Schools throughout Kentucky are implementing rigorous, common core academic standards. For some students though, the road to achieving these high standards is littered with barriers and roadblocks. Yet, promoting a culture of high expectations for all students is a fundamental goal of the Common Core State Standards and educators across the Commonwealth.
Universal Design for Learning is a framework to eliminate barriers and make the curriculum accessible for all students by providing: multiple ways of acquiring information; alternatives for demonstrating what they have learned; and strategies for engaging diverse learners and motivating them to learn. Highly effective teachers demonstrate instructional practice through a comprehensive approach that integrates the Kentucky Core Academic Standards and the principles of UDL in ways that result in each student learning at high levels.
UDL is an educational approach to curriculum and instruction that uses multiples avenues including technology to remove barriers and enable all students regardless of their learning needs or learning styles to be successful in the classroom.
Delivering curriculum and implementing instruction through the lens of Universal Design means considering the needs of a all learners, including strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles.
Instead of retrofitting a pre-designed curriculum, teachers design and plan instruction to meet the specific learning needs of their students as they consider each individual student learner.