a variety of learning preferences and cultural backgrounds. Letting all students have access to your class notes and assignments on a website benefits students with disabilities and everyone else.<\/p>\n

At the same time, employing UDL does not eliminate the need for specific accommodations for students with disabilities. For example, the University may need to provide a sign language interpreter for a student who is deaf. However, applying UDL concepts in course planning ensures full access to the content for most students and minimizes the need for special accommodations. For example, designing web resources in accessible formats as they are developed means that no redevelopment is necessary if a blind student enrolls in the class (partially adapted from \u201cDO-IT\u201d by University of Washington under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 License<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The UDL Framework<\/h2>\n

CAST\u2019s guidelines concern providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression. UDL considers three main forms of learning: recognition learning, strategic learning, and affective learning, as detailed in the graphic below and this more detailed, downloadable resource from CAST<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"Universal<\/p>\n

Research on student learning demonstrates that multi-modal access helps to improve learning outcomes for all students. Multi-modal access essentially means providing several pathways to access course material. UDL also advocates multi-model means of expression for students to demonstrate their learning.<\/p>\n

Implementing UDL in Your Course<\/h2>\n

The University of Washington\u2019s \u201cDO-IT<\/a>\u201d project explains: \u201cTo apply UDL, instructors should consider the potential variation in individual skills, learning styles and preferences, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, abilities, and disabilities as they select appropriate content and strategies for the delivery of instruction and then apply universal design to all course activities and resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katie Novak (2022, p.26) asks instructors to consider these essential questions as they implement UDL in their courses:<\/p>\n