by Jacob Lasilas

Created on: January 02, 2010   Last Updated: January 03, 2010

Incorporating principles of Universal Design for Learning into the curriculum is the best way to teach a classroom full of diverse learners. Every student has a different learning style and different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to learning.  Some students have internal challenges such as learning disabilities and others have external challenges such as trouble focusing due to issues outside of their control. The way people were raised and the resources around them also contribute to their own personal learning style.  The only way to accommodate everyone is to take hold of Universal Design and incorporate it in the classroom.

With Universal Design you first look at barriers to learning the material.  You present the material in such a way that everyone has equal access to it no matter what their situation is.  Often times this involves presenting the same material in several different ways.  Some very good ways to incorporate Universal Design in the classroom are to create a website where students have access to all materials provided in class.  It is also beneficial to post all lectures in this way as well.  Some students learn better by reading the material than by having it spoken in class.  Other students may benefit by having the written lecture in front of them while they hear it.  For any class discussions post a summary of the discussion online.  When showing a video make sure you can show subtitles as well.  Even if you do not have a deaf student in class you most likely have students with some hearing loss.  Other students may not be able to understand certain accents very well so reading the subtitles will help them. There are many other ways to incorporate Universal Design in the classroom; you just need to be creative and see the classroom through the eyes of your students. Providing a survey (even if it’s informal) where students are questioned about their challenges can give you new ideas.

When it comes to assessing students Universal Design can be used as well.  It is always important to assess students in many different ways.  Some students don’t take tests well but are great with projects while other students can’t follow a project through from start to finish and just want to be asked questions they can answer.  Try to grade based on many assignments instead of just a few.  Some students may be having a bad day and get a bad grade when they really do know the material. Having many different assessments will solve this problem and give you a more accurate picture of their skills.

A hidden benefit of using Universal Design in the classroom is that when you have a student with a documented disability you will not have to change your lesson plans or make any accommodations because you have already made the accommodations in your original plan.  This saves plenty of time in preparation.  If you don’t find out that you will have a student with a disability in your class until they show up using Universal Design will prevent the last minute running around making changes you have to do in order to accommodate them.  This will make it so you are not drawing any unnecessary attention to the student with the disability.  In so many ways everyone wins with Universal Design for Learning.

Learn more about this author, Jacob Lasilas.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.