Create a great unit using Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
What is UDL and does it work?
The principles of UDL, which inform Deakin’s Inclusive Teaching Toolkit, aim to meet the needs of diverse language and learning skills through providing multiple ways for students to:
- gain knowledge
- demonstrate knowledge
- actively engage with their teachers, fellow students and study materials.
Quite simply, when applied appropriately, UDL principles do work! Yes, student outcomes improve.
See how a team of Deakin academic and professional staff created a great unit with UDL-based design for an introductory unit and achieved significant student improvement.
The following key principles informed their approach.
Top 10 UDL tips
- Assume a wide range of technology skills; provide options for gaining needed skills e.g. library digital literacy tutorials.
- Present content in multiple ways (e.g., in a combination of text, video, image).
- Address a wide range of language skills (e.g., spell acronyms, avoid or define jargon).
- Make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects, and assigned reading.
- Make examples and assignments relevant to wide variety of interests and backgrounds.
- Offer outlines and other scaffolding tools.
- Provide adequate opportunities to practice (e.g. seminar activities and online tasks).
- Provide timely feedback on project parts and offer corrective opportunities.
- Provide options for communicating and collaborating that are accessible to individuals with a variety of abilities and disabilities.
- Provide options for demonstrating learning (e.g. blogs, e-portfolios, storyboarding, web-site design, journals, team-based learning, as well as traditional methods such as individual essays and reports).
(Adapted from The Center for Universal Design in Education, Washington University, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)