Univeral Design for Learning

Universal design relates to learning in the same way that it relates to architecture. When building accessibility is an afterthought for the architect, the aesthetics of the building suffer, while accessibility is often inadequate. When equal access to learning for all students is tacked onto a curriculum, it is often difficult for the teacher and does not succeed in helping students learn. Just as in an architectural plan, when universal design is incorporated into a curriculum it becomes an integral part that achieves its goal. In UDL (Universal Design for Learning) the goal is to provide access to learning for all students. If teachers are flexible with their materials and methods for instruction by designing curriculum with universal design as the framework, all learners will benefit, which saves time and energy in the end.

I have definitely taught many lessons that have caused me to scramble to help all of the students understand. I have also had to reteach in a more appropriate format. However, I have also planned lessons with each student's needs in mind that have been much more successful. For example, I made a PowerPoint about Native Americans. I gave the students each a note-taking sheet; however, because I knew that many of my students had trouble taking notes, I gave them each a note-taking sheet that was appropriate for them. By labeling the sheets with each student's name on his or her paper in advance, I was able to pass out the papers without the students paying attention to the fact that they had different papers, a common problem in our class. I gave the students that had trouble taking notes a sheet that was partially filled out. For all the students, I put lines on the paper because, while not all of them required lined paper to take notes, some of them needed it; yet, it helped all of the students to write more neatly. Doing all of this planning in advance took a little bit more time before the lesson, but saved a lot of time after the lesson.