Glossary

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible.  In terms of UDL, this accessibility refers to the degree that instruction (as a broad term for anything that helps facilitate learning) is available to all learners.

Barriers to learning are problems or situations that prevent learners from accessing programs, make it difficult for learners to go to class or make it hard for learners to concentrate and learn.

Printed text offers many advantages to educators, including the ability to provide the very same content to millions of learners. But the sameness of the format is a disadvantage for diverse learners. Digital text separates the content from the display, which can then be flexible in several key ways. Visual display can be varied and other displays, such as tactile and auditory, can be offered. Digital text can also be tagged, enabling structural (e.g. header, sidebar) and semantic (e.g. summary, key questions) elements to be identified and displayed in different ways. Tagging also enables us to embed learning supports in content.

Self-efficacy is the term used to describe how one judges one's own competence to complete tasks and reach goals.  In this usage, then, the term efficacy refers to the actual competence Nuseli had towards reading.

Affect represents a crucial element to learning, and learners differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated to learn. There are a variety of sources that can influence individual variation in affect including neurology, culture, personal relevance, subjectivity, and background knowledge, along with a variety of other factors. Some learners are highly engaged by spontaneity and novelty while other are disengaged, even frightened, by those aspects, preferring strict routine. Some learners might like to work alone, while others prefer to work with their peers. In reality, there is not one means of engagement that will be optimal for all learners in all contexts; providing multiple options for engagement is essential.

Learners differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express what they know. For example, individuals with significant movement impairments (e.g., cerebral palsy), those who struggle with strategic and organizational abilities (executive function disorders), those who have language barriers, and so forth approach learning tasks very differently. Some may be able to express themselves well in written text but not speech, and vice versa. It should also be recognized that action and expression require a great deal of strategy, practice, and organization, and this is another area in which learners can differ. In reality, there is not one means of action and expression that will be optimal for all learners; providing options for action and expression is essential. 

Improvement in one's ability to quickly and accurately engage in instructional methods

Learners must develop a variety of fluencies (e.g., visual, audio, mathematical, reading, etc.). This means that they often need multiple scaffolds to assist them as they practice and develop independence. Curricula should offer alternatives in the degrees of freedom available, with highly scaffolded and supported opportunities provided for some and wide degrees of freedom for others who are ready for independence. Fluency is also built through many opportunities for performance, be it in the form of an essay or a dramatic production. Performance helps learners because it allows them to synthesize their learning in personally relevant ways. Overall, it is important to provide options that build learners’ fluencies.

Learners must develop a variety of fluencies (e.g., visual, audio, mathematical, reading, etc.). This means that they often need multiple scaffolds to assist them as they practice and develop independence. Curricula should offer alternatives in the degrees of freedom available, with highly scaffolded and supported opportunities provided for some and wide degrees of freedom for others who are ready for independence. Fluency is also built through many opportunities for performance, be it in the form of an essay or a dramatic production. Performance helps learners because it allows them to synthesize their learning in personally relevant ways. Overall, it is important to provide options that build learners’ fluencies.

A print disability can be a learning disability, a visual impairment or a physical disability. Although the manners in which the disability occurs are very different, they all share one characteristic: individuals diagnosed with a print disability cannot access print in the standard way.  Note that this is a change in thinking from previous understanding of disability as it refers to the disability as a result of the interactions of an individual and his/her environment, rather than something that is internal to the individual.

Learners differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them. For example, those with sensory disabilities (e.g., blindness or deafness); learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia); language or cultural differences, and so forth may all require different ways of approaching content. Others may simply grasp information quicker or more efficiently through visual or auditory means rather than printed text. Also learning, and transfer of learning, occurs when multiple representations are used, because it allows students to make connections within, as well as between, concepts. In short, there is not one means of representation that will be optimal for all learners; providing options for representation is essential.

Ways in which changes are made to the instructional environment to help a student be successful.

Text-to-speech (TTS) is a type of speech synthesis application that is used to create a spoken sound version of the text in a computer document.

This book was built in Book Builder, a technology freely offered by CAST at bookbuilder.cast.org.  Use this site to create, share, publish, and read digital books that engage and support diverse learners according to their individual needs, interests, and skills.

Principle 1:

To support recognition learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of presentation

 Principle 2:

To support strategic learning, provide multiple, flexible methods of expression and apprenticeship.

 Principle 3:

To support affective learning, provide multiple, flexible options for engagement.

Universal Design for Learning is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn.

UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.

All the ways in which each person differs from others.  Variability occurs within the brain in each network:

Recognition Networks: The "what" of learning

How we gather facts and categorize what we see, hear, and read. Identifying letters, words, or an author's style are recognition tasks.

Strategic Networks: The "how" of learning

Planning and performing tasks. How we organize and express our ideas. Writing an essay or solving a math problem are strategic tasks.

Affective Networks: The "why" of learning

How learners get engaged and stay motivated. How they are challenged, excited, or interested. These are affective dimensions.

Information that is received through the use of one's eyes.