There is a myriad of academic papers on the topic of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). So it’s good to get some practical assistance from practitioners. A UDL guide from Canada provides a great introduction for newcomers to the topic. The three key areas for designing learning are multiple means of:
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- engagement: the why of learning
- representation: the what of learning
- action and expression: the how of learning
The guide begins with a Quick Start, then looks at Opportunities and Challenges, User-Centred Design and Case Studies. It’s titled, Universal Design for Learning: A Practical Guide.
The practical guide lives the message with easy to understand text and logical structure. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:
“Post-secondary instructors are facing more challenges nowadays because the student population is increasingly diverse. Students with diverse cultural backgrounds, skills, abilities, interests, experiences, and social-economic status require instructors to reflect on their teaching practices and adopt user-centred approaches for course design and delivery. But how do user-centred approaches look like in practice? And how can instructors deliver quality learning outcomes to maximum number of students? Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a curriculum design, development, and delivery framework that could help answer these questions.