The Universal Design for Learning is an educational framework that focuses on the development of learning environments that support and accommodate individual learning differences and provide an equal opportunity for all students to succeed. In other words, “UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone – not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs” (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2012).
The following video from CAST, the Center for Applied Special Technology, provides a great overview of how this framework can guide design.
These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.
(2020, August 22). CAST: Home. https://www.cast.org/
CAST also provides an interactive Universal Design for Learning Guidelines tool that includes tangible ways you can implement UDL into your course.
For additional information on this important piece of course design you can also visit Bethel's Office of Accessibility Resources & Services (OARS) confluence space.