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Universal Design for Learning is ultimately about disturbing tradition in education. In fact, it may be among the most disturbing things to happen in education in the 21st century.

What is Universal Design for Learning?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing multiple and flexible strategies for learning experiences that are effective for our variable and diverse students. UDL puts emphasis on the role of the environment on enabling or disabling learners, rather than negatively labeling students themselves.

How do instructors go about developing environments in which variable students may thrive without sacrificing rigor and challenge? That's what UDL seeks to accomplish. Two ways to understand UDL are linear and radial.

Linear process of UDL design

A linear understanding of UDL focuses on the whole instructional design process. According to UDL, good instruction doesn't start with determining material or instructional methods, but with good, clear learning objectives and progresses through faithful delivery and reflection.

1. Establish clear outcomes

2. Anticipate learner variability

3. Design assessments

4. Design the instructional experience (methods & materials)

5. Deliver and reflect

Radial approach to UDL application

A radial view of UDL is all about expansion of the learning experience to improve the outcomes for all learners. In this view, the practice of UDL is framed by a three-principle approach. Instructors ought to provide:

Multiple means of representation, to enable options for how learners acquire and comprehend information.

Multiple means of action and expression,to enable options for how learners interact, communicate, and express their knowledge.

Multiple means of engagement, to tap into learners' variable interests, provide appropriate levels of challenge, and increase motivation.

These principles form the top line of the UDL guidelines.

In so doing, instructors recognize that not all students learn in the same way, that traditional instruction tends to be narrow in terms of flexibility in methods and materials, and that increasing options and flexibility in how students acquire information, express themselves, and engage in the learning means more students are able to experience optimal learning conditions, for the benefit of all.

These two ways of viewing UDL are both accurate. One focuses on the longitudinal design process, the other focuses in on how to expand who is included when designing assessments, materials and methods. As a dynamic framework involving both instructor and learner decision making, UDL is not a two-dimensional method (intervention - result), but a three-dimensional framework (e.g., instructor facilitation - student choices - result).

UDL and Accessibility

Both the application of accessibility guidelines and the UDL design framework are intended to ensure equitable access for a variable range of students (e.g., ability/disability, interests/motivation, background knowledge/skill). Both call for proactive (design-oriented) strategies as opposed to reactive (e.g., accommodation-oriented) approaches. And ultimately, applying both will have the furthest-reaching benefit for your students, as depicted below.

The best reason to invest time in UDL in higher education is because it works. Designing with UDL means improved effectiveness of instruction and -ultimately- efficiency for the learners and instructor alike. We know that at the University of Tennessee, some student groups are currently less likely to engage in a given class, learn in traditional ways, and ultimately graduate. UDL provides us with a framework to remove barriers for all of our students without sacrificing rigor.

Is UDL supported by theory and research?

Yes! A great deal of it!

In terms of the linear design process, UDL draws from strong foundational theory including the works of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bloom, who drew from similar principles for framing individual differences and the teaching strategies for addressing them. Additionally, this design process overlays with established best practices for design from the fields of instructional design and universal design (originally an architectural concept).

In terms of the radial approach to UDL application, the UDL principles and guidelines are supported by over 800 peer reviewed research articles, provide benchmarks that guide educators in the development and implementation of UDL curriculum. UDL doesn't create new methods of teaching and learning, but rather organizes and frames established best practices according to recent developments in neuroscience and cognitive sciences regarding how humans learn.

Get Stated with UDL

Getting started with UDL can seem daunting. But UDL practitioners will be the first to point out that UDL implementation is about starting small and scaling up. What matters most is a willingness to jump in and get going. So what are some small ways to start?

The authors of UDL on Campus compiled these tips for getting started from those practicing UDL in higher education:

Start with small steps and select a specific challenge or issue.

You don't need to start with sweeping changes all at once. Think about each lesson and make small changes.

Start with tight learning goals for your students and then provide multiple ways for them to access content materials.

Have students help drive the changes. Have them be partners in the learning. They can be a great help to understanding what they need to be more successful.

Think about how each assignment can be influenced by the guidelines, provide multiple ways to access the information, multiple ways that students can demonstrate their understanding and multiple ways to engage with the curriculum.

Enlist the help of other faculty, talk with each other about your experiences implementing UDL.

Listen to a podcast from Teaching in Higher Ed where Bonni Stachowiak, Ed.D speaks with Mark Hofer, Ph.D. about his experience in implementing UDL in his teaching (para. 3).

Top 3 UDL Resources

Want More Support / Professional Development?

I am a specialist in UDL implementation particularly in higher education and in Canvas and available for consults (view my website).

Other consults can be discovered via the UDL Nexus.

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Implementing Universal Design for Learning on Canvas

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Universal Design for Learning is ultimately about disturbing tradition in education. In fact, it may be among the most disturbing things to happen in education in the 21st century. And that's a good thing. What is Universal Design for Learning? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framewo...

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CONDENSED- Best Practices for Designing Canvas Courses -1-3.docx: Mastery Path PL Ideas

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CONDENSED- Best Practices for Designing Canvas Courses -1-3.docx

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LINCS | Adult Education and Literacy | U.S. Department of Education

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Overview of Project and Courses:
Video Transcript: OCTAE and CAST: Improving Adult Education
Unlike the more standardized K-12 experience, there is no clear, agreed-upon best model for adult education. Adult learners are incredibly diverse and adult education instructors often come from a variety of other fields outside of education, sometimes with little formal training in teaching adults. All of these factors lead to an enormous variability in how, where, and when adult education happens. To address these challenges, the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education in partnership with CAST has developed seven online modules to help adult education instructors, administrators and programs create an educational environment where all of their students can thrive. Based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the modules feature engaging video case studies, key ideas in adult ed, pro tips, and activities that educators can use in their classrooms right away. These free modules were designed with the help of current adult education instructors and administrators with the idea that they can be widely shared within adult education programs.

