What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Maybe you’ve heard your child’s teacher mention UDL at a parent-teacher conference. Or if you’re a teacher, maybe your school has asked you to use it when you plan lessons. Either way, you might be wondering what it really means, and what it looks like for all learners.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching and learning that gives all students an equal opportunity to thrive. It starts from a simple idea: There’s no one “right” way to learn. So instead of asking every student to fit the lesson, UDL shapes the lesson to fit the students.

The word “universal” may throw you off. It can sound like UDL means finding one way to teach all students. But the name comes from universal design, an idea you’ve probably seen in everyday life. Think of automatic doors or captions on TV. They were designed to help people with disabilities, but lots of other people use them too. 

UDL brings that same idea to the classroom. Teachers use a variety of methods to remove barriers to learning. They build flexibility in from the start so lessons can adjust to each student’s strengths and needs. 

UDL is grounded in decades of research on how people learn, engage, and show what they know. A 2023 review of 20 studiesopens in a new tab found that students taught with UDL tended to make bigger learning gains than students taught in more traditional ways.

UDL is also part of federal education law. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) calls UDL “a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice.” The law encourages states and school districts to use federal funding to help teachers expand their use of UDL.opens in a new tab 

CAST,opens in a new tab the organization that developed UDL, based the framework on three networks in the brain that work together during learning.opens in a new tab Each one connects to one of UDL’s three core principles. 

UDL principles at a glance

In CAST’s latest update, the UDL Guidelines 3.0,opens in a new tab each principle starts with the word “design.” That’s on purpose. Flexibility is built into lessons from the start, not added on afterward. 

Here are the three principles in more detail: 

This is the “why” of learning. It’s about what gets learners interested and keeps them going, even when the work gets hard. Teachers might:

• Let students make choices about what or how they learn

• Connect assignments to students’ lives, interests, and cultures

• Add joy and play, like turning skill practice into a game

• Help every student feel like they belong in the classroom

• Give feedback that focuses on effort and progress

This is the “what” of learning. It’s about how learners take in information. Teachers offer content to students in more than one way. For example, along with a worksheet, a teacher could provide:

• Audio that reads the written directions aloud

• A video showing how to solve one of the problems

• Hands-on materials

• Key words explained with pictures or in students’ home languages

This is the “how” of learning. It’s about how learners work with the material and show what they know. For example, students might choose from:

• A pencil-and-paper test

• An oral report

• A video or comic strip

• A group project

Shaquala Holmes, MEd, a regional literacy specialist with the Alabama Reading Initiative, sums up how the three principles show up in real planning. A UDL lesson considers “how the material is presented or represented, how students express themselves during the lesson, and how students are engaged.”  

Holmes says UDL is a mindset, not a set of steps. It doesn’t mean planning three versions of every lesson. It means planning one lesson with a few options built in. 

The goal is to help students take charge of their own learning. CAST calls this “learner agency.” In practice, that means students are engaged and empowered.opens in a new tab They understand how they learn best, make choices, set goals that matter to them, and find the tools and strategies that work for them. 

CAST’s latest guidelines also add a “who” of learning. Every learner’s identity, culture, and experiencesopens in a new tab shape how they learn and what motivates them. That runs through all three principles.

UDL looks different in every classroom, but a few elements stay the same: 

• All learners know the lesson’s goals.

• Flexible options are built in on purpose.

• Students can use helpful tools and resources from the start.

• Students learn to take charge of their own learning.

Holmes offers a concrete example from a lesson on finding the main idea. First, students take in the text in the way that works best for them. Some listen to the teacher read it aloud, some listen to an audiobook, and others read on their own.

Then students show what they’ve learned. They might write a paragraph, fill out a graphic organizer, or explain the main idea out loud to a partner and record it. 

As Holmes explains, UDL invites every student to work toward the same goal through a path that fits them best.

Here are a few other ways teachers build in flexibility:

• Choice boards: Students practice a skill in different ways, like writing about it, building it with hands-on materials, or recording themselves explaining it.

• Learning centers: Students choose where and how to learn the same skill — like a hands-on station, a quiet reading station, or a digital research station.

• Notes or slides shared ahead of time: Students can preview new concepts and vocabulary before the lesson starts.

• Checklists and calendars: Students track their own progress on a multi-step project.

• Assistive technology for everyone: Tools like text-to-speech and speech-to-text are offered to the whole class, so no one has to ask for them.

If you’re a parent or caregiver, these are good things to ask about at your next parent-teacher conference. For example, you might ask, “Does my child get choices in how they show what they know?”

To see UDL in action, watch how a fifth-grade teacher builds flexibility into a single lesson. As you watch, look for:

• Where students get to make choices

• What flexible materials look like in practice

• How the teacher moves around the room to check in with students

If your child has learning disabilities or other challenges, you may wonder whether a busy classroom can really meet their needs. And if you’re a teacher, you may wonder how to support every student when each one needs something different. UDL can help with both.

UDL is designed for every student in the classroom. It’s not made specifically for students with disabilities, but it can be especially helpful for them. That includes kids who don’t have a formal diagnosis. 

UDL doesn’t replace an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a 504 plan. Students who need formal accommodations or services still have a right to them. But UDL’s flexibility and inclusivity can help make the classroom a more equitable place to learn.opens in a new tab 

Here are a few specific ways it does that:

• It makes general education classrooms more accessible. That matters, because that’s where most students who receive special education servicesopens in a new tab spend most of their day.  

• It adapts the lesson to the learner. Students don’t have to adapt to the lesson. For example, a student with dyslexia might listen to an audio version of a text so they can focus on understanding it.

• It lets students use their strengths. Students get more than one way to work with material, so they can lean on what they do well while they build other skills.

• It builds in support for focus and planning. Some kids with ADHD have trouble staying focused or keeping track of steps. Choices, movement breaks, and checklists can help, and they’re offered to everyone.

• It reduces stigma. When options are open to the whole class, no one gets singled out for using them.

As Holmes puts it, “This type of planning allows you to consider a child’s visible and invisible learning needs and see students as whole humans who come to the classroom with experiences that influence how they engage with learning.”

That’s the heart of UDL: Instead of asking kids to fit the classroom, the classroom is designed to fit them, so every student has a real chance to show what they know.

Additional reporting by Lily Jones.