Articles+Relating+to+UDL

Differentiated Instruction and Implications for UDL Implementation Universal Design for Learning and differentiated instruction both aim to meet the needs of all learners. Through the Universal Design for Learning, teachers create lessons that meet the needs of all students, rather than adjusting lesson plans from year to year to meet one particular group of students. In this article, readers learn that by coupling the goals of differentiated instruction with the Universal Design for Learning, all learners can succeed in the classroom. Furthermore, ties are made between the Universal Design for Learning and recognition, strategic, and affective learning. Through differentiated instruction and the Universal Design for Learning, theory and practice mold together to create a challenging and successful classroom learning environment.

Providing New Access to the General Curriculum This article explains what the Universal Design for Learning is, examples for how to apply it to lessons, goals of UDL, and more. In regards to curriculum, the authors of this article argue that educators must recognize that a classroom is made up of diverse learners, and options should be built into the curriculum to support learning differences for all students to benefit. Furthermore, the authors expand on the following aspects of UDL:


 * Goals: All students must be challenged.
 * Materials: Multiple representations should be adopted.
 * Methods: Teachers should use a variety of teaching methods to challenge and support all learners.
 * Assessment: Accurate assessments are used to adjust teaching and promote student learning.

This article by Patricia Kelly Ralabate discusses how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way to scaffold and support learning for all different types of learners in the classroom. The teacher discussed in this article, Katherine, is a speech-language pathologist who works with students in an elementary school. The students she works with have varying needs including sensory and physical disabilities, emotional and behavioral challenges, ADHD, Autism and more. This article provides examples of how Katherine can reach all her students' needs by implementing strategies using Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
 * Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students: **

Universal Design for Learning by Elizabeth Hartmann: Universal Design for Learning by Elizabeth Hartmann is an article about teaching students who are blind and deaf using Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The article gives an example of a lesson on weather that might be taught in the classroom using UDL. It suggests ways for most children to represent their understanding of weather in various ways through pictures, words, videos, or objects. A student that is deaf-blind might choose to represent their understanding of weather expressing "wind by collecting falling leaves from the school yard." To show action and expression using Universal Design for Learning, the deaf-blind child could discuss with another classmate their finding of leaves outside of the classroom and how fallen leaves represent wind. To represent the last framework of UDL, engagement, this article suggests students take pictures with classmates enjoying the wind or weather. Another example could be students collecting artifacts of different locations where they have experienced weather.

The Future is in the Margins: The Role of Technology and Disability in Education Reform This article discusses the shift from mastery of content to mastery of learning. Our goal as educators in the digital age is to help students become expert learners, schooled in various technological tools. This article discusses the shifts for both technology and students.

Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age A great resource for why UDL is such an important tool! The link takes you to an annotate section of each chapter of this book. //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age// was written by the same authors who established the UDL Framework, Anne Meyer and David Rose. Each chapter gives information about the framework, evidence and data as to why this framework is important, and examples of what this framework would look like in a classroom.

[|Ten Propositions for New Directions for the Second Decade of UDL] This article reflects on the quick rise of UDL over the past decade and the impact of that rapid growth. He then discusses ten ideas to help UDL thrive in its second decade. He is particularly interested in how to convert the theory into practice.