UDL Principles

In order to understand how UDL works, we need to fully understand how the three principles work. The three principles are multiple means of representation, the multiple means of action and expression, and the multiple means of engagement.

The First Principle: The "why" of learning means not all students learn the same way and educators need to make a conscious effort to provide multiple means of representation of the material. Some ways to break down the barrier are to provide information to students in a variety of ways such as though touch, hearing, or visually. Educators can also provide students with options to assist their deficit such as enlarged text. This method allows every student in the class to reach their full potential because information is being presented in a way many students can understand. 

The Second Principle: The "how" of learning means not every student will understand the material the same way because everyone learns differently and has varying abilities. Educators need to provide students with multiple means of action and expression. When students are provided with multiple means of expression it ensures all learners understand the content. For example: A picture in a textbook may make perfect sense to one student, but could be confusing and hard to understand for another student.

The Third Principle: The "why" of learning means students need to learn to to transform information into knowledge. Educators need to provide multiple means of engagement because each student learns differently, but understanding how to challenge them, motivate them and tap into their own interests is the answer. For example: A student reads a paragraph in class, but he's bored by it. The teacher could try and relate it to one of his own interests to make it more accessible to him.

In the next post, we will learn about valuable resources for UDL.


http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle1