Week 1: Introduction to Diverse Learners

In the contemporary American classroom, there are learners with all sorts of disabilities, strengths, cultures, preferences, dialects, learning styles, skills, background knowledge and aptitudes. The contemporary teacher’s job is to adapt content so that all of these students are able to access it.

Universal Design is not a one-size-fits all model, but describes rather a multi-faceted, customizable task, that is flexible in the respect that teachers and learners have the ability to adjust features to meet the needs of individuals. The National Center for Universal Design (http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl) provides the graphic below, in attempt to define Universal Design for Learning, or UDL. The organization outlines three aspects of UDL: presentation, student-expression, and engagement.

 Technology is the natural platform upon which universal design for learning should be discussed. “A computer connected to the Internet and running standard software provides a wide array of features, as well as access to a vast amount of information,” (Duffield and Wahl, p. 3, 2005). The authors cite MS Word, and Inspiration as invaluable tools for enlarging and reading text and creating visual aids that help students make connections and interact with curriculum. Ironically, a good enough universally designed task can easily differentiate instruction for many unique learners.