The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), is the principal source of federal funding for states for adult education programs. The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education's (OCTAE) Division of Adult Education and Literacy (DAEL) administers AEFLA. The purpose of AEFLA's basic state grant program is to:

1. Assist adults to become literate and obtain the knowledge and skills necessary for employment and economic self-sufficiency

2. Assist adults who are parents or family members to obtain the education and skills that- (A) are necessary to becoming full partners in the educational development of their children; and (B) lead to sustainable improvements in the economic opportunities for their family

3. Assist adults in attaining a secondary school diploma and in the transition to postsecondary education and training, including through career pathways, and

4. Assist immigrants and other individuals who are English language learners in- (A) improving their- (i) reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension skills in English; and (ii) mathematics skills; and (B) acquiring an understanding of the American system of Government, individual freedom, and the responsibilities of citizenship.

Key Project Goals and Outcomes:
Video Transcript: Travis Combs Explains Key Project Goals and Outcomes
Course Completion Information:

Each of the seven modules in this collection are designed with a UDL lens. While you do not need to complete these modules in any specific order, we recommend you consider completing the "Learning that Works for All" module first. This will ensure you have a basic knowledge of UDL. But, don't worry each module also includes a "Background Knowledge" section with key information about UDL.

To complete each module, you are expected to read the content on every page and then complete the 5 question knowledge check with a passing score. Throughout this course, additional helpful resources have been hyperlinked, but you are not required to view the information found in these additional links to complete this course.

Each of the seven modules is expected to take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. Therefore, should you choose to complete all seven modules, you are expected to spend approximately 10 hours and 30 minutes learning about Universal Design for Learning.

The seven Universal Design for Learning courses included in this collection are:
(NOTE: You will need to login to the LINCS Learning Portal in order to access the courses.)

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Universal Design for Learning and Adult Education

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Overview of Project and Courses: Video Transcript: OCTAE and CAST: Improving Adult Education

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UDL is based upon the most widely replicated finding in educational research: learners are highly variable in their response to instruction. In virtually every report of research on instruction or intervention, individual differences are not only evident in the results; they are prominent. However, these individual differences are usually treated as sources of annoying error variance as distractions from the more important "main effects." UDL, on the other hand, treats these individual differences as an equally important focus of attention. In fact, when viewed through the UDL framework these findings are fundamental to understanding and designing effective instruction. The research that supports UDL falls into four categories: foundational research of UDL, research on the UDL principles, research on promising practices, and research on implementation of UDL.

To see the specific research evidence related to each Checkpoint, navigate to the individual Checkpoint's page and select the Research link in the sidebar. We've also included a list of links to those Research pages at the end of this page.

Foundational Research on UDL

UDL draws from a variety of research including the fields of neuroscience, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology. It is deeply rooted in concepts such as the Zone of Proximal Development, scaffolding, mentors, and modeling, as well as the foundational works of Piaget; Vygotsky; Bruner, Ross, and Wood; and Bloom, who espoused similar principles for understanding individual differences and the pedagogies required for addressing them. For example, Vygotsky emphasized one of the key points of UDL curricula-the importance of graduated "scaffolds". These are important to the novice, but that can be gradually removed as the individual acquires expertise. Scaffolding with graduated release is a practice that is as old as human culture and is relevant to learning in almost any domain, from learning to walk or ride a bike "unaided" to the long apprenticeships of neurosurgery or aircraft flying.

Research on the Principles of UDL

The research basis for the general principles of UDL is also grounded in modern neuroscience. The three basic principles are built upon the knowledge that our learning brains are composed of three different networks, recognition, strategic, and affective. The Guidelines align these three networks with the three principles (recognition to representation, strategic to action and expression, and affective to engagement). This empirical base in neuroscience provides a solid foundation for understanding how the learning brain intersects with effective instruction. This alignment is further extended and clarified by the guidelines and checkpoints.

Promising Practices Research

Promising lines of research include work identifying the specific practices that are critical to meeting the challenge of individual differences-research that has been amassed over decades and by many different researchers. These studies are labeled as "promising" because they appear to fit within the UDL framework, but they have not been tested in a UDL environment or using the framework. It is important that these practices are studied within a UDL environment for them to be considered effective UDL practices. This is an area in which we greatly encourage contributions from the field.

Implementation Research

Fourth, there is research on specific applications of UDL within learning environments, including conditions necessary for implementation, common barriers, and lessons from the field. This new area of research is in its early stages but will take a more prominent place as full-scale curricular applications and system-wide implementations are developed. It should be noted that this is another area in which we greatly encourage contributions from the research field.

Research Evidence by Checkpoint

Explore the research used to develop each UDL Guidelines Checkpoint.

Engagement

Representation

Action & Expression

Do you have UDL-related research you'd like to share? Email us at udlguidelines@cast.org.

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UDL is based upon the most widely replicated finding in educational research: learners are highly variable in their response to instruction. In virtually every report of research on instruction or intervention, individual differences are not only evident in the results; they are prominent.

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David Rose, the person who first created these guidelines back in the 1990s.

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National Center on Universal Design for Learning

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This quiz was designed to help you determine your starting point as you explore different aspects of UDL. When you complete the assessment, click “View Your Score”. There you will see the correct answers as well as a number out of 15. Use this number to determine your starting point. There is also a…

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The UDL Journey Guide This digital travel companion guides district leaders and teams through four phases of implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), with connections to state and national support along the way.

