UDL is a framework that our teachers use for lesson planning and instruction. It aims to develop our students to be expert learners who are purposeful and motivated, resourceful and motivated, as well as strategic and goal-directed.

A closer look what is UDL is about – It is not about providing the same support for every student (just like you see in the picture of providing the wooden crates to all the children to see the soccer march), it is not about providing different supports for different students (some children have crates and some don’t). It is about removing the barriers so all students can access learning (in this case removing the fence that is the barrier and replace it with an alternative which is the wire mesh and regardless of your height, you will be able to see the soccer match).

Here are some examples of how we provide options for our students in their learning to increase their Engagement, removing the barriers of challenges in self-regulation, perseverance and motivation, such as a reinforcement system to sustain effort and persistence, especially when it comes to learning a challenging topic. It is also important to teach our students how they can ask for a break to build appropriate self-regulation skills.

The way our students perceive and comprehend information presented to them affect what they are going to learn. Hence, it is important to provide options for perception in the display of information, not just sticking to one way, so that we will reach out to all our students regardless of their learning style and abilities. Another example relating to students’ comprehension of information will be to activate or supply background knowledge such as in  reading new words, pairing it with a visual will help students in better recognition and comprehension.

Last but not least, to develop our learners to be strategic and goal-directed, we must develop their strategic network of the ”how” of learning. One example of how we do so is by providing options in the classroom for physical action, optimizing their access to tools. Another example is in providing options for executive functions such as enhancing students’ capacity for monitoring their progress in learning and giving that feedback to teachers for planning the next lessons.