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A framework that provides students with equal opportunities to learn. UDL supports diverts learners and is inclusive.

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Multitiered Systems of Support, Adaptive Interventions, and SMART Designs. Academic Article

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Multitiered Systems of Support, Adaptive Interventions, and SMART Designs. Academic Article

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This video is a visual video to better understand MTSS (Multi-Tiered system of support . 

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This video is a visual video to better understand MTSS (Multi-Tiered system of support . 

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RTI is a type of multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for delivering support through increasingly intensive levels of instruction. This framework has been used for improving students' mathematics proficiency. RTI serves two primary purposes

To provide early intervening services to students who are struggling

To help identify students with learning disabilities (LD)

Transcript: Wrap Up

For RTI to be successful, school personnel must implement a number of key features.

Teachers should administer universal screening measures to all students in the classroom.

The purpose of this type of assessment is to determine which students are performing at grade level and which students are struggling.

Teachers should implement high-quality instruction. This involves the combined implementation of a standards-based curriculum and evidence-based practices.

Teachers should also conduct frequent progress monitoring for students identified as struggling in core instruction and for students receiving targeted and intensive, individualized intervention.

The teacher or a team of teachers can analyze the progress monitoring data and make instructional decisions, such as identifying which students are not responding adequately to instruction and how best to meet their academic needs.

Students who are not making adequate progress receive more intensive and individualized instruction.

The intensity and individualization of instruction increases with each level of intervention.

To make sure staff implement these features with fidelity, it is important that designated school personnel monitor the implementation of the key features of RTI at each level of intervention.

Revisiting Initial Thoughts

Think back to your responses to the Initial Thoughts questions at the beginning of this module. After working through the Perspectives & Resources, do you still agree with those responses? If not, what aspects about them would you change?

What is RTI for mathematics?

How can teachers effectively implement RTI for mathematics?

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RTI is a type of multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for delivering support through increasingly intensive levels of instruction. This framework has been used for improving students' mathematics proficiency. RTI serves two primary purposes To provide early intervening services to students who are struggling To help identify students with learning disabilities (LD) Transcript: Wrap Up For RTI to be successful, school personnel must implement a number of key features.

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Creating a student centered learning environment enhances UDL. Teachers can also incorporate scaffolds and visual guides, that support all students, into their teaching.

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Strategy/Resource for UDL (Reading Rockets)

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Strategy/Resource for UDL (Reading Rockets)

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of thinking about teaching and learning that helps give all students an equal opportunity to succeed. This approach offers flexibility in the ways students access material, engage with it, and show what they know.

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what is UDL?

Framework that provides students with equal opportunities to learn.

Supports diverse learners

inclusive

benefits all students

engages all students

breaks down learning barriers

curriculum and instruction accesile

more success for more students

learner centered environment

addresses different learning needs

Blurs the lines between being special and regular Ed

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This video is a quick overlay that highlights what UDL is and ways a teacher can incorporate it into the classroom.

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This video is a quick overlay that highlights what UDL is and ways a teacher can incorporate it into the classroom.

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How can teachers at Sycamore Middle School meet the educational needs of all of their students?

Today’s classrooms are more diverse than ever. Students see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, organize, engage, and remember in so many different ways. At the same time, current law (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 2004 [IDEA 2004]) and contemporary teaching practices not only expect and encourage education in inclusive settings but they also require evidence of it. The teachers at Sycamore Middle School know that meeting such diverse needs in the classroom is a challenging task.

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Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA]

Federal education law originally enacted in 1965 as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). This law now mandates the use of academic and behavioral evidence-based practices. When this act was reauthorized in 2001, it was referred to as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2015 and went into effect in the 2017–2018 school year.

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Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 2004 [IDEA 2004]

Name given in 1990 to the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) and used for all reauthorizations of the law that guarantees students with disabilities the right to a free appropriate public education in the least-restrictive environment.

Did You Know?

UDL adapts and applies the ideas and concepts associated with universal design in architecture. The overarching idea of universal design is that buildings and tools should be accessible to everyone—those with and those without disabilities. For example, curb cuts allow people who use wheelchairs to move freely and independently from sidewalks to streets or parking lots. At the same time, they benefit people who use strollers, shopping carts, scooters, and skateboards.

To meet the needs of all students in the general education classroom to the greatest extent possible, a team of Sycamore Middle School personnel convenes to research and evaluate potential approaches. They discover Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which appears to meet their needs. UDL provides a research-based framework for teachers to incorporate flexible materials, techniques, and strategies for delivering instruction and for students to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways. Developed by researchers at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), this framework stands in contrast with the “one size fits all” instructional approach that has traditionally been used in classrooms, as outlined in the table below.

Universal Design in Architecture

In 1990 Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a law that prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The ADA guarantees individuals with disabilities greater access to participation in the everyday activities enjoyed by those without disabilities. In response, architects developed the principles of universal design to guide the creation of new buildings and tools for living so that they are accessible to as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. Whether we realize it or not, we encounter many examples of universally designed features or products in our daily lives. The seven basic principles of universal design that guide the creation of new buildings and tools for living are described in the table below.

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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Federal disability antidiscrimination legislation passed in 1990 to guarantee basic civil rights to people with disabilities; similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion, ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals in areas of employment, transportation, government services, telecommunications, and public accommodations.