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Throughout July we celebrate the diversity of our students in Disability Pride and Awareness Month. Students in our classrooms have always been diverse, and research has shown that most students who request accommodations or special education still learn in the general education classroom.

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UDL vs. One-Size-Fits-All? A Helpful Analogy to Break Down Universal Down For Learning

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DEI - Overview of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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You know your subject, and you know how to get your students engaged and focused, but where can you find high-quality lessons that integrate technology in a way that complements what you already do?

The Teaching with Technology tool is designed to help adult education teachers locate lesson plans that can be used as-is or modified for use with your learners. The lesson plans integrate technology tools in a way that engages students, enhances their learning, and extends their learning beyond the class.

There are various ways to search and filter:

By program area and level: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), High School Equivalency Preparation (HSE), Career Technical Education (CTE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE), or Adults with Disabilities (AwD).

By standards, topics, and technology tool(s): College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), lesson plans, and keywords.

Why do we use the Triple E Framework?

OTAN has adopted the Triple E Framework, developed by Dr. Liz Kolb in 2011. Its focus is on learning first and technology as a means to support instruction. "Triple E" refers to what students do with technology rather than what the instructor does. The three E's are Engagement, Enhancement, and Extension (Kolb, 2017). Triple E is easy to use, focuses on increased student success and has a teacher friendly rubric.

To learn more about the Triple E Framework:

Lesson Planning using WIPPEA

Teaching with Technology entries are now using the WIPPEA model as a guide for effective lesson planning. The acronym WIPPEA represents the first letter of each stage in the lesson planning model: Warm-up, Introduction, Presentation, Practice, Evaluation, Application. This model helps teachers create a smooth instructional flow and scaffold learning in small chunks. Using this model we are able to plan lessons beginning with the end in mind and target instruction both to the lesson objective and the evaluation of mastery of the objective. OTAN has a LESSON PLAN BUILDER that can help you every step of the way to develop your own student-centered lessons.

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You know your subject, and you know how to get your students engaged and focused, but where can you find high-quality lessons that integrate technology in a way that complements what you already do? The Teaching with Technology tool is designed to help adult education teachers locate lesson plans that can be used as-is or modified for use with your learners.

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What is the Lesson Bank?

These excellent, thorough lesson plans were created by outstanding teachers in Illinois. The Adult Education Professional Development Network members were inspired by the lesson development of these individuals as they constructed and submitted their plans. The Lesson Bank was born out of the excellence of their work in the Professional Pathways trainings. We thank them for sharing their lessons and for their desire to improve not only their own instruction but also the instruction around the state. Thanks for lifting all the boats! We hope you are inspired by the tri-lens approach of integrating Illinois Essential Employability Skills, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and content standards.

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Excellence In Adult Education | Lesson Bank

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These excellent, thorough lesson plans were created by outstanding teachers in Illinois. The Adult Education Professional Development Network members were inspired by the lesson development of these individuals as they constructed and submitted their plans. The Lesson Bank was born out of the excellence of their work in the Professional Pathways trainings.

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UDL - Multiple Means of Action and Expression

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Understanding Universal Design for Learning

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1984 was a year of exceptional promise in technology and education. While personal computers such as the Macintosh began to reshape everyday life and work, school reform became a hot topic nationwide with special emphasis on educating all learners to high standards.

The same year, a small band of education researchers founded CAST, the Center for Applied Special Technology, to explore ways of using new technologies to provide better educational experiences to students with disabilities. As CAST researchers tested and refined their principles, priorities, and vision over that first decade, they came to a new understanding of how to improve education using flexible methods and materials. They called this approach Universal Design for Learning.

Today, UDL frames all of the organization's research and development. Through strategic collaborations, CAST is seeding the field of curriculum planning, software development, state and national policy, teacher preparation and support, and education research with UDL-based solutions.

Jump to a specific year or scroll to browse our timeline:

1984

Five clinicians from North Shore Children's Hospital in Salem, MA- Anne Meyer, David Rose, Grace Meo, Skip Stahl and Linda Mensing-meet in a local pizza parlor and conceive CAST.

With an anonymous grant of $15,000, CAST is founded at North Shore Children's Hospital. The focus: How can computer technology enhance learning for students with learning disabilities?

CAST quickly extends work to children with physical and sensory challenges and provides services in a laboratory environment. The needs of the individual learners guide exploration of technology-based solutions. Apple Computer introduces the Macintosh. The term "cyberspace" first appears. Time names the computer "Machine of the Year."

1985

Anne Meyer and David Rose meet in California with Alan Brightman, chief of disability access for Apple Computer. Apple sees CAST as "inherently cool" because people's needs drive its work.

CAST establishes a Learning Lab to find or create solutions to learning challenges, offering:

Evaluations: matching student needs with computer solutions;

Computer-based tutorials: using applications and instructional software.

Classroom follow-up reveals that few schools are able to implement CAST's recommendations to improve learning, so staff begins training and consulting with teachers.

The Apple Macintosh's graphical interface and built-in text-to-speech capability provide key scaffolds for learning-disabled students.

1986

Responding to pressure from North Shore Children's Hospital to become a franchised service, CAST instead incorporates as an independent, not-for-profit organization. Independence sharpens CAST's vision and mission as a research and development organization.

CAST and Harvard University hold a one-week summer institute to train educators to use computer-based tools to meet the needs of students with disabilities. This becomes an annual event which, after a brief hiatus, continues today with a focus on Universal Design for Learning.

CAST's staff begins to grow, but almost all employees are still part-time and have "day jobs". Peggy Coyne is hired as CAST's first full-time, salaried employee!

