Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments and learning spaces that can accommodate individual learning differences. [1]

The UDL framework was first defined by David H. Rose, Ed.D. of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) in the 1990s. [2] 

UDL is a set of principles that provide teachers with a structure to develop instructions to meet the diverse needs of all learners.

"A form of education that derives curriculum from an analysis of a prospective or actual role in modern society and that attempts to certify student progress on the basis of demonstrated performance in some or all aspects of that role. Theoretically, such demonstrations of competence are independent of time served in formal educational settings" (Riesman, 1979, p. 6 as cited in [3]).

Backwards Design is a process that educators use to design learning experiences and instructional techniques to achieve specific learning goals. It is also called backward planning or backward mapping.

The process begins with the objectives of a unit or course—what students are expected to learn and be able to do—and then proceeds “backward” to create lessons that achieve those desired goals. [4]

• Curriculum development

• Rubrics (re)design & development

• Competencies and Learning Objectives

• Depth of Knowledge

• Experiential learning 

• Deeper Learning 

• Motivation & Engagement