Tips to Incorporate Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) involves designing curriculum and instruction to cater to diverse student needs. It emphasizes multiple means of representation, engagement, action and expression, ensuring flexibility and accessibility for every student. By offering varied content formats, engagement options, and assessment methods, UDL promotes inclusive education, accommodating different learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds for effective learning.   

Here are a few tips to help incorporate these UDL principles in your course.  

Multiple means of representation:  

• Reinforce key concepts using a variety of formats such as videos, images (Panopto and Adobe can be used to create multimedia), written documents, and/or verbal instructions.
• Ensure all course materials are accessible.
  • Provide alt text for images, captions for videos, and readable fonts.
  • Structure your content logically with headings, introductions, bullet points, and summaries to make navigation easy and to reinforce metacognition. 
  • To ensure your course is accessible, review these enhancing digital accessibility guidelines.   

Multiple means of engagement:  

• Incorporate discussions, group projects, simulations and other active experiences to encourage active participation and collaboration.  
• Provide students with options for assignments, topics, or projects so that they can follow their own interests related to the content.  
• Connect course content to real-life situations, current events, societal issues, or personal experiences to help students see relevance.   

Multiple means of action and expression:  

• Allow students to complete assignments in formats that are comfortable for them such as creating a podcast or recording a video instead of writing a paper. Adobe Express is an easy tool for students to learn and creates an appealing product.  
• Vary assessment methods by incorporating some quizzes or exams (to learn how to create this in Canvas, read this guide), some written products, and some verbal or video products.  
• Provide clear guidelines and rubrics for assignments that outline expectations and evaluation criteria.