1987

CAST moves to Peabody, MA and establishes a governing board made up of friends in the local community.

CAST's Learning Lab works to meet the needs of diverse children: Matt, a 3-year-old with severe physical disabilities; Megan, a 6-year-old with physical and visual impairments; Mason, a 7th-grade student with learning disabilities; and others.

Apple releases HyperCard. Affordable image and audio digitizing devices enable homegrown multimedia.

CAST creates accessible digital books that talk and operate with single switches. CAST sees that a single digital book, with embedded options for operation and display, can serve the needs of all students.

1988

CAST develops the Equal Access program with the goal of equalizing access to the curriculum through technology. This new focus on "fixing" the curriculum rather than addressing individual student needs sows the seeds for Universal Design for Learning.

CAST publishes Software Finder to help teachers locate appropriate computer software for use with diverse students.

Ron Mace and colleagues at North Carolina State University define universal design as the design of products and built environments that are "usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation of specialized design."

1989

Working in classrooms, CAST observes that the appeal and benefits of technology-based learning supports, such as digital talking book, extend beyond students with disabilities. CAST approaches publishers about bringing these materials to a wider market.

Don Johnston, Inc. publishes CAST's Gateway Stories and Gateway Authoring System. Gateway is the first talking e-book and authoring template with built-in options for customizing display and function. These earn the organization its first software royalties.

The World Wide Web is born in Europe as English physicist Tim Berners-Lee develops a new way to organize and distribute information on the Internet.

1990

CAST develops the Mariner Home software program and service (Don Johnston Inc.) to customize desktops for easy, flexible navigation of applications and content.

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) leads to the delivery of services to millions of students previously denied access to an appropriate education. Its emphasis on inclusion provides impetus for finding tools and methods to make inclusive education practical and manageable.

The federal Television Decoder Circuitry Act requires that closed-caption decoders be built into all new TV sets. The benefits extend beyond those who are deaf to include anyone preferring a visual display of audio content (e.g. in airports and gyms). This high-impact application of universal design informs CAST's thinking about curriculum.

1991

The New York Times cites CAST as one of 30 key institutions reshaping and improving American education.

CAST develops and distributes Researchware, designed to help teachers individualize curriculum for students with and without disabilities. Researchware comprises several low-cost flexible tools to support customized teaching and learning.

CAST approaches Scholastic with a reading/writing prototype that eventually becomes WiggleWorks, a bestselling early literacy program.

The Equal Access Project is launched in Boston Public Schools to provide a national model for inclusion of students with disabilities through multimedia technology and staff development.

1992

Classroom research helps CAST recognize that current curriculum is the source of barriers for many students. CAST continues to shift its focus from individual solutions to reducing curriculum barriers.

The Pioneer Program is launched to conduct case-based UDL research in collaboration with long-term CAST clients with diverse learning needs.

CAST staff publishes conceptual articles in professional journals and the popular press for educators and parents.

1993

At a gala black-tie event in Washington, DC, CAST wins a Computerworld Smithsonian Award for Gateway Stories, the first instructional digital books with embedded supports.

CAST is featured on the PBS program Scientific American Frontiers, hosted by Alan Alda.

WiggleWorks, the first early literacy software series with UDL features, is co-developed with Scholastic and published for the K-3 classroom. Over the next two decades, WiggleWorks remains a leading literacy product in the education market, with more than $40 million in sales.

1994

CAST receives its first federal grant, from the National Science Foundation, to develop software for teachers to caption video for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

For the first time, CAST shares its message in a national policy forum hosted by Newton Minow and the Annenberg Foundation. Annenberg commissions CAST to create a multimedia CD-ROM called Communication Technology for Everyone.

First CAST website launched.

1995

Anne Meyer receives a gold medal from the National Association of Social Sciences for her work in Universal Design for Learning and is named as an advisor to the President's Educational Technology Panel.

CAST begins to articulate the concept of Universal Design for Learning in talks and presentations.

CAST publishes CAST eReader for Macintosh, UDL text-to-speech software designed to support users with reading comprehension and fluency challenges. Later, eReader, the first known talking browser, is further developed for Windows and to support DAISY and Rich Text formats.

After seven rejections, CAST wins its first grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The competition category is assistive technology, but CAST's proposal begins "Beyond Assistive Technology."

1996

CAST's research focus shifts from individual students to issues of the classroom, school, and education system as a whole. The increasing availability of flexible digital tools and content makes customizable curriculum design feasible.

With Chuck Hitchcock's leadership, CAST designs and releases Bobby, the first web site accessibility assessment tool.

CAST's first research article, "The Role of Online Communications in Schools: A National Study," is published.

The Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Consortium is established to develop an international standard for digital talking books.

1997

After a dozen years of growth, CAST's budget reaches a milestone of $1 million per year.

Professional development programs mature into CAST's first state contracts with Texas and Maine.

CAST launches Universal Learning Technologies, Inc. (ULT), a for-profit company to take CAST software products to market. The company later acquires WebCT, a leading courseware delivery system.

CAST is invited to meet with Vice President Al Gore to discuss future directions for education.

1998

CAST joins the Web Access Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium, helping to define access standards for the Web.

CAST writes its first book, Learning to Read in the Computer Age, at the invitation of legendary reading scholar Jeanne Chall. In the book, authors Anne Meyer and David Rose introduce three basic principles that will provide the framework for UDL.

CAST introduces the principles of UDL to the Council for Exceptional Children which publishes a topical brief, Design Principles for Student Access, that is often cited as the first published paper specifically on UDL.

CAST expands the impact of Bobby through sponsorships from corporations such as Aon, IBM, Microsoft, Mitsubishi Electric, and Sun Microsystems.

