Table of Contents

What’s the goal of UDL?
Why were the UDL Guidelines developed?
How are the Guidelines related to the UDL framework?
Who are the Guidelines for?
How are the Guidelines organized?
How do the Guidelines align to the learning brain?
How can the Guidelines be used?
Why are there multiple versions of the Guidelines, and how have they evolved over time?
Why are the numbers of the Guidelines and considerations out of order?
Do all of the Guidelines have to be applied at once for fidelity?
What tools and resources support the application of each Guideline?
What exactly has changed in Guidelines 3.0?
What process was used to update the UDL Guidelines and develop version 3.0?
How does UDL connect to other asset-based pedagogies and theoretical frameworks?
How can I give feedback on the Guidelines?

What’s the goal of UDL?

UDL is a framework to guide the design of learning environments and experiences that are accessible, inclusive, equitable, and challenging for every learner. Ultimately, the goal of UDL is to develop learner agency that is purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, strategic and action-directed. UDL aims to change the design of the environment rather than to situate the problem as a perceived deficit within the learner. When environments are intentionally designed to reduce barriers, every learner can engage in challenging, meaningful learning.

Why were the UDL Guidelines developed?

The overarching framework of UDL motivated many educators to begin rethinking the design of learning environments and curricula through a UDL lens. However, CAST often received feedback that applying UDL to practice felt overwhelming. Many educators shared with us that the three principles of UDL were a useful start in designing for variability, but they also felt the principles were too vague and more specific guidance was needed. In 2008, we developed the first version of the UDL Guidelines in response to this important feedback. We hoped that these Guidelines would provide concrete support to educators who were eager to apply the UDL framework to practice. Since that time, we have updated the Guidelines to incorporate feedback from the field as well as expanding research in the areas of UDL, education, cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, disability studies, inclusive education, and asset-based pedagogies. The FAQ “Why are there multiple versions of the Guidelines?” provides more information on the evolution of the UDL Guidelines.

How are the Guidelines related to the UDL framework?

The UDL framework emphasizes that the average brain — and by extension, the average learner — does not exist. Instead, UDL offers an overarching approach to designing meaningful learning opportunities that honor learner variability and suggests purposeful, proactive attention to the design of goals, assessments, methods, and materials, and the overall learning environment, including potential biases that create barriers related to perceiving differences as deficits. CAST’s UDL Guidelines are a tool to support educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and more to apply the UDL framework to practice.

Who are the Guidelines for?

CAST’s UDL Guidelines are a tool to support the design of learning experiences and environments. They support educators in any context — including curriculum developers, researchers, and parents — to operationalize and implement the UDL framework. The Guidelines are also valuable to learners themselves, as they can act as a tool to deepen their understanding of their own learning processes — both as individuals and as part of a collective — and to take an active role in co-creating more supportive learning environments.

Guidelines 3.0 shifted from educator-centered to learner-centered language in order to emphasize the notion that the Guidelines can be applied by educators and learners alike. This current version intentionally uses verbs that can be used interchangeably among and between educators and learners to spark flexibility and creativity in ways to apply the Guidelines. Depending on the learning goal, educators, learners, or educators and learners together might apply specific guidelines.

How are the Guidelines organized?

At the top of the graphic organizer is the goal of UDL: to develop learner agency that is purposeful and reflective, resourceful and authentic, strategic and action-directed.

With the graphic organizer representation, the UDL Guidelines are organized both horizontally and vertically.

Vertically, the Guidelines are organized according to the three principles of UDL: engagement, representation, and action and expression. The principles are broken down into Guidelines, and each of these Guidelines have corresponding considerations that provide more detailed suggestions.

Horizontally, the Guidelines are organized into three rows. The access row includes the guidelines that suggest ways to increase access to the learning goal by designing options for: welcoming interests and identities perception, and interaction.

The support row includes the guidelines that suggest ways to support the learning process by designing options for: effort and persistence, language and symbols, and expression and communication.

Finally, the executive function row includes the guidelines that suggest ways to support learners’ executive functions by designing options for: emotional capacity, building knowledge, and strategy development.

For more detailed information about how the UDL Guidelines are organized, see About the Graphic Organizer.

How do the Guidelines align to the learning brain?

