5 Examples of Universal Design for
Learning in the Classroom.
1. “Display information in a flexible format so that the following perceptual features can be varied".
(Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST. 2018). By offering information in a flexible format, it can be
adapted to meet the needs of students with various perceptual abilities. This includes allowing
adjustments in text size, images, graphics, tables, contrast, color, volume and speech rate, timing in visual
media, and other visual and auditory elements. This makes it easier for each student to access
information according to their individual needs.
2. “To ensure that all learners have access to learning, options should be available for any information,
including emphasis, presented aurally". (Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST. 2018). Providing
options for accessing auditory information, such as subtitles, transcripts, visual notations of sounds,
and sign language, ensures that students with hearing impairments or hearing difficulties can fully
participate in learning.
3. “To ensure that all learners have equal access to information, it is essential to provide non-visual
alternatives". (Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST. 2018). Offering descriptions of images,
graphics, videos, and animations allows students with visual impairments or blindness to access
information in a non-visual manner. Using tactile and auditory representations of key concepts also
makes learning more inclusive.
4. “To ensure that all learners have equal access to knowledge, at least when the ability to decode is
not the focus of instruction, it is important to provide options that reduce the barriers that decoding
raises for learners who are unfamiliar or dysfluent with the symbols". (Center for Applied Special
Technology, CAST. 2018). For students for whom decoding text is a challenge, providing options like
text-to-speech, digital mathematical notation, and accompanying written text with human voice
recordings makes content more understandable and accessible.
5. “Providing alternatives—especially illustrations, simulations, images, or interactive graphics—can
make the information in the text more comprehensible for any learner and accessible for some who
would find it completely inaccessible in the text.” (Center for Applied Special Technology, CAST. 2018).
By providing multiple representations of concepts, such as illustrations, simulations, images, or
interactive graphics, textual content becomes more comprehensible and accessible. This benefits not
only those with disabilities but all students as they can choose the representation that helps them best
understand the material.