Steps Towards Universal Design for Learning (UDL) by Colleen McClure

Be aware of students' interests

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Goal setting

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set clear goals so students can stay motivated and connect to previous knowledge

Make use of Art

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Get to know your students

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So that you can know how they learn and what they enjoy. Then you can adapt your curriculum to their interests.

connect prior knowledge to new learning --> have students make a roadmap that connects topics together

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Include playfulness - gamify activities

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read aloud to students or have an audio recording play for them

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paint class murals of understanding

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Multiple forms of media in social studies such as news videos and books

nsthiess — 2026-02-03 17:42:27 UTC

Multiple media sources

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books, movies, audiobooks, music etc

Tools

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utilize many tools to help comprehension with reading/writing like spell checkers, word prediction etc.

different styles

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have movement activities, visual, creative

Give specific feedback frequently

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Let them know exactly how to improve and reinforce achievement and growth

Sustaining Effort & Persistence

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Create opportunities where students feel like they are welcome and are able to share their thoughts. You could do this by: allowing students to work in small groups, you could also bring their interests into the conversations.

Refer to pop culture, e.g. film music.

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connect to prior knowledge

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Use student interests to connect to learning content

Discuss!

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Have discussion in your class - debates, discussion groups, etc. to help students personalize the knowledge they're supposed to learn.

Motivation

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Take the time to know what makes your students tick. What kind of positive and negative reinforcement do they respond to best and how can you utilize that as a teacher

Give choice in which sources they can use for idea expanding

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Act it out (English)

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groups do scenes in media like plays and books

Allow different mediums for the same assignment

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Classroom Routines

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Learn and ask about what routines can be introduced to help regulate student focus and preparation before teaching

Play games like Hide and Seek. Ask the class a question. Give one student the answer, and have the student hide, and the class goes and finds them and in turn, finds the answer

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Use vocab lists and highlight key words

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Clarifying scientific vocabulary

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Movement

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Make students stand up and move around the classroom briefly, take the lesson outside, involve nature!

Assessments

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Give multiple options for how to do an assignment

opportunities

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have opportunities for different expression, like sharing with the class, group discussions, etc

Foster belonging and community

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welcoming identities and interests

Self reflection

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Time for students to individually reflect on content used in the classroom

recognize motivation and background info

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creating a questionnaire

Multiple ways to present their project

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Allows for creativity and different media to present information in a fun way.

Use technology to communicate in addition to traditional methods

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allow students to set some of their own goals

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plan for challenges

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break up long term goals into achievable short term goals

Encourage debate and disagreement. Have students take stances they don't agree with and have them defend it

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Varied Media for Instruction

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For a science lesson, prepare something tactile for students to interact with, some visuals, as well as possibly a video or audio recordings. This will keep students engaged by varying what they are presented with

Present information from multiple perspectives

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Demonstrates the diverse ways of knowing present in society and our classrooms

peer work

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Have students set goals

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Have your students set goals for themselves every month or so and see if they hit their goals. Make sure their goals are attainable

Interaction

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How can we design materials in our classrooms to support and value interactions, needs and preferences for every learner?

Metaphors

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Compare new learning to something already known

Integrate student areas of interest (pop culture, music, etc.)

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Language and Symbols

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Clarify science vocab and connect it to their interests. Show the vocab/ numbers in different ways so that each student can connect to the info.

Have students re-invent the wheel

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physical models especially biology and chemistry classes

culture

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represent different cultures in class, have books and readings by people from all over the world. teach about different histories, etc

Anticipate challenges and questions students will have

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Don’t assume they know everything going in - they’re here to learn

accessible materials + technologies

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"Ensure navigation and interaction can be performed with a variety of tools, including keyboard, mouse, switch devices, and voice commands."

Math Concepts

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Use interactive graphs and computer programs to show different concepts to help understand what we are trying to achieve. Expand past just math notation

Incorporate/allow for multi-media for their presentations, e.g. comics, dance movements

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Make use of memes

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Lesson Plan

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PLan a lesson with clear and defined definitions for your lecture, having kewords and ideas be defined in multiple different ways helps people approach it from different angles.

Give simple assessments for new vocabulary

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Strategy Development

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Set meaningful goals that allow students to achieve them but also slightly challenge them

turn learning into a game

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connect knowledge to new learning

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Bridge concepts with relevant analogies and metaphors.

Assignment Optionality

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In your assignments you can provide multiple options for mediums and formats to complete the assignment. (eg. an art piece instead of writing)

Inviting in a 'special guest' to your class.

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having syllabus and learning outcomes sheet to let students ready to communicate and do well in classes

Nurture Joy and Play

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Before returning marked tests, give a shoutout of the students who got the highest marks they received so far in the school year - to instill a sense of pride and accomplishment