Creating an Inclusive Classroom with Universal Design for Learning

Walk into any preschool classroom and you’ll find children who learn in wonderfully different ways – one child absorbs everything through touch, another through song, a third through watching a demonstration. When a child also has an intellectual disability, those differences become even more pronounced. The challenge for an early childhood educator is not to treat every child identically, but to ensure that every child has a genuine, meaningful opportunity to participate and succeed. This is precisely what Universal Design for Learning (UDL) sets out to achieve – and it is one of the most powerful frameworks available for building a truly inclusive classroom.

What is Universal Design for Learning? 🔗

UDL is an educational framework developed by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology) that guides educators in designing learning environments which are accessible and meaningful for all children from the very start. The name draws from the architectural concept of Universal Design – the idea that buildings should be built to accommodate everyone, not retrofitted later for people with disabilities. In the same way, UDL insists that educational experiences be made inclusive for all potential learners from the outset, rather than being designed for the majority first and adapted for others afterward.

In early childhood settings, this is especially significant. UDL supports all children, including those with disabilities, to engage more fully in learning – and it does not replace individualized curriculum modifications, but complements them. Its goal is to eliminate the barriers built into the design of learning itself, so that no child is excluded before the teaching even begins.

Equality of opportunity – not identical treatment 🔗

A common misconception about inclusive education is that it means giving every child the exact same experience. UDL challenges this notion directly. The UDL framework allows every child to learn and thrive in the classroom, making it a useful tool for closing achievement gaps and building equity and inclusion in early childhood education. This is equality of opportunity – not equality of method.

For a child with an intellectual disability, optimal opportunity might mean receiving a concept through a song and a physical gesture rather than a verbal explanation alone. For another child, it might mean having more time, a smaller step size, or a visual cue card to follow along. The point is that UDL is designed to make education more responsive to the diversity of learners by removing barriers – not by lowering expectations, but by creating multiple pathways to meet them. High expectations remain constant; the flexibility lies in how children get there.

The three principles of UDL 🔗

The UDL framework is built on three principles that guide educators to plan more than one way to engage students, to represent content, and to promote student expression. Each principle maps to a different network in the brain and addresses a different dimension of learning.

Multiple means of representation – the “what” of learning 🔗

This principle is about how information is presented to children. Not all children perceive and understand information in the same way. Educators should consider that learners will have a variety of ways in which they perceive information, recognise patterns, and construct knowledge – and should therefore present the same concept through multiple formats. In a preschool setting, this could mean pairing a spoken instruction with a visual picture card, demonstrating a task physically, and offering a tactile object to explore. For children with intellectual disabilities, interventions such as e-books, shared stories, audio systems, and hands-on educational activities – all grounded in UDL principles – have been shown to be effective in academic, social, and behavioural outcomes.

Multiple means of engagement – the “why” of learning 🔗

Engagement is about motivation – why a child wants to participate in learning at all. When designing with this principle in mind, educators proactively plan more than one way to incorporate students’ interests and identities to encourage their efforts and develop their persistence. For young children, this might mean connecting a counting activity to a child’s favourite toy, offering a choice between two tasks, or using movement and music to maintain attention. Choice matters enormously in early childhood – it builds autonomy, reduces anxiety, and keeps children invested in what they are doing.

Multiple means of action and expression – the “how” of learning 🔗

This principle recognises that children demonstrate knowledge in different ways. All individuals, including those with disabilities, approach learning tasks very differently – some may prefer to express themselves through gesture rather than words, through building rather than drawing. In an inclusive preschool, this means giving children choices in how they show what they know – pointing to a picture, arranging objects, speaking aloud, or using an assistive communication device. For students with intellectual disabilities, active, tactile, and responsive instruction – paired with timely feedback – offers practical ways to reinforce understanding and build long-term independence.

Key teaching strategies for implementing UDL 🔗

Understanding UDL at the level of principles is important, but what does it look like in actual teaching practice? Several flexible instructional strategies help translate UDL into the daily classroom routine.

Multi-sensory teaching 🔗

Multi-sensory teaching engages more than one sense at a time during instruction. Rather than relying solely on verbal explanation, the teacher incorporates visual, auditory, tactile, and movement-based elements together. UDL is described as “the intersection” of multi-sensory teaching, multiple intelligences, differentiated instruction, and other inclusive approaches – meaning multi-sensory teaching is not a separate strategy but is built directly into the UDL approach. For a child learning the concept of “big and small,” this might mean saying the words, showing pictures of different sizes, handling large and small blocks, and stretching arms wide or closing them in to represent the difference physically.

Task analysis 🔗

Task analysis involves breaking a skill or activity down into small, sequential steps that a child can manage one at a time. Rather than presenting a complex activity as a whole, the educator identifies each component and teaches or prompts each step individually. This is particularly valuable for children with intellectual disabilities, for whom multi-step instructions can be overwhelming. The UDL guidelines suggest developing short-term objectives for long-term goals and using prompts to clarify outcomes – task analysis is a direct application of this. A simple routine like washing hands before snack can be broken into six or eight small steps displayed as picture cards on the wall, allowing a child to follow independently.