Principles of Universal Design
Principle | Description | Example

Equitable use

The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

Curb cuts

Flexibility of use

The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

Tools that can be used by both left- and right-handed people

Simple and intuitive

Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

Universal symbols

Perceptible information

The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.

Crosswalk signal with auditory indicator

Tolerance for error

The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

“Are you sure you want to delete this file?”

Low physical effort

The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

Motion sensor to open door

Size and space for approach and use

Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use, regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.

Wide doorways, low thresholds

The Center for Universal Design

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Traditional Instruction

Universal Design
for Learning Instruction

Teachers typically deliver content one way.

Students are passive learners who acquire information through memorizing, practicing, and taking tests.

The learning environment encourages students to sit quietly and work on an identical task.

Students’ skills and knowledge of content are assessed using one method.

Teachers deliver content in multiple ways.

Students are active learners who engage and analyze the content to gain understanding.

The learning environment encourages students to explore the content based on personal interests, preferences, or abilities.

Students are allowed to demonstrate their skills and knowledge of content using one of several methods.

Adapted from Universal Design for Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Education Professionals.

CAST is an organization that primarily conducts research related to Universal Design for Learning. Listen as David Rose, a founder of CAST, and Grace Meo, formerly of CAST, describe UDL.

David Rose
CAST founder; Chief Scientist,
Cognition & Learning

(time: 0:29)

Grace Meo
Former CAST Director of Professional
Development & Outreach Services

(time: 0:24)

Transcript: David Rose

UDL is a framework for teaching and learning. It assumes from the beginning that learners are very different. The design part of universal design is designing a learning environment that is as diverse as the students are. There’s many options for how to learn within it. So the idea of Universal Design for Learning is to create good learning environments that work across a wide spectrum of students.

Transcript: Transcript: Grace Meo

In addition to thinking about the diversity of students, the focus of UDL is to really engage all students in learning and to support all individuals to gain knowledge and to gain skills in learning. So UDL is a framework for learning but focusing on engaging, building knowledge and skills, and ensuring an enthusiasm for learning.

The primary reason the Sycamore team favors UDL is that it addresses the educational needs of all students: average learners, English learners, students who have received poor instruction in the past, students with learning disabilities, students with sensory and motor challenges, and gifted and talented students, among others. UDL benefits all students by:

Meeting the needs of the widest range of students by reducing the number of barriers to learning

Providing challenging, salient, and age-appropriate materials to students with a range of abilities

Allowing students to learn in accordance with their learning preferences

Creating alternative ways for students to both receive and deliver information

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Learning Preference

Learning preference refers to the mode by which a person prefers to learn or process information. The four primary learning modalities (i.e., sensory modalities) are visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic.

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Visual Learners: remember what they see and benefit from visual aids such as charts, diagrams, and maps

Auditory Learners: learn through lectures and class discussions and do well at following oral instructions

Kinesthetic Learners: benefit from movement activities that require them to use their bodies

Tactile Learners: prefer to learn through tactile or hands-on activities

Listen as David Rose discusses the benefits of UDL (time: 1:27).

David Rose
CAST founder; Chief Scientist,
Cognition & Learning

Transcript: David Rose

The benefits of Universal Design for Learning are higher achievement across the full spectrum of students. Sometimes, people think that Universal Design for Learning is primary for students with disabilities or English language learners, students who are struggling in the classroom. But when Universal Design for Learning is done well, it actually provides just the right challenge and just the right support for students throughout the classroom, including students who are gifted and talented, students who are average in most respects, and students who have disabilities. There’s three kinds of benefits of UDL. First, the benefit of UDL for students is that there are many ways to succeed, and the fact that there are many ways to succeed means that students can be engaged, can make rapid progress and feel like competent learners. The real goal is that, by the end of their schooling, they’ll be expert learners. Two, there are benefits for teachers. What UDL does is provide ways for teachers to succeed as well. And, thirdly, the benefits of UDL for administrator is that there’s more ways to support teachers in doing a good job that are not cost ineffective.

Activity

Teachers, like students, have particular learning strengths or preferences. In fact, teachers’ learning strengths often influence their teaching styles. For example, a teacher who prefers to learn through auditory means might tend to present information through lectures and discussions, a decision that might prove disadvantageous for students who have difficulty grasping information this way (e.g, students with auditory processing difficulties, English language learners). Remember that it is helpful for both teachers and students to be aware of their learning strengths or preferences. Click here to assess your preferred learning modality using the Barsch Inventory. Be aware that research does not support the “learning styles” theory that students learn better when they are taught via preferred modalities. In other words, there is no evidence that visual learners show greater learning gains when taught using visual means. However, the use of preferred modalities can improve engagement and reduce barriers for some students (e.g., those with disabilities, English language learners).

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IRIS | Page 1: Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

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Today's classrooms are more diverse than ever. Students see, hear, speak, move, read, write, understand English, organize, engage, and remember in so many different ways. At the same time, current law (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, 2004 [IDEA 2004]) and contemporary teaching practices not only expect and encourage education in inclusive settings but they also require evidence of it.

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Improving Practice: Four Essential Components Supporting Quality Reading Instruction

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Four strategies and practices are common to effective reading instruction programs: multi-tiered systems of support; universal screening, progress monitoring, and collaboration between special education and general education. This article provides links to tools that support implementation in each area.