Action & Expression

  • Refers to the many ways students can show us what they know and understand.

  • Allows students alternatives to express or demonstrate their understanding.

  • Provides flexible options for responding (e.g., typing on a keyboard rather than completing a written assignment).

  • Provide options for completing assignments using different media (e.g., text, speech, film, etc.)

Multiple means of action and expression focuses on how the students say they know and understand what we have taught. Therefore, instead of just raising hands and answering out loud, bringing in technology and evaluating the students quick monitoring, and/or allowing them to type rather than handwrite answers, or make a poster rather than write a paper to demonstrate what they know.


CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Physical Action

  • Vary methods for response and navigation

  • Optimize access to tools and assistive technologies

  • Provide opportunities for collaboration and reciprocal teaching and create a community of learners

Expression & Communication

  • Multiple media for communication.

  • Multiple tools for construction and composition.

  • Build fluencies with varying levels of support.

  • Honor different methods of sharing knowledge such as storytelling, family histories, chronicles, and other narratives- value experiential knowledge and traditions

  • Acknowledge various discourse styles when communicating and supporting students with code switching for different kinds of communication demands.

Executive function

  • Executive functioning refers to a set of cognitive processes used to coordinate between different mental tasks used to:

    • Focus attention

    • Maintain working memory

    • Plan and implement a learning strategy

    • Organize information & required steps for a project

    • Monitor one's progress

    • Self-regulate emotion and productivity

    • Follow multiple step directions

  • Metacognitive strategies can be very helpful in supporting students' executive function in learning activities.

Metacognitive Strategies to Support Student Learning:

Metacognition is what happens when we reflect on our own thinking process, and it is critical for learning more concepts that go deeper than "rote memory." Metacognition is needed for students to analyze tasks, set goals, implement strategies, check for understanding and reflect on what they're learning.

  • Self-management strategies can be helpful for building structured opportunities for students to assess or check their own learning behaviors and make adjustments if needed.

  • Organization tools like checklists and graphic organizers can help provide much-needed structure to support students in applying metacognitive strategies in learning new skills.

  • Teachers should reflect on how student metacognition may be needed to perform learning tasks within lessons and offer differentiated support with additional structure for those who may need it.

  • When teaching new skills, use explicit, clear instruction about steps taken to solve problems.

  • Reading comprehension and problem solving are two areas that require a high level of metacognition. Teaching students specific processes to check for understanding and break problems down into steps using checklists and graphic organizers can be very helpful.