Katieyingling's List: UDL

• Please scroll down to the bottom of this page to view  the questions that were asked and to view our expert's answers.

   

  Almost  three million students in America’s schools receive special education services  because of an identified learning disability (LD

• UDL is a research-based approach that addresses learner diversity at the  beginning of the design or planning effort. Using UDL to design academic goals  and curriculum has the potential to dramatically change how we teach, how  students engage in learning, and how we measure what students learn. Its purpose  is to build-in from the beginning as much flexibility as possible – to eliminate  barriers for all students in curriculum design, to provide immediate access to  resources that meet all instructional needs, and to allow students to take  charge of their engagement in learning.

   

  Similarly, differentiated instruction is a process for designing instruction  that tries to meet each student where he or she is and then modify or adapt the  standard curriculum or instructional materials and provide needed learning  assistance. In many ways, designing differentiated curriculum and teaching  strategies helps students to overcome barriers that already exist in the  standard curriculum or teaching materials.

   

  UDL and Differentiated Instruction really complement each other. The CAST  brief, Differentiated Instruction and Implications for UDL  Implementation, helps to explain these two approaches and gives many  good examples of how they complement each other.
• Frankly, once teachers realize that retro-fitting by adapting materials takes  much more of their time than planning from the beginning with a UDL approach,  they are genuinely intrigued by UDL.

• Only a small percentage of students are eligible for and receive special  education (less than 12-14% in most districts and states). UDL, on the other  hand, allows educators to provide access to appropriate curriculum and  instruction to all students. It is not a special education service or program.  

• Because UDL principles provide for flexibility in how lessons are presented  (i.e., multiple presentations), how students engage in learning (i.e., multiple  engagement opportunities), and how students express or show what they have  learned (i.e., multiple expression), UDL can transform high school teaching and  learning. Instruction becomes more than just a lecture or small group  discussion.

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