The UDL Principles and accompanying Guidelines were conceived with the learning brain in mind. Like each person’s fingerprints, every brain is remarkably unique in its anatomy, chemistry, and physiology. While there are thousands of networks specialized for different functions, some of the differences we can observe are systematic and predictable. We can and should proactively anticipate and plan for these differences. UDL emphasizes three large brain networks that comprise the vast majority of the human brain and play a central role in learning. These networks include: the affective networks (where learners evaluate the internal and external environment to set priorities, to motivate, and to engage learning and behavior), the recognition networks (where learners sense and perceive information in the environment and transform it into usable knowledge), and the strategic networks (where learners plan, organize, and initiate purposeful actions in the environment). Each of these networks tend to be spatially distinguishable in the brain: the affective networks are generally situated in the center of the brain, the recognition networks are located in the back/posterior regions, and the strategic (motor) networks are positioned in the anterior/front of the brain. While it should be noted that all the networks work together, CAST focuses on this simplified model of the brain to highlight what is relevant for the learning brain and to try to understand and plan for learner variability.

The current version of the UDL Guidelines, UDL Guidelines 3.0, more accurately reflects the fact that each of the three large networks has a vertical organization as well. At the access row, the processing is often unconscious and automatic. At the executive function row, the processing is often conscious and intentional. The early iterations of the UDL Guidelines focused on reducing certain barriers related to ability and disability, and not on barriers related to biases and exclusion that learners experience due to discrimination. For example, previous iterations focused on barriers that arise when information is presented only in printed text. Version 3.0 expands to focus on barriers that arise from curriculum that is non-representative of a diversity of perspectives and identities.

How can the Guidelines be used?

The UDL Guidelines are not meant to be a prescription or a checklist, but a tool that offers a set of suggestions that can be applied to instructional design to reduce barriers, sustain and honor learners’ multiple identities, and maximize learning opportunities according to specific learning goals. In many cases, educators find that they are already incorporating aspects of the Guidelines into practice. However, learners may still be experiencing barriers to their learning, and educators may still be incorporating methods and materials that may unintentionally create these barriers. The UDL Guidelines offer a structure for proactively uncovering and addressing these barriers and for intentionally designing learning environments and experiences that more fully honor and value every learner.

Why are there multiple versions of the Guidelines, and how have they evolved over time?

The evolution of CAST’s UDL Guidelines has been and continues to be a dynamic, collaborative, and research-based process. We shared the first version of the Guidelines — Guidelines 1.0 — in 2008. Since that time, we have continued to incorporate feedback from the field as well as expand research in the areas of UDL, education, cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, disability studies, inclusive education, and asset-based pedagogies. CAST is committed to this iterative process of learning from the latest research findings across these fields. The current version, UDL Guidelines 3.0, marks CAST’s fifth iteration. Each of these representations has a particular goal and traces our learning not only as an organization, but as a UDL field more broadly.

The first iterations experimented with different arrangements of the UDL Guidelines graphic organizer over time. While there is no set order in which to apply the UDL Guidelines, these different arrangements were meant to support educators’ understanding of UDL. First, we shifted the way the three UDL Principles were presented. The first two versions of the UDL Guidelines (version 1.0 and version 2.0) presented the UDL principles in the following order: Provide Multiple Means of Representation, Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression, and Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. With UDL Guidelines version 2.1 in 2014, a shift was made to this order. Instead of beginning with the UDL principle, “Provide Multiple Means of Representation,” this version begins with “Provide Multiple Means of Engagement.” This shift was meant to highlight the essential role that engagement plays in learning and was motivated by the literature as well as educators’ input. Since version 2.1, Engagement has remained as the first principle in the graphic organizer representation.

Second, there was a shift in how we presented the horizontal rows of the Guidelines in the graphic organizer. As noted above, there is no set order in which to apply the Guidelines; the way we apply UDL is driven by our goals and the barriers present in the learning environment. Yet, we recognize that many people use this document as one way to begin their learning about UDL. Versions 1.0 and 2.0 began with the access row at the top, as we had found that considering ways to reduce barriers and increase access can be a useful entry point. Then, Version 2.1 switched the order of the rows, and the access row moved to the bottom. However, based on feedback from practitioners, the order was switched back, and the access row was at the top once again in version 2.2. We hoped that this representation would support educators who were new to UDL to explore access as a critical step. At the same time, we hoped that this representation would inspire educators to continue their learning and apply UDL for aims beyond access as well. Since version 2.2, the access row has remained the top row of the graphic organizer.

