Universal Design for Learning

Dalton, B., Herbert, M., & Deysher, S. (2003). Scaffolding students' response to digital literature with embedded strategy supports: The role of audio-recording vs. writing student response options. Paper presented at the 53^rd Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, Arizona.

This paper reports the results of a descriptive study of sixth and seventh grade students' use of two different modes (writing vs. audio-recording) to respond to embedded strategy prompts in a hypertext version of a novel. Results reveal that students expressed clear preferences regarding audio recording versus writing, but preferences varied across students and students' preferred mode might not be their strength.

NOTE: This article also appears in the references for Strategy Development.

Dalton, B., Pisha, B., Eagleton, M., Coyne, P., & Deysher, S. (2002). Engaging the text: Final report to the U.S. Department of education. Peabody: CAST. [link to article]

Middle school struggling readers engaged in traditional strategy instruction with or without the use of universally designed hypertexts with scaffolded strategic supports, representational supports, and embedded reflection and self-assessment. The experimental group achieved significantly higher comprehension gain scores and spent significantly more time on-task and responding during strategy instruction.

NOTE: This article also appears in the references for Strategy Development.

Dolan, R. P., Hall, T. E., Banerjee, M., Chun, E., & Strangman, N. (2005). Applying principles of universal design to test delivery: The effect of computer-based read aloud on test performance of high school students with learning disabilities. The Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 3(7). http://www.bc.edu/research/intasc/jtla/journal/pdf/v3n7_jtla.pdf.

This pilot study applied principles of Universal Design for Learning to the creation of a prototype computer-based test delivery tool that provides students with a flexible, customizable testing environment with the option for read-aloud of test content. Qualitative and quantitative findings based on a sample of high school students with learning disabilities provide preliminary support for the potential benefits and usability of digital technologies in creating universally designed assessments that more fairly and accurately test students with disabilities.

Kortering, L. J., McClannon, T. W., & Braziel, P. M. (2008). Universal design for learning: A look at what algebra and biology students with and without high incidence conditions are saying. Remedial and Special Education, 29(6), 352-363.

This article examines findings on student perceptions of individual interventions based on the principles of universal design for learning (UDL). The examination includes a comparison of the reported perceptions of mainstreamed students with high incidence disabilities (i.e., learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, or other health impairments under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act) to that of their general education peers. Findings showed that relative to their other academic classes, both groups of students had high levels of satisfaction and expressed similar themes as to what they perceived to be the best and worst parts of the interventions and ideas for improvement. Both groups also reported near unanimous agreement as to wanting their teachers to use more UDL interventions. The reported perceptions and subsequent comparison forms the basis for discussing the implications of UDL in high school settings.

Marino, M. T. (2009). Understanding how adolescents with reading difficulties utilize technology-based tools. Exceptionality, 17(2), 88-102.

This article reports the findings from a study that examined how adolescent students with reading difficulties utilized cognitive tools that were embedded in a technology-based middle school science curriculum. The curriculum contained salient features of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) theoretical framework. Sixteen general education teachers implemented the curriculum in 62 inclusive classrooms. Students' (N = 1153) tool use was monitored throughout the four-week curriculum to determine if there was a relationship between students' reading ability, use of cognitive tools, and their comprehension of scientific concepts and processes. Students were grouped into three reading ability levels based on their performance on a standardized reading test. Findings from this study indicate that students who scored below the 50^th percentile on the reading assessment utilized and benefited from the tools in highly similar ways. Implications and recommendations for instructional design research and practice are discussed.

Pisha, B., & Coyne, P. (2001). Jumping off the page: Content area curriculum for the Internet age. Reading Online, 5(4). http://www.readingonline.org/articles/pisha/.

This formative evaluation research project developed a prototype, digital history textbook chapter designed according to Universal Design for Learning principles. Qualitative findings indicated that high school students, including students with learning disabilities, appreciated the flexible presentation of content, ease of locating information, and portability.

NOTE: This article also appears in the references for Text-to-Speech with Synchronized Highlighting.

Rose, D. H., Harbour, W. S., Johnston, C. S., Daley, S. G., & Abarbanell, L. (2006). Universal design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their application. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 19(2), 17.

Authored by the teaching staff of T-560: Meeting the Challenge of Individual Differences at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, this article reflects on potential applications of universal design for learning (UDL) in university courses, illustrating major points with examples from T-560. The article explains the roots of UDL in cognitive neuroscience, and the three principles of UDL: multiple means of representing information, multiple means of expressing knowledge, and multiple means of engagement in learning. The authors also examine the ways UDL has influenced their course goals and objectives, media and materials, teaching methods, and assessment techniques, including discussion groups, lectures, textbooks, and the course website. The authors emphasize the ongoing developmental nature of the course and UDL principles as tools or guidelines for postsecondary faculty, rather than a set of definitive rules. UDL is proposed as a way to address diversity and disabilities as constructs of individuals and their environment in higher education classrooms. (Contains 2 endnotes and 3 figures.)

Strangman, N., & Dalton, B. (2005). Using technology to support struggling readers: A review of the research. In D. Edyburn, K. Higgins & R. Boone (Eds.), The handbook of special education technology research and practice (pp. 545-569). Whitefish Bay, WI: Knowledge by Design.

This chapter includes a section on Universal Design for Learning that highlights research incorporating elements of the Universal Design for Learning framework. Examples include technologies such as text-to-speech, multimedia instruction, scaffolded hypermedia texts, and cognitive rescaling, which support differences in recognition learning, strategic learning, and affective learning.

NOTE: This article also appears in the references for Text-to-Speech.