CAST receives two federal grants-"Strategic Reader" (flexible digital text) and "Engaging the Text" (embedded interactive coaches)-that provide the basis for the next decade's work in UDL-based literacy learning, including Thinking Reader.

1999

Bobby is used by hundreds of thousands of web designers worldwide, wins an LD Access Foundation Leadership Award, and is a finalist for a Computerworld/Smithsonian Prize.

CAST sells ownership in Universal Learning Technologies and applies the proceeds to building and sustaining CAST's capacity for innovation.

CAST is chosen to lead the federally funded National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum, a four-year, $2.5 million project. With this award, CAST officially adds policy work to its core activities.

The U.S. Department of Education commissions CAST to write a white paper for the National Technology Plan: The Future is in the Margins: The Role of Technology and Disability in Educational Reform.

National UDL Consortium launched for regular and special educators.

2000

CAST receives a Ron Mace Designing for the 21st Century Award for Bobby.

A $1 million grant supports development of the Universal Learning Center, a web-based service for the distribution of accessible curricular materials.

Under a U.S. Department of Education grant, CAST begins research and development on Strategic Reader, a supported reading environment for decoding, comprehension, and study skills.

Skip Stahl appears as an expert witness at the Web-Based Education Commission, a blue-ribbon panel appointed by Congress to ensure that all learners are able to take full advantage of the educational promise of the Internet.

2001

CAST receives an Association for Access Engineering Specialists (AAES) Excellence in Access Award. The award recognizes Bobby as a significant technical contribution to the field of access engineering.

CAST redesigns its website, adding customizing options and user supports to exemplify UDL.

David Rose testifies before the U.S. Senate on educational technology appropriations and recommends investments that are consistent with Universal Design for Learning principles.

Under Grace Meo's leadership and support of many staff, CAST begins professional development programs on UDL. The first UDL institute for educators is offered at CAST.

2002

The Tech Museum of Innovation Awards honors CAST for Thinking Reader, a software prototype with embedded reading supports for diverse learners.

CAST publishes Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning, the first full explication of UDL with practical classroom examples. An online edition with rich teacher supports and tools is published simultaneously with ASCD's print edition.

The U.S. Department of Education selects CAST to lead development of a voluntary national file format for the electronic transmission of instructional materials for students with disabilities. CAST convenes stakeholders, including publishers, disability groups, mainstream educators, and software developers to build consensus regarding the format.

Under Tracey Hall 's leadership, CAST ventures into science education with Science Writer, a technology-based approach to support students with disabilities in writing science reports.

2003

CAST moves to Wakefield, MA, and designs its office space to reflect a collaborative working style.

Private and federal funding for the Literary by Design project, a partnership with the University of Maine, enables CAST to explore a new area of research: effective learning environments for individuals with cognitive disabilities.

CAST eReader 3.0 is released with added DAISY-format capability. It is the first text-to speech program with human voice and synthetic speech in a supported environment.

CAST's research and development expands with the work in interactive diagrams and animated pedagogical agents in literacy and science projects, as well as literacy for English-language learners.

2004

More awards! CAST's web site is named one of the 101 best by ISTE; Thinking Reader wins Best Software award from eSchool News; David Rose is named one of education's "Daring Dozen" by Edutopia magazine.

National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) is incorporated into IDEA 2004 to guide the production and national distribution of accessible digital instructional materials; the U.S. Department of Education funds a $3.5 million center at CAST to advance the application of the standard.

Tom Snyder/Scholastic publishes Thinking Reader, a UDL-based learning environment which embeds rich and engaging reading supports for diverse learners into widely read middle-school novels.

With a $1 million anonymous donation, CAST begins a 4-year multimedia initiative to develop core learning tools and to integrate multimedia applications into CAST's projects.

2005

Thinking Reader wins multiple awards, including the prestigious Codie Award from the Software and Information Industry Association.

CAST's first Advisory Council meeting is held.

CAST research and development expands into multimedia composition for struggling writers as well as content literacy in history, math, and science.

Harvard Education Press publishes The Universally Designed Classroom: Accessible Curriculum and Digital Technologies, edited by David Rose, Anne Meyer, and Chuck Hitchcock.

Work on making large-scale assessments more accessible and accurate begins with grants from the LD Access Foundation, and collaborations with Pearson Education Measurement and the National Alternative Assessment Center.

CAST wins the EdTech Nonprofit HERO Award from the educational technology industry for innovation and leadership.

2006

CAST launches two free web-based tools- UDL Book Builder and UDL Lesson Builder -to help teachers and curriculum developers apply UDL.

UDL gains national and international momentum: NIMAS Version 1.1 is published in the national register; blue-ribbon commission on NCLB seeks testimony from CAST.

Harvard Education Press publishes A Practical Reader in Universal Design for Learning, edited by David Rose and Anne Meyer.

CAST launches Project Monitor, the first rigorous experimental research project (with more than 800 students) to examine the combination of curriculum-based measurement and UDL.

Independent of CAST, more than 15 leading education and advocacy organizations form the National UDL Task Force in Washington, DC to promote UDL in policy and practice.

2007

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards CAST, EDC, and University of Michigan a 4-year research grant to support the creation of high-quality, UDL science curricula.

The federal Institute of Education Sciences awards CAST and the University of California-Berkeley a 4-year grant to develop a UDL digital science notebook.

CAST's national role expands as U.S. DOE awards CAST $4.9 million to head the 15-state AIM Consortium to improve the quality, availability, and timely delivery of accessible instructional materials to qualifying students.

At the first National UDL Summit in Washington, DC, CAST convenes stakeholders education policy, practice, research, and publishing to strategize ways to grow the UDL field.

