Universal Design For Learning

“Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments that can accommodate individual learning differences” (Rose, 2002). Universal means that everyone can understand one particular curriculum. The Universal Design is a guide for teachers to find goals that most closely fit the need of every student in the classroom. The ultimate goal of UDL is to maximize the learning of all students. The main reason that UDL is necessary is because all individuals are unique. They each bring different interests, needs, and skills to the learning environment. Neuroscience proves that these discrepancies are

The recognition network of the brain is in use when teaching a student “what” to learn. “The recognition network is how we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks” (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl). You have to present multiple teaching strategies. The more ways you present a lesson, the more students you will reach since everyone learns differently. When the “how” is engaged you are dealing with the strategic network of the brain. “Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks” (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl). It is important that you present multiple learning strategies. It has already been stated that each student learns differently. The more ways you can engage a student, the more likely they are to retain information. The third part of the brain that we engage is the affective network. This part of the brain is the “why.” This is also “How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions”

She must then realize any barriers in the way of said goal. There are guidelines of UDL to follow. The first guideline for UDL is to teach in different ways. There are many different teaching styles, and all children may not like the same style. The teacher must provide numerous options for “perception, language, math expressions, and general comprehension” (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl). In this category the objective is to create learners who are both resourceful and well-informed. The second guideline is give students different ways to experiment with the information and get hands on with the information they just learned. Here you must “provide options for physical action, expressions, communication, and executive functions” (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl). Our aim as teachers is to produce students who can not only recognize a goal, but figure out for themselves the best way to attain it. Finally, the last guideline of UDL is to present students with different ways to get involved. It is here that teachers can “provide choices for recruiting interest, sustaining effort, persistence, and self-regulation” (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl). The goal for this guideline is to produce learners with purpose and motivation. The universal design was created to provide equal learning opportunities for all individuals. UDL is not generalized for general education or special education.