Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.2 (Graphic Organizer)
The UDL Guidelines Graphic Organizer is a tool that can be used to design learning experiences that meet the needs of all learners.
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions for ensuring that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. Taken together, the Guidelines lead to the ultimate goal of developing “expert learners” who are, each in their own way, resourceful and knowledgeable, strategic and goal-directed, purposeful and motivated. The Guidelines are not meant to be a “prescription” but are instead a set of suggestions that can be applied to reduce barriers and maximize learning opportunities for all learners. They can be mixed and matched according to specific learning goals and can be applied to particular content areas and contexts.
The Guidelines are organized horizontally and vertically. Horizontally, the “Access” row includes ways to increase access to the learning goal by recruiting interest and offering options for perception and physical action. The “Build” row suggests ways to develop effort and persistence, language and symbols, and expression and communication. The “internalize” row highlights how to empower learners through self-regulation, comprehension, and executive function.
Vertically, the Guidelines are organized by three principles of UDL: (1) engagement, (2) representation, and (3) action and expression. The principles are broken down into Guidelines, with detailed “checkpoints."
Educators will find the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2 (graphic organizer) helpful in lesson planning. The theoretical framework for this resource relates to Universal Design and its principles for curriculum development that allows all individuals, including those with disabilities, to learn to the best of their abilities. The principles include specifying steps for creating curriculum.
There is nothing prescriptive about this resource. It is meant to be a resource that reduces barriers to learning while maximizing learning opportunities for all students. There is a lot of value for adult educators because it refers to instructional strategies that are correlated to each particular area of learning.
There are several earlier versions of this graphic organizer (1.0, 2.0, and 2,1). The 2.0 version from 2011 is translated into many different languages including Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese. The current 2.2 version is available in Japanese.
Before using this graphic organizer, it would be best for users to review basic information about Universal Design for Learning.
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