Abstract
The traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to curriculum denies the vast individual differences in learning strengths, challenges, and interests. The focus of this article is a novel approach, called Universal Design for Learning, to addressing the challenge of individual learner differences. Cognitive science research suggests the joint action of three broad sets of neural networks in cognition and learning: one that recognizes patterns, one that plans and generates patterns, and one that determines which patterns are important. These networks, referred to in this paper as recognition, strategic, and affective networks, are subject to individual differences that impact how individual students learn. This paper describes these networks and how the Universal Design for Learning framework makes use of this networks-based perspective to structure the consideration of individual learner differences and guide the design of a flexible, technology-rich curriculum that provides rich options for meeting diverse student needs.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
http://www.cast.org/
References
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D.: Impaired judgments of sadness but not happiness following bilateral amygdala damage. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 16, 453–462 (2004)
Adolphs, R., Tranel, D., Damasio, A.R.: The human amygdala in social judgment. Nature. 393, 470–474 (1998)
Assor, A., Kaplan, H., Kanat-Maymon, Y., Roth, G.: Directly controlling teacher behaviors as predictors of poor motivation and engagement in girls and boys: the role of anger and anxiety. Learn. Instr. 15, 397–413 (2005)
Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., Anderson, S.W.: Dissociation of working memory from decision making within the human prefrontal cortex. J. Neurosci. 18, 428–437 (1998)
Bechara, A., Tranel, D., Damasio, H., Adolphs, R., Rockland, C., Damasio, A.R.: Double dissociation of conditioning and declarative knowledge relative to the amygdala and hippocampus in humans. Science 269, 1115–1118 (1995)
Bennett, R. E.: Inexorable and inevitable: the continuing story of technology and assessment. J. Technol. Learn. Assess. 1 (2002). Retrieved 8 December 2006 from http://escholarship.bc.edu/jtla/vol1/1/
Bennett, R.E., Goodman, M., Hessinger, J., Kahn, H., Ligget, J., Marshall, G., Zack, J.: Using multimedia in large-scale computer-based testing programs. Comput. Human Behav. 15, 283–294 (1999)
Bernard, M.: It’s time we teach social-emotional competence as well as we teach academic competence. Read. Writ. Quart. 22, 103–119 (2006)
Blackorby, J., Wagner, M., Cameto, R., Davies, E., Levine, P., Newman, L., Marder, C., Sumi, C.: Seels: engagement, academics, social adjustment, and independence: the achievements of elementary and middle school students with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.seels.net/info_reports/engagement.htm. Accessed 31 March 2005 (2004)
Brusilovsky, P.: Adaptive navigation support in educational hypermedia: the role of student knowledge level and the case for meta-adaptation. Br. J. Educ. Technol. 34, 487–497 (2003)
Calder, A.J., Keane, J., Manes, F., Antoun, N., Young, A.W.: Impaired recognition and experience of disgust following brain injury. Nat. Neurosci. 3, 1077–1078 (2000)
CAST: National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard Report—Version 1.0. CAST, Wakefield, MA (2004)
Challis, D.: Committing to quality learning through adaptive online assessment. Assessment Eval. High. Educ. 30, 519–527 (2005)
Collins, A., Brown, J.S., Newman, S.E.: Cognitive Apprenticeship: teaching the Crafts of Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ (1989)