CAST designs a web-based literacy environment for TelecomPioneers, a volunteer organization that tutors struggling readers across the U.S. and Canada. The program, Power Up To Read, includes multilingual, just-in-time supports for tutors as well as students.

2008

CAST issues the UDL Guidelines 1.0, many years in the making, to provide clear recommendations and a research foundation for the growing field of UDL.

The Council for Exceptional Children asks CAST to lead a symposium on UDL at their annual convention.

In collaboration with Google, Carnegie Corporation, and UNESCO, CAST releases two new online resources- UDL Editions and CAST Strategy Tutor -in celebration of World Literacy Day.

The Tremaine Foundation sponsors the formation of the National UDL Center to provide leadership and resources in the fields of policy, research, and practice.

The federal Higher Education Opportunity Act includes the first statutory definition of UDL and provides for implementation in post-secondary settings and pre-service teacher preparation programs.

With the support of the Massachusetts Department of Education, CAST launches UDL Curriculum Self-Check, a free web-based tool to aid instructors in assessing their curriculum for applications of UDL principles.

2009

CAST releases Science Writer, a free online tool to support students in writing effective science reports.

The National Center on Universal Design for Learning (UDL Center) launches as a hub of UDL field-building and showcasing.

CAST releases UDL Online Modules, two modules designed to introduce the theory, principles, and application of UDL to current and future educators.

Harvard Education Press publishes A Policy Reader in Universal Design for Learning, edited by David Gordon, Jenna Gravel, and Laura Schifter.

2010

CAST Co-Founder David Rose is invited by the US Department of Education to join a blue-ribbon panel to write the National Educational Technology Plan, which gives a strong endorsement of UDL principles.

CAST creates a UDL exemplar of the National Educational Technology Plan to demonstrate the power of UDL principles applied in a digital format. CAST also creates a NIMAS version that allows the document to be transformed into different accessible formats, including Braille, large print, audio, and etext.

2011

UDL Guidelines 2.0 are released with new language and checkpoints based on user feedback.

CAST UDL Book Builder released in Spanish; English-language UDL Book Builder passes 1,000-mark in books written and publicly shared by teachers, parents, students, and other authors.

2012

Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom: Practical Applications, edited by Tracey E. Hall, Anne Meyer, & David H. Rose, is published (Guilford Press). The book aims to support educators in implementing UDL by drawing on practical lessons from CAST's experiences over the past decade.

Release of UDL Curriculum Toolkit, an open-source tool that lets curriculum developers create universally designed instructional materials that support all learners.

A Research Reader in Universal Design for Learning, edited by Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Samantha G. Daley, & L. Todd Rose, is published by Harvard Education Press. The book considers the major research areas that underpin UDL and calls for further exploration in the years ahead.

2013

CAST issues two math puzzle games, MathScaled and MathSquared, for use on the Apple iPad. The games teach essential math reasoning and problem-solving skills in response to a growing need to improve algebra instruction.

UDL Exchange released to help teachers make and share resources.

CAST releases UDL Studio, an authoring platform that helps educators make their own flexible curriculum materials.

2014

CAST issues Universal Design for Learning: Theory & Practice, a multimedia book on UDL with updated insights from a decade of research and practice.

CAST Professional Publishing is launched to provide exceptional media for the education field.

2015

CAST receives $2.5 million grant from the US Department of Education to scale the use of digital science notebooks in grades K-6.

UDL is defined and endorsed in the Every Student Succeeds Act passed by Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Obama.

2016

CAST releases CAST Figuration, an open source CSS/Javascript framework for creating accessible, cross-device, interactive websites.

Linda Gerstle is named Chief Executive Officer following a national search.

2017

CAST Co-Founder David Rose is honored with the Special Education Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council for Exceptional Children.

CAST and partners are awarded a $5 million grant to develop a system for customizing digital open education resources. The Center on Inclusive Software for Learning (CISL) is funded by the US Department of Education.

David Rose, CAST's Co-Founder and Chief Education Officer, retires.

2018

CAST unveils a new online home for the UDL Guidelines with a responsive design and new resources to support teacher practice.

In partnership with Stanford University, CAST announces the UDL Innovation Studio at Stanford's Schwab Learning Center to provide a hub where researchers, faculty, clinicians, students, and technology developers can work together to develop new education models and practices.

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1984 was a year of exceptional promise in technology and education. While personal computers such as the Macintosh began to reshape everyday life and work, school reform became a hot topic nationwide with special emphasis on educating all learners to high standards.

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Robert J. Marzano, PhD, is the co-founder and Chief Academic Officer of Marzano Research in Colorado. A leading researcher in education, he is a speaker, trainer, and author of more than 40 books and 300 articles on topics such as instruction, assessment, writing and implementing standards, cognition, effective leadership, and school intervention. His books include The Art and Science of Teaching and Effective Supervision. His practical translations of the most current research and theory into classroom strategies are internationally known and widely practiced by both teachers and administrators.

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Robert J. Marzano, PhD, is the co-founder and Chief Academic Officer of Marzano Research in Colorado. A leading researcher in education, he is a speaker, trainer, and author of more than 40 books and...

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When you plan a road trip, you know you might run into detours or roadblocks that get in the way of reaching your destination. Some of those barriers are predictable, like traffic, road work, or bad weather. Knowing and anticipating those barriers can help you plan your trip so you can still get to your destination.

Classroom lessons are no different. There will be barriers that prevent students from reaching the intended learning goals. Just like with a road trip, some of those barriers are predictable and can be reduced by careful planning and design. Identifying barriers in curricular goals, assessments, methods, and materials will help students gain the skills they need to become expert learners.

