Universal Design For Learning Paper

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) “creates instruction planned from the onset and accessible to learners of different ability levels while maintaining high standards of instructional outcomes.” (McLeaskey, Rosenberg, and Westling, 2013. UDL takes into consideration the different needs of learners and differentiate instruction in the classroom. UDL has seven guiding principles: flexibility in use, equitable use of instructional materials, perceptible information, tolerance for error, simple and intuitive use, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use. (King-Sears, 2009) UDL is flexible in use because it gives the teacher the opportunity to provide different ways of presenting information with a variety of methods to reach a variety of learners.

Two other guiding principles are that the lessons are simple and intuitive and require low physical effort. These two principles state that information is presented in a straightforward manner that does not lead to learner’s fatigue. The final principle discussed by King-Sears is size and space for approach and use. This principle states that materials need to be presented in a uncluttered, easy to read and understand format. In Johnson-Harris and Mundschenk’s study of the use of UDL in a classroom with students with behavior disorders (BD), they found that students in classrooms where the teacher employed UDL all of the students were more engaged in the lesson. Students reported that they had a better understanding of the vocabulary when they were able to pick from a variety of summative assessments, such as creating a PowerPoint or performing a skit, to demonstrate their understanding of the parts of a plot. In addition to the academic assessment the all of the students were encouraged to choose a personal behavior goals to achieve during the lesson as well. Through a self-reflection process after two days the student with BD reported that they were on task more often than in previous