10 Easy UDL Shifts

published by Mike Neumire on 8/21/2025

You’ve probably heard the phrase “meet students where they are.” Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework that helps you do that—not by adding more to your plate, but by shifting how you design lessons in small, intentional ways. Think of it as a mindset: when you build flexibility into your instruction, you remove barriers before students ever bump into them. Here are ten easy shifts that can make your teaching more inclusive, engaging, and effective for every learner in your classroom.

1. Offer Choices in How Students Show What They Know
UDL reminds us to “provide options for action and expression.” This doesn’t mean letting students off the hook; it means opening the door to different ways of demonstrating mastery. For example, instead of requiring a five-paragraph essay, you might also allow a podcast, an infographic, or a short video. In a history class, you might find a student, when given this kind of choice, produces something much better than you would get from an essay. Choice fuels engagement—and often reveals strengths you didn’t know your students had.

2. Build in Visual Supports
Aligning to UDL means we can “provide options for perception.” Text-heavy lessons can leave some students behind, so consider adding diagrams, timelines, or icons that help make abstract content concrete. In a science class, a teacher can project a simple diagram of the water cycle alongside the lecture. Students who struggle with note-taking have an anchor to follow, while the visual cue helps learners connect the dots faster. A small adjustment widens the doorway into the lesson.

3. Scaffold Big Tasks into Smaller Steps
UDL calls this “supporting planning and strategy development.” Big projects overwhelm students, even strong ones. Breaking a research paper into checkpoints—like finding sources, drafting an outline, then writing the introduction—gives students a road map. A middle school ELA teacher could color-code each step on sticky notes across the whiteboard. Students peel one off as they complete it, and the sense of progress keeps them moving forward. Scaffolding not only reduces stress but also teaches students how to tackle big tasks on their own.

4. Use Clear, Student-Friendly Goals
UDL emphasizes “heightening the salience of goals and objectives.” Instead of telling students, “Today we’re covering fractions,” a math teacher might frame it as, “By the end of class, you’ll be able to explain how fractions are useful in everyday life, like cooking or sharing pizza.” Students are more likely to engage with the idea that fractions aren’t just abstract numbers on a page. Framing lessons with clear, relatable goals helps learners stay motivated and focused.

5. Provide Models and Exemplars
UDL encourages us to “guide appropriate goal-setting and modeling.” Students often need to see what success looks like before they can imagine themselves achieving it. In an art class, instead of only describing what a strong perspective drawing looks like, a teacher could display several student examples—some polished, some still in progress. Students could compare, contrast, and set their own goals. Modeling demystifies the learning process and gives students a target to aim for.

6. Incorporate Student Interests
This aligns with UDL’s call to “optimize relevance, value, and authenticity.” A high school English teacher might let students choose contemporary songs to analyze for figurative language. This gives students who might resist a poetry unit an inroad to connect with the learning goals. By weaving in student interests, you validate their identities and show them that what they care about belongs in the classroom.

7. Offer Flexible Grouping Options
UDL suggests “fostering collaboration and community.” Instead of always assigning groups, build in times when students can choose their partners or work alone. In social studies, students could rotate between independent work, peer collaboration, and teacher-led small groups. A student who typically withdraws during whole-class discussions might find their voice in a small group, contributing insights they never shared before. Flexibility in grouping gives every student a place to feel comfortable engaging.

8. Provide Checklists or Graphic Organizers
UDL highlights the value of “supporting planning and organization.” Students don’t always know how to structure their thinking. A fifth-grade teacher could hand out a graphic organizer during a reading lesson that guides students to identify the problem, steps taken by characters, and resolution. Students who might be lost in the story now have a scaffold to help them track the plot with confidence. Tools like these help students become more strategic and independent learners.

9. Vary the Ways You Present Content
UDL’s guideline is to “offer alternatives for auditory and visual information.” In a high school biology class, the teacher could approach a lesson on cell division using a mix of lecture, animation, and a hands-on pipe-cleaner model. Different students have the opportunity to connect with different formats, ensuring that everyone has multiple entry points. When you vary how information is presented, you not only reduce the likelihood of boredom—you increase the odds of deep understanding.

10. Embed Opportunities for Reflection
Finally, UDL reminds us to “develop self-assessment and reflection.” In an elementary classroom, a teacher closed each math lesson by asking students to jot down one strategy they used that day and how it helped them solve problems. Over time, these micro-reflections helped students notice their own growth and choose strategies more intentionally. Reflection builds self-awareness—the cornerstone of becoming a strategic, lifelong learner.

The Big Picture
These shifts aren’t about overhauling your teaching. They’re about weaving flexibility, clarity, and relevance into what you’re already doing. Each tweak you make increases the odds that each student will engage with the work of learning. These shifts probably won’t feel immediately natural to students, but helping them adjust to this autonomy in a way that focuses on learning is the ultimate goal of the UDL framework. When you design instruction with UDL in mind, you’re not just teaching today’s lesson—you’re helping students become more independent, motivated, and strategic learners for life.