Universal Design for Learning:

a guide for educators

Developed in partnership with

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At its core, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a mindset. It’s a set of beliefs and principles that guide educators in everything they do. Through UDL, educators can encourage success and improve outcomes by focusing on learner variability and creating customisable learning experiences.

The UDL approach to teaching minimises barriers and maximises outcomes for all learners

It begins with the foundational understanding that every learner is highly variable. No learner is just one thing; we all have strengths and weaknesses. Those strengths and weaknesses become apparent based on the task, the environment, the resources and tools available, and even a learner’s affect (what sort of day they’re having).

UDL aims to change the design of the environment and curriculum rather than to change the learner. By anticipating learner variability and proactively reducing the barriers to learning, UDL empowers all learners to engage in rigorous, meaningful learning experiences.

Studenter som jobber på bærbare datamaskiner i et klasserom

In this guide:

The benefits of UDL are numerous. Learn all about UDL; the benefits of adopting it as a teaching and learning approach; how we can implement UDL in the classroom and help create inclusive learning environments and goal-directed, independent learners.

Explore each section in this guide and discover:

What is Universal Design for Learning?

The principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) were developed by CAST and have been found to have enormous potential to positively impact the experiences of all learners. In this section we uncover what UDL is all about and why it's so beneficial for teaching and learning.

Explore what UDL is
Two students in a library with devices
Students work at their computers in a modern classroom.

The origins of UDL

Did you know that Universal Design for Learning actually evolved from architecture? Ron Mace came up with the concept. One that envisioned universal design as a means to promote the design of products and environments that would appeal to all people.

In this section we discover the origins of Universal Design and learn that it’s all around us, everyday.

Learn about the origins of UDL

The UDL guidelines

UDL creates inclusive education by encouraging a curriculum design tailored to address the needs of all learners and provides them with multiple pathways to success. In this section we take a look at the UDL guidelines, developed by CAST and how they were conceived with the three major brain networks in mind.

Explore the UDL guidelines
Teacher and student look intently at a laptop screen together in a classroom, focusing on a learning activity.
A teacher and a student using a laptop

Implementing UDL

UDL is not about adding all of the UDL Guidelines into every lesson - that would not be intentional design, it would take too long, and all those options would be overwhelming to learners. In this section we look at some of the ways we can start implementing UDL into our practices, one step at a time.

Start implementing UDL