FAQs from the National UDL Task Force

General UDL FAQs

This fact sheet is intended to help parents, educators and administrators learn more about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how it can benefit all students.

• What is Universal Design for Learning?
• What are the benefits of UDL?
• What are the principles of UDL?

What is Universal Design for Learning?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that provides ALL students equal opportunities to learn. It encourages teachers to design flexible curricula that meet the needs of all learners. Using UDL principles in general education classrooms makes curriculum and instruction accessible and engaging. Curriculum barriers are reduced; learning is supported; students gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning; and their learning is validly assessed.

What are the benefits of UDL?

Students come to the classroom with a variety of needs, skills, talents, interests and experiences. For many learners, typical curricula are littered with barriers and roadblocks, while offering little support. UDL turns this scenario around by encouraging the design of flexible, supportive curricula that are responsive to individual student variability.

UDL improves educational outcomes for ALL students by ensuring meaningful access to the curriculum within an inclusive learning environment. In addition, UDL complements existing school reform initiatives, such as Response to Intervention (RTI) and Understanding by Design (UbD).

What are the principles of UDL?

• Provide multiple means of representation: to give students various ways of acquiring, processing, and integrating information and knowledge.
• Provide multiple means of action and expression: to provide students with options for navigating and demonstrating learning.
• Provide multiple means of engagement: to tap individual learners' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn.

Using the three principles of UDL, teachers can create goals that promote high expectations for all learners, use flexible methods and materials, and accurately assess student progress.