Reflection on Universal Design

          After leaving class last week with the concept of universal design fresh in my mind, I found myself taking a closer look at my immediate surroundings and asking myself “is this accessible to all?” As I’m sure many of my classmates noticed through the Universal Design Challenge, there are a tremendous amount of inaccessible aspects in our immediate environment. From school buildings, to apartment complexes, homes, and public transportation, it seemed easier to spot things that were inaccessible to some people, rather than accessible to all. As stated in the Principles of Universal Design Poster, there are 7 guidelines that must be followed to promote universal design. These principles include, equitable use, flexibility in use, simple and intuitive in use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, and size and space for approach and use. Stated in its simplest form, is seems that the features of universal design can be easily implemented, but unfortunately most people do not think in a universally designed mindset. I believe that if you live your life without facing any of these challenges it may be difficult to put yourself in another person's shoes and understand the potential barriers. Therefore, as soon to be or current teachers, we should be responsible for incorporating the principles of universal design and UDL on a class wide level as well as a school wide level to the best of our abilities. It is also important to educate those around us on how to incorporate universal design into their every day lives and to be mindful of creating an environment accessible to all.

          Universal design was created based on the idea that equality and accessibility are rights that every person is entitled to. With the proper use of universal design, every individual should be able to navigate through their environment without potential barriers or obstacles. Thus, when we bring the ideas of universal design into the classroom, it takes on the form of UDL and it may look different from one student to another.As stated on the CAST website in Chapter 2: What Brain Research Tells Us About Learner Differences, learning is distributed across 3 interconnected networks and learners may differ within and across all 3 brain networks. UDL addresses these differences by providing multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement.  For a student such as Sarah in the student profile who has ataxic cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, her teacher would have to ensure that items needed in class were not placed too high out of her reach. The classroom layout should also be designed in a manner that allows the appropriate size and space for approach and use of a wheelchair. Or for students similar to Rebecca who have hearing impairments, there should be an abundant amount of visual cues incorporated into the classroom as well as opportunities to work one-on-one with a peer or teacher to utilize her lip reading skills. In terms of UDL Sarah should be given the opportunity to answer questions or express understanding in the various forms of communication that she utilizes. Whereas in Rebecca's case, she should be given the opportunity to express understanding through the form of presentations when appropriate since it is a strength of hers. 

           It is important to note that these techniques should not be restricted to students with disabilities and should be used for all learners. As stated on the CAST website, "UDL is not 'just one more thing;' it is an integral component of improving student learning, compatible with other approaches to education reform."