Demonstration-prompt-practice 🔗

This strategy follows a structured sequence: the educator first demonstrates the skill clearly, then provides a prompt or cue as the child attempts it, and finally gives the child space to practise independently with decreasing support over time. It is particularly effective because it combines modelling (a form of representation), scaffolded support (a form of engagement), and active participation (action and expression) – making it a naturally UDL-aligned method. Repetition and timely feedback, when combined with hands-on methods, help learners with intellectual disabilities gain confidence and build long-term independence.

Differentiated instruction 🔗

While UDL and differentiated instruction are related, they work differently. UDL is a proactive framework that offers multiple means of representation, action, expression, and engagement – while differentiated instruction is a responsive teaching approach in which the teacher modifies content and process to meet the needs of individual students. Think of UDL as designing a buffet where all children can find something accessible; differentiated instruction is the chef adjusting specific dishes for specific guests. In practice, both work together. A teacher using UDL designs a shape-sorting activity with materials at varying levels of difficulty, visual cues, and options for how children can sort – and then uses differentiated instruction to provide one-on-one support to a particular child who needs a different kind of prompt.

The classroom environment as a UDL tool 🔗

UDL is not only about teaching methods – it is also about how the physical space is set up. A good space acts like a second teacher. Clear activity centres with picture labels at children’s eye level, open pathways for mobility, a calm corner with a visual schedule, low shelving so children can access materials independently – these features reduce the need for adult intervention and allow children to navigate the room with confidence. For a child with an intellectual disability, a predictable and visually organised environment significantly reduces cognitive load, allowing more mental energy to be directed toward learning itself.

UDL supports learning environments, materials, and activities that are planned ahead of time with the aim of welcoming all learners – and this includes the physical arrangement of the classroom as much as it includes lesson plans and teaching methods.

The role of the educator’s mindset 🔗

One of the most important – and often underappreciated – aspects of UDL is what it asks of the educator’s own attitude. A teacher does not need to be a specialist in every disability category to implement UDL effectively. What matters is a genuine desire to help every child participate, combined with the confidence to try different approaches and the creativity to adapt when one method doesn’t work.

When you use UDL, you assume that barriers to learning are in the design of the environment – not in the student. This shift in perspective is fundamental. Instead of thinking “this child cannot do this activity,” the UDL-oriented teacher asks “what is preventing this child from accessing this activity, and what can I change?” That simple reframing moves the locus of responsibility from the child’s limitations to the educator’s design choices – and opens up a much wider space for problem-solving.

Continuous professional development and inclusive training play a critical role in promoting effective UDL implementation, but even without formal training in disability, an observant and reflective teacher can make meaningful adaptations. Noticing that a child loses focus during circle time and responding by offering a fidget tool or a seat closer to the front is UDL thinking in action. It does not require expertise – it requires attention, flexibility, and care.

UDL isn’t something you simply check off a list; it’s a mindset, a framework for approaching planning in a dynamic, iterative way. For early childhood educators working with children with intellectual disabilities, this iterative mindset is particularly valuable. Children’s needs shift as they develop, and what works in one week may need adjustment the next. A teacher who sees this not as a failure but as useful information is already practising UDL at its core.

UDL and families as partners 🔗

A UDL-informed classroom does not exist in isolation from the home. Families hold essential knowledge about their children – their triggers, their interests, what calms them, what excites them – and this information is invaluable for planning effective inclusive learning. UDL concepts can also be applied to the relationship with families – offering multiple ways for families to participate and using multiple methods for communicating. Inviting a parent to share one strategy that works at home, sending a daily note highlighting a child’s strength, or asking families what their child finds comforting – these small actions build the partnership that makes inclusive education sustainable and effective.

What do you think? If every child in a preschool classroom is already learning in different ways, does that mean all early childhood educators are already practising UDL – or is there something more deliberate and structured that sets UDL apart from simply “good teaching”? And when a child with an intellectual disability still struggles to participate despite a teacher’s best UDL efforts, where does the responsibility lie – with the instructional design, the environment, the level of support, or something else entirely?

References

1. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
2. https://www.cast.org
3. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02667363.2022.2111677
4. https://headstart.gov/publication/universal-design-learning-udl
5. https://mybrightwheel.com/blog/universal-design-for-learning
6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9788711/
7. https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/udl/cresource/q1/p03/
8. https://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression/
9. https://www.mentalhealth.com/library/effective-teaching-methods-intellectual-disabilities
10. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ979433.pdf
11. https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/special-education/universal-design-for-learning-udl-guidelines
12. https://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/UDL-IC.pdf
13. https://www.childcareed.com/a/what-is-a-simple-starter-guide-to-universal-design-for-learning-udl-in-early-childhood.html
14. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/understanding-universal-design-for-learning
15. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1690487/abstract
16. https://www.novakeducation.com/blog/what-are-the-udl-guidelines