This most recent iteration marks the most extensive update yet. UDL Guidelines 3.0 focuses specifically on addressing barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion. While the Guidelines had become a valuable tool to help practitioners design for learner variability, we recognized that gaps and biases existed. Practitioners and researchers alike called for an update to make stronger connections to identity as part of variability and to address systemic bias. This expanded version responds to their call and aims to fulfill the promise of the Guidelines as a resource to guide the design of learning environments and experiences that reduce barriers and more fully honor and value every learner. For a detailed description of the expansions included in UDL Guidelines 3.0 and the rationale behind each and every update, please explore “UDL Guidelines 3.0: Rationale for Updates.” And for a detailed description of our community-driven, research-based process to update the Guidelines and develop version 3.0, please explore the FAQ: “What process was used to update UDL Guidelines 3.0?” Finally, for a reflective essay from CAST Co-founder David Rose on the importance of expanding the UDL Guidelines, please explore “Cracks in the Foundation.”

The Downloads page offers a history of all the iterations developed since 2008. We look forward to the ongoing evolution of the UDL Guidelines as we continue to learn from research and feedback from the UDL community.

Why are the numbers of the Guidelines and considerations out of order?

The numbering began with version 1.0 as a way to refer to specific guidelines and checkpoints. However, we understand that the numbering may be a little confusing now that they are out of order.The first two versions of the UDL Guidelines (versions 1.0 and 2.0) presented the UDL principles in the following order: Provide Multiple Means of Representation, Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression, and Provide Multiple Means of Engagement. With UDL Guidelines version 2.1 in 2014, a shift was made to this order. Instead of beginning with the UDL principle “Provide Multiple Means of Representation,” this version begins with “Provide Multiple Means of Engagement” to highlight the essential role that engagement plays in learning. However, the numbering of the guidelines and associated checkpoints did not change, and therefore the numbering remains out of order. You can download Guidelines 3.0 with numbers or without numbers depending on your preference.

Do all of the Guidelines have to be applied at once for fidelity?

You certainly do not need to use every UDL guideline or consideration in a single learning opportunity. In fact, some guidelines or considerations may not be relevant to certain learning goals. The first step in applying the UDL framework to practice is to define a specific, challenging learning goal. This clarity will allow you to strategically mix and match guidelines and considerations that reduce barriers and support every learner in reaching the learning goal.

Focusing on the learning goal supports educators to identify and reduce construct-irrelevant barriers so learners can access and engage with the construct-relevant learning goals. In other words, UDL helps educators keep desirable challenges in a learning experience and remove unnecessary barriers.

What tools and resources support the application of each Guideline?

Many tools and resources can be used in support of a learning goal and can align to various UDL Guidelines and considerations. These tools and resources may integrate the latest digital technology or can be low- or no-tech options as well. However, the resources and tools themselves are not what makes a lesson or learning experience “UDL.” Instead, UDL is a framework to think about how different tools and resources can be leveraged to reduce barriers and support every learner to engage in challenging ways of thinking. We hope the Guidelines will support educators to develop and internalize a UDL-mindset to proactively incorporate tools and resources in the service of clear and rigorous learning goals.

What exactly has changed in Guidelines 3.0?

UDL Guidelines 3.0 builds upon previous iterations and emphasizes addressing barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion. This expanded version aims to fulfill the promise of the Guidelines as a resource to guide the design of learning environments and experiences that reduce barriers and more fully honor and value every learner.

In terms of overarching themes, the Guidelines have been expanded to more fully:

• Emphasize identity as part of variability. Previous iterations have emphasized the remarkable variability among learners in terms of how they engage with learning (Multiple Means of Engagement, the “why” of learning), how they perceive information (Multiple Means of Representation, the “what” of learning), and how they act on and express what they know (Multiple Means of Action and Expression, the “how” of learning). This current iteration also emphasizes learners' multiple and intersecting identities as part of variability. This "who" of learning is a dimension that is woven across all three UDL principles.
• Acknowledge individual, institutional, and systemic biases as barriers to learning without limits.
• Emphasize the value of interdependence and collective learning.
• Shift from educator-centered to learner-centered language. Guidelines 3.0 intentionally uses verbs that can be used interchangeably among and between educators and learners to spark flexibility and creativity in ways to apply the Guidelines. Depending on the learning goal, educators, learners, or educators and learners together might apply specific Guidelines.

