UDL - Universal Design for Learning

Who is the Expert Learner?
Expert learners take responsibility for their learning. They view learning as something they do for themselves, not something that is done to them or for them. [Source: The Expert Learner]

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) perspective for the Expert Learner is for a learner to be:
> Resourceful and knowledgeable

> Strategic and goal-directed

> Purposeful and motivated

Then how can you develop expert learners with voice and choice?

The Three Stages of Personalized Learning Environments provide the process to encourage learner voice. This process can guide the design of personalized learning environments that meets the needs of all learners.  Stage One is teacher-centered and encourages learner voice and some choice. Learner voice is a critical first step. There are ways to do this and this table here describes how the teacher and learner roles change in this stage.

When learners have the opportunities to say what they think and be heard by their peers and others, they feel their opinions and perspectives are valued and appreciated. Think about yourself as a learner and what it might feels like if you have a voice in how you learn and even influence decisions about teaching and learning.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is used to design curriculum, lessons and instruction based on the diversity of the learners in their classroom.

How can UDL guide personalize learning to meet the Common Core?

When a teacher understands his/her learners through the UDL lens, he/she creates a flexible learning environment and provides opportunities for learner voice and choice. When lessons are designed using the UDL model, the lesson includes goals, methods, materials, tools, and assessments to reach and support the maximum amount of learners in the classroom.

Learners can use this model to help them understand how they learn best and what learning path they can take to become an independent expert learner, leveraging their natural abilities in the process. This process helps the learner create their personal learning profile that is understood by both teacher and learner.

The importance of this strategy is that both the teacher and the learner understand who the learner is and how they learn best. The learner and the teacher uses the UDL lens to personalize learning. So what does that look like?

An example of an 8th Grade unit on the Civil War serves as an example along with two students who can meet a number of CCSS when they choose and use the tools to support their learning.

Explore our new website, Personalize Learning (www.personalizelearning.com), to learn more about the research, models and educators who are personalizing learning.