What are barriers to learning?

Barriers to learning are where students "get stuck" in a lesson or activity. For each student, barriers can differ from subject to subject and from activity to activity. A core tenet of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is to anticipate and address those barriers up front. You can do that by designing flexible lessons and learning environments rather than trying to "fix" or change a student.

Here are some examples of barriers:

Not having enough background knowledge or the required skills for a lesson

Not knowing the next steps or not receiving feedback about their progress, which can be difficult for many students, especially those who struggle with executive function

Not knowing key vocabulary terms, which can be challenging for many students, including English language learners

Facing social-emotional challenges or feeling that a lesson isn't culturally relevant or academically interesting

How can I identify and reduce barriers?

The first step is to clarify the goal (or the "destination") of your lesson. If lessons are overpacked with goals, it can be overwhelming to identify all of the barriers.

So for each part of a lesson, identify the primary goal: What do you really want students to know, do, or care about for that part of the lesson? Then, reflect on the different pathways or options students have to achieve that goal. That flexibility helps reduce barriers and increases meaningful learning opportunities. Ask yourself the following questions:

In addition to these questions, there are three more ways you can identify and reduce barriers in your lessons: reflect on where you need to re-teach; ask students to give you feedback; and proactively identify barriers.

1. Reflect on reteaching.

After a lesson, ask yourself, "When did I need to repeat directions?" "When did I have to show students how to do something I already taught?" or "When was a student not able to be fully included in the lesson?" The answers will help you identify the barrier in your lesson. With the barrier in mind, you can then make plans to reduce that barrier by adding an additional support or scaffold into the learning environment.

For example, imagine that after you model how to solve a word problem, some students struggle to remember the process for solving this kind of problem. The barrier is that the lesson requires students to process and work with a lot of information at once. To reduce the barrier, you could create a short video highlighting the key steps of the process. Or you could provide a graphic organizer outlining the steps.

Adding those resources to your lesson and making them available for all students to reference as needed reduces the barrier. Those resources will also help all students develop expert learning skills and make progress. That, in turn, empowers students to better understand what they need to be more independent in their learning.

Whether they know it or not, students are very good at giving feedback about barriers. Think about when students ask, " Do I have to...?" That question often signals that the student is facing a barrier to learning. For example, a student who asks, " Do I have to work with a partner?" is expressing concern that working with a partner is going to get in the way of learning.

Before responding to the question, you can think through whether partner collaboration is an important part of the lesson goal. If it is an important part of the lesson, you might reduce the barrier by suggesting a few sentence starters to foster collaboration between partners. If partner work is not critical to the lesson goal, you could make working with a partner optional.

You can also use exit tickets to gather student feedback. Ask students where they were frustrated or disengaged during a lesson. Read more from Reading Rockets about how to use and create exit tickets.

Using tools like exit tickets can help you build routines to better understand the experiences your students are having in the classroom. At the same time, these routines can also build students' self-awareness and self-advocacy skills so they can recognize and address their own barriers.

You can also proactively identify barriers using CAST's UDL Guidelines. It's a powerful tool to help you think about potential barriers to learning before delivering a lesson. With UDL, barriers can be identified in terms of:

Will reducing barriers make learning too "easy"?

It's natural to worry that offering strategies or scaffolds could lead students to take the "easy" route. And sometimes, you may want students to grapple with a concept or encounter a productive struggle. Productive struggle is about students experiencing desirable difficulty, like struggling with how to apply a particular problem-solving strategy. (It's not about being stuck while trying to read the text that explains the strategy.)

So how do you balance these concerns with reducing barriers? Here are some considerations:

Without scaffolds, students may not gain the foundational skills and tools necessary to develop expert learning. Keep in mind that most scaffolds aren't meant to be permanent, but are phased out as students build expertise. If students continue to use a scaffold longer than needed, it's a good chance to encourage them to take a risk and not use the scaffold anymore.

No lesson will ever be completely barrier-free. Each year and in each lesson, there will be different barriers for different students.

But identifying and reducing those barriers is important. Without flexible tools and resources for all students, gaps in learning outcomes will persist. This is especially true of students who come to lessons without the expected requisite background or skills.

When you reduce barriers and set challenging, meaningful learning goals, you will develop more equitable teaching practices for all students. You will have designed learning to anticipate and value student variability in your class.

To get started with finding and breaking down barriers, print or download a one-page chart that includes the three UDL principles adapted from CAST. The chart includes some questions to consider and examples of the principles in action. Keep the chart on hand when you set out to reduce barriers to learning in your next lesson or activity.

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How to break down barriers to learning with UDL

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See how to use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to anticipate and address barriers to learning. Use UDL barrier analysis to help design flexible curricula.

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Removing the Barriers: Planning for ALL!

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LINCS | Adult Education and Literacy | U.S. Department of Education

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TEAL Center Fact Sheet No. 2: Fact Sheet: Universal Design for Learning

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UDL is an approach to curriculum design that can help teachers customize curriculum to serve all learners, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender, or cultural and linguistic background. UDL provides a blueprint for designing strategies, materials, assessments, and tools to reach and teach st…

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The evolution of CAST's UDL Guidelines has been a dynamic, collaborative, and developmental process. We shared the first version of the Guidelines-Version 1.0-in 2008. Since that time, we have collected and specifically solicited feedback from the field. This feedback, along with the expanding research in the areas of UDL, education, cognitive science, psychology, and neuroscience, has led us to develop different representations of the Guidelines over time. Each of these representations has a particular goal and traces our learning not only as an organization but as a field more broadly.

