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In my upcoming book, I teamed up with Dr. Katie Novak to explore the complementary nature of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and blended learning. Below you will find italicized excerpts from the first chapter of our new book woven into the text below.

UDL is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.” UDL celebrates learner variability as an asset in the classroom. UDL recognizes that every class comprises a wide range of learners with various needs, skills, experiences, knowledge, and interests. Each student will encounter unique barriers, enjoy engaging with information in different formats, thrive in different learning scenarios, have particular preferences, benefit from varying levels of support, and communicate their learning differently.

Every student, regardless of variability, deserves the best opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge regardless of the learning landscape. For too long, schools were designed for those students who were the mythical average learners at the expense of students who had unique needs and challenged teachers to the limits of their commitments, insights, and skills. When we accept that learner variability is the norm, we begin to design with that reality in mind.

However, the events of the last year have made it clear that educational landscapes can shift at any time. In the last 15 months, teachers have been asked to teach in person, online, and various combinations of the two. As soon as teachers got their bearings in one teaching and learning landscape, things shifted. It was an exhausting and often frustrating experience. Moving forward, Katie and I want teachers to have a skill set nimble enough to navigate any teaching and learning landscape.