The second category in CAST’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines is: Design Multiple Means of Representation. At its core, this section is about improving student access to information. Can all learners access the content and learning materials that are available?
Access refers to both the act of decoding content as well as personally identifying with the material. This includes offering content in multiple formats, such as text, audio, and video, so students can select a format that allows them to best access and comprehend the content. At the same time, access also means making sure that learners see themselves represented in the learning materials. If students never see people who look and sound like them in the content, the learning can feel disconnected and less relevant.
There are three subcomponents to consider when designing multiple means of representation: Design Options for Access, Support, and Executive Function.
Access: Design Options for Perception
This section challenges us to offer the same information in a variety of modalities. For instance, we might offer a text-based article, an audio recording, and a video of the same content, so students can choose the format that best helps them access and understand the new information.
As much as possible, learners should also be provided with options for adjusting the format to meet their needs. This might include the ability to adjust font sizes, changing a screen reader’s voice or playback speed, or adding closed captioning to a video.
Finally, designing options for perception means that the content we are using represents a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways, so all of our learners can see themselves in the content. This may include choosing a wide range of authors and perspectives as well as selecting images that showcase people from different cultures and demographic backgrounds.
In many ways, this section of the UDL Guidelines lends itself quite naturally to the integration of technology and digital tools.
Take the idea of multiple modalities, for instance. If you’re using a learning management system (LMS) to share resources with your students, you could include a PDF, a video, and an interactive webpage as different options for student access. Because the text-based resources are digital, students will also be able to take advantage of accessibility tools, such as text-to-speech screen readers, like Speechify, or translation tools, like Google Translate. Microsoft users can leverage Immersive Reader, which supports text-to-speech and adjustable text size. In fact, almost any generative AI tool can assist with translation. For students who are dyslexic, resources like OpenDyslexic or Google Chrome extensions like Readable can make on-screen text much more accessible. As for video, most platforms offer the ability to turn on closed captions or even change the speed at which the video plays. Additionally, for both audio and video, it can be very helpful to provide access to transcripts. Otter is one tool that can generate transcripts automatically from audio files.
When making digital tools available to your students, it’s important to make sure that they are aware of the options available to them. It’s also important to help them understand how to use those tools. Taking a little time up front to show your class what’s available and how those options work can open up a lot of doors for content accessibility.
Support: Design Options for Language and Symbols
The second part of addressing representation is about supporting students during the learning process. In introducing this section, CAST reminds us that “inequalities arise when information is presented to all learners through a single form of representation.”
In this light, it’s important to remember that multiple means of representation is not only intended to help with accessing or decoding content but also with clarity, comprehension, and creating a shared understanding for all learners.
This section calls on us to explore ways to clarify vocabulary and symbols to break down barriers of language, culture, and experience. If students don’t have the context to understand a new concept, it will oftentimes lead to confusion. Therefore, we should seek multiple ways to clarify the information that we are presenting and attempt to front-load enabling skills that can help students better access new content as it is introduced.
In addition to the aforementioned digital tools that can assist students with perception in general, there are several that specifically target language and symbols. Built-in dictionaries with text-to-speech functions allow students to quickly access both a definition of unfamiliar words and an audio recording of how to pronounce a word. Both of these features help break down barriers with the simple click of a mouse. Many digital platforms have these dictionary tools built in, and if they don’t, students can easily find a dictionary extension to add to their web browser. Google Dictionary is one free example.
To help students who struggle reading and comprehending text-based information, you might leverage Noun Project, a free website that offers thousands of icons and symbols that can be used to visually represent complex ideas and make abstract concepts more understandable. Similarly, Visuwords is a website that offers a visual dictionary and thesaurus.
Another useful strategy is to provide hyperlinks to helpful support resources in your LMS. By providing a digital library of support tools in an accessible space, students can find and make use of them when needed, regardless of their confidence level in asking for help.
Executive Function: Design Options for Building Knowledge
This section is really about helping students put new knowledge to actionable use. Can students apply their learning to new situations and contexts? Is their learning transferable? Can they apply it meaningfully in the future when new problems and situations arise?
Part of this skill-building process involves helping students connect prior knowledge to new learning. We must intentionally help them see how prior learning applies to new situations. Rather than assuming that students will intuitively identify these connections, we should actively call it out when it happens. By doing so—or by having classmates help to call it out—you can identify and reinforce the application of these important skills in real time and increase the likelihood that all students will see the connections.
The development of these skills can be further supported through collaborative problem-solving scenarios. When students work together, they are exposed to multiple perspectives and skillsets, which can broaden their own toolbox of skills and contextual information. One way to do this is to have students create or problem-solve collaboratively. This stretches them to the highest levels of thinking and gives them an authentic, collaborative environment in which to work.
There are multiple ways to integrate technology while supporting knowledge building. One approach is to provide digital scaffolds to help students track and recall relevant information. You might have them set up a digital checklist, use a graphic organizer, or set up digital reminders during a longer project.
There are scaffolding tools, such as Quizlet, that can help students practice recalling key ideas, and because the platform offers multiple ways to engage in the content, most students can find an approach that appeals to them. Some students may prefer the gamified format, others might like a quiz, and there may be others who opt for a traditional flash card format.
To help students draw on prior knowledge, consider concept maps or KWL charts. You can create your own using a digital tool like Canva or a digital slides program like Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides. You can also find a free library of digital graphic organizers and KWL charts at AVID Open Access.
There are also many free mind mapping programs out there that can help students make connections among concepts. Some options include MindMeister, Lucidchart, MindMup, and Miro. There are also many other possibilities out there that you can explore, and most allow for virtual collaboration, which is a big plus to get students working together.
This list only scratches the surface of the many ways you can design multiple means of representation in your classroom learning experiences. To go further, go to udlguidelines.cast.org, and do a deeper dive for yourself.
AVID Connections
This resource connects with the following components of the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework:
- Instruction
- Culture
- Relational Capacity
- Student Agency
- Break Down Barriers
Extend Your Learning
- UDL Guidelines 3.0 (CAST)
- CAST (official website)