University of Delaware
Education & Human Development

Center for Disabilities Studies

Quick Links
  • Quick Links
    • Programs at CDS
    • Contacts at CDS
    • CDS Opportunities
    • Our Annual Report
    • Upcoming Events
    • Close
Make a Gift to the center
  
Make a Gift to the center
Main Menu
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Our Core Connections
    • Our Funding
    • CDS by the Numbers
    • Our Team
    • Our Advisory Council
    • Support CDS
  • What We Do
    • At a Glance
    • Assistive Technology
    • K-12 Education
    • University Education
    • Transitions to Adulthood
    • Autism Initiatives
    • Health & Wellness
    • Advocacy
  • Publications
    • Our Annual Report
    • Peer-Reviewed Research
    • Book and Chapter Citations
    • Posters and Presentations
    • CDS Reports
    • The delAware
    • AT Messenger
  • Videos & Slideshows
    • About CDS
    • Advocacy
    • Assistive Technology
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Events
    • Health and Wellness
  • Blog
    • Inclusion Blog
  • News
    • From CDS
    • Outside CDS
    • Opportunities at CDS

Education strategy uses accommodations to create flexible learning environment for all students

Posted on May 3, 2018

Originally published May 3, 2018 by Center for Disabilities Studies
Share
Amy Brown discussing Universal Design For Learning
CDS's Amy Brown discusses the Universal Design for Learning model.

When educators plan ahead to eliminate accessibility barriers in their lessons and classrooms, they benefit students with and without disabilities, the Center for Disabilities Studies’ Esley Newton and Amy Brown said yesterday at CDS’s Lunchtime Learning workshop in Newark.

Newton and Brown apply this philosophy, which informs an educational approach called Universal Design for Learning (UDL), in their work with the Adapting Curriculum and Classroom Environments for Student Success (ACCESS) Project.

UDL, Newton said, stems from an architectural movement that sees accessible design elements, such as wheelchair ramps, curb cuts, wide hallways and flat panel light switches, as beneficial to all users, not just people with disabilities. UDL translates this to the classroom by encouraging educators to consider obstacles students may face, then proactively incorporate accommodations. The result is a curriculum that offers students multiple ways to absorb, apply and communicate information.

In this way, Newton explained, educators can empower learners with a wide range of needs, language abilities, cultural backgrounds, attention spans and learning styles.    

“In education, we often assume that what works for us will work for our students as well,” Brown said. However, she asked, “Why do we assume one approach is a reasonable way to accommodate all the diversity” of the student population?

Newton’s and Brown’s PowerPoint presentation is available online here.

Share
[widget id=”rpwe_widget-3″]

This entry was posted in About CDS, News and tagged Adapting Curriculum and Classroom Environments for Student Success, K-12 Education, Lunchtime Learning, universal design for learning.

More news from CDS

  • Practice traffic stop program hopes to limit the anxiety for autism community

    Practice traffic stop program hopes to limit the anxiety for autism community

    May 30, 2025
  • Heartbeat of Delmarva: Zach Simpler

    Heartbeat of Delmarva: Zach Simpler

    December 6, 2024
  • Autistic drivers get real-world experience with police

    Autistic drivers get real-world experience with police

    November 4, 2024
Center for Disabilities Studies

461 Wyoming Road

Newark, DE 19716

Phone: 302-831-6974

TDD: 302-831-4689

UD
  • UD Twitter
  • UD Facebook
  • UD Instagram
  • UD YouTube
  • UD Pinterest
  • UD Linkedin
©2025 University of Delaware
Comments
Legal Notices
Accessibility Notice