How to Implement UDL in College Education

We kicked off the new school year with a faculty meeting about universal design for learning (UDL) with the aim of maximizing the accessibility of our teaching practices.

The ideological roots of UDL come from architecture.  Last century, people realized that staircases only really work for people whose legs allow them to climb stairs.  For people who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices, staircases are a barrier.  When architects incorporate ramps, escalators and elevators alongside or instead of stairs, more people can access places that would be otherwise inaccessible to them.  These designs are “universal” because they also help people who do not identify with impairment and disability:  people with strollers and wheeled-suitcases also enjoy barrier-free access.

The problem is less concrete inside the classroom.  Whereas elevators overcome the barrier that stairs pose for most people with mobility troubles (assuming the elevators are large enough and in working order), interventions in the classroom may not serve all students equally well.  It’s easy to appreciate how subtitled video presentations enable students with hearing impairments or language issues to access information, but what could help students with learning disabilities or negative affectivity?  The needs of a student with dyslexia are enormously different from the needs of another who experiences significant anxiety.  (I would probably expect a student whose dyslexia-related needs are overlooked to experience some degree of anxiety.)  In education, a persistent but tired-out trichotomy that classifies students as visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners obscures the true diversity of learning needs.

Even though it is always sensible to follow evidence-based best practices, the comprehensive implementation of UDL will not be achieved by diligently checking items off of a list.  Instead, it will be realized when our institutions develop procedures that detect and respond to the needs of each and every student.  This is a complex project, but the starting place is simple:  foster a learning environment that is conducive to communication and ask your students what they need.

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