Version 2.2 (2018)

This latest version-Version 2.2-does not represent the "correct" version. Instead, we see this version as yet another representation to more fully explore and articulate the promise of UDL. We have made several structural changes to the graphic organizer to better support educators and other stakeholders who are new to UDL and to more clearly articulate the goal of UDL. About the Graphic Organizer describes these structural changes in more detail, while our FAQ may help answer questions you have about the UDL Guidelines and their relationship to the UDL framework.

Choose your UDL Guidelines v. 2.2 representation!

Download Version 2.2 with numbers

APA Citation: CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author.

As with the first version of the Guidelines, we see this version of the UDL Guidelines as a living, breathing, changing tool. We encourage participation and collaboration from diverse stakeholders to support us in our goal of making the Guidelines even more useful over time.

Looking for a full text version of the UDL Guidelines? Download Version 2.0 Full Text. It contains all of the text descriptions of each of the Principles, Guidelines, and Checkpoints that is on this site.

Version 2.2 Translations

Portuguese (2.2) - Português
Generously donated and transcribed by Victor Menna, Formador e Assessor Pedagógico
Graphic organizer: completo | semnumeros | embranco
About the Graphic Organizer: diretrizesDUA_v2-2_pt-BR_sobreoorganizador
Key Questions to Consider When Planning Lessons: diretrizesDUA_v2-2_pt-BR_perguntasplanejamento

Unified English Braille (contracted)
Generously donated and transcribed by Dr. Natalina Martiniello
Graphic Organizer: UDL Guidelines v.2.2 with numbers, braille ready file

Version 2.1 (2014)

Version 2.1 first appeared in Anne Meyer, David H. Rose, and David Gordon's Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice published in 2014. The structural updates made to the graphic organizer are reflective of the feedback we received after sharing Version 2.0 with the field. For example, previous versions of the graphic organizer begin with "Provide Multiple Means of Representation." However, in this version, we begin with "Provide Multiple Means of Engagement" as a way to highlight the essential role that engagement plays in learning.

Download Version 2.1
APA Citation: CAST (2014). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.1 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author.

Version 2.1 Translations

Version 2.0 (2011)

Version 2.0 includes several structural and content changes reflective of the feedback we received after sharing the original version, Version 1.0, with the field. For example, we developed a full text version to more fully describe not only the principles, guidelines, and checkpoints but also the thinking behind the UDL framework more broadly. And, in the Graphic Organizer version 2.0, we made several wording level changes to specific checkpoints to clarify to more accurately reflect our intended meaning.

Download Version 2.0
APA Citation: CAST (2011). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.0 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author.

Download Version 2.0 Full Text
A complete narrative describing the context within which CAST developed the UDL Guidelines including explanations and examples of each principle and checkpoint.
APA Citation: CAST (2011). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.0 Wakefield, MA: Author.

Version 2.0 Translations

Japanese (2.0) - 日本語
Graphic Organizer: UDLガイドラインの図表はこちら：UDL原則とチェックポイントがカラー刷りで一覧になっています。
Full Text: UDLガイドライン全文はこちらから
Full Text: UDLガイドライン全文はこちらから

Version 1.0 (2008)

This version of the Guidelines represents CAST's original blueprint for the UDL Guidelines. We developed this first version in response to the field's desire for more concrete support in applying the UDL framework to practice.

Download Version 1.0
APA Citation: CAST (2008). Universal design for learning guidelines version 1.0 [graphic organizer]. Wakefield, MA: Author.

Version 1.0 Translations

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The evolution of CAST's UDL Guidelines has been a dynamic, collaborative, and developmental process. We shared the first version of the Guidelines-Version 1.0-in 2008. Since that time, we have collected and specifically solicited feedback from the field.

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supports the effective implementation of UDL by connecting stakeholders in the field and providing resources and information about UDL.

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This webinar from the AEM Center will explore Texthelp's Read&Write-a literacy support tool that helps students move forward with rigor and without barriers, no matter where their learning takes place.

2:00PM - 3:00PM ET on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

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This webinar from the AEM Center will explore Texthelp's Read&Write-a literacy support tool that helps students move forward with rigor and without barriers, no matter where their learning takes place. 2:00PM - 3:00PM ET on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

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(DO-IT) Offers supports for incorporating UDL principles into the post-secondary setting and experiences of students with disabilities

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DO-IT: Promoting inclusion and success for people with disabilities Revitalize your workforce by being inclusive Helping people with disabilities succeed Promoting inclusive practices through publications and videos

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Provides information and resources for expanding access to educational and media technologies for students with disabilities.

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Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) 

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Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) 

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CAST is a multifaceted organization with a singular ambition: Bust the barriers to learning that millions of people experience every day. We do this by helping educators and organizations apply insights from the learning sciences and leading-edge practices to educational design and implementation.

Learn about our mission and values

UDL-Con: International

This year, for the first time, CAST's Annual Symposium and the UDL-IRN Summit are joining forces to create the world's largest International UDL Convention.

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PreK-12: Instructor-Led Course

In this introductory online course for preK-12 educators, participants learn the research basis for UDL, practical applications of UDL to lesson design, and helpful technology tools that support flexible, inclusive instruction.

Monday, September 11 - Monday, December 11, 2023

PreK-12: Instructor-Led Course

In this introductory online course for preK-12 educators, participants learn the research basis for UDL, practical applications of UDL to lesson design, and helpful technology tools that support flexible, inclusive instruction.

Monday, February 5 - Monday, May 13, 2024

Postsecondary: Instructor-Led Course

Designed exclusively for higher education, this course includes strategies to remove barriers to learning for postsecondary students.

Monday, February 5 - Friday, March 29, 2024

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Find out more about CAST. We're busting barriers to learning, until learning has no limits®.