In terms of overarching themes across the three principles, expansions include:

Engagement

• Centering, affirming, and sustaining learners’ interests and identities
• Emphasizing the role of belonging in teaching and learning
• Promoting the role of joy and play for learners and educators alike
• Cultivating empathy and repairing harm with restorative practices

Representation

• Authentically representing a diversity of identities, perspectives, and narratives
• Considering perceptions of people, cultures, and languages
• Valuing multiple ways of knowing and making meaning

Action and Expression

• Honoring and valuing a wide variety of forms of communication
• Centering and valuing forms of expression that have been historically silenced or ignored by addressing biases
• Challenging exclusionary practices to build more accessible, inclusive spaces and systems

For a detailed description of the expansions included in UDL Guidelines 3.0 and the rationale behind each and every update, please explore “UDL Guidelines 3.0: Rationale for Updates”

For a side-by-side comparison of what changed from Guidelines version 2.2 to Guidelines version 3.0, please explore: "Changes from Guidelines 2.2 to Guidelines 3.0"

What process was used to update the UDL Guidelines and develop version 3.0?

In 2020, CAST launched our most recent effort to update the UDL Guidelines with a specific focus on addressing barriers rooted in biases and systems of exclusion. From the start, we committed to a community-driven, research-based, inclusive, and transparent updating process. We recognized that the field of UDL was robust and CAST could not engage in this work alone. We created a balanced approach that prioritized and centered learning from both practitioners' and other community members' feedback. We also updated all of the research to ensure it is current and relevant. As part of this process, we:

• Established an Advisory Board, a UDL Guidelines Collaborative, and a Young Adult Advisory Board to guide and inform our work.
• Conducted more than 40 focus groups (181 participants including teachers, instructional coaches, professional development leaders, faculty members, researchers, etc.) to learn from their perspectives, lived experiences, and feedback.
• Examined and reviewed 1,156 unique titles included in the research base for previous iterations of the UDL Guidelines to understand the balance of different dimensions including: publication date, research field, methodological approach, epistemological perspectives, author positionalities, research setting/target population, theoretical framework, and alignment with asset-based research that centers populations that have been historically marginalized. Overall, the findings from the review indicated that the research base is narrow in terms of representation of each of the dimensions reviewed and demonstrated compelling reasons to update and expand the research base.
• Conducted systematic literature reviews to update and expand the research base to address gaps and biases that were illustrated by the phase one review and to include a greater diversity of voices, perspectives, and research that is asset-based in nature. More than 420 individual searches were conducted. Throughout the process, we also explored research outside of the systematic reviews that was shared with us by the UDL community, our Advisory Board, Guidelines Collaborative, and Young Adult Advisory Board, as well as through our own exploration. To explore this updated research base, please explore the Research Pages. To learn more about our process to update and explore the research base, please explore the recording from our CAST Free Webinar held on July 16, 2024: Deep Dive into the Expansion of the Research Base for UDL Guidelines 3.0.
• Shared a Summary of Proposed Updates in February 2024 for public comment.
• Held a CAST Free Webinar in March 2024 to launch the draft of Guidelines 3.0 for public comment. This included a Draft Graphic Organizer and the Full Draft of Guidelines 3.0.
• The feedback on the Summary and the Draft generated a total of 239 responses from 28 countries. We also facilitated group feedback sessions (authors who published with CAST Publishing, NEA’s Disability Rights Resource Cadre, etc.) and individual feedback meetings. All feedback was synthesized and analyzed to uncover themes and patterns to inform the final version of UDL Guidelines 3.0. For each theme or pattern that surfaced, we explored it alongside the themes and patterns that emerged throughout our three years of conducting focus groups, meeting with our Advisory Board, Guidelines Collaborative, and Young Adult Board, and reviewing the literature to make a final determination as to whether we wanted to make change in the draft.
• We launched UDL Guidelines 3.0 at CAST’s UDL-Con on July 30, 2024 via a live celebration on social media.

How do Guidelines 3.0 connect to other asset-based approaches and theoretical frameworks?

The UDL Guidelines 3.0 seeks to put UDL in conversation with other asset-based approaches and theoretical frameworks, highlighting the promise and potential of UDL as a partner in elevating learner variability within specific pedagogies (e.g., Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy) and offering practical guidance for applications of theoretically aligned frameworks (e.g., Funds of Knowledge, Disability Studies). The UDL Guidelines 3.0 seeks to make the intersections between these asset-based approaches explicit and highlight their complementary nature.

How can I give feedback on the Guidelines?

We welcome your feedback as we continue to iterate on UDL Guidelines in the future. Your perspectives are critical to the future development of the UDL Guidelines as we work to make this tool more reflective of expanding research and perspectives from the field. Please contact CAST to share your questions, research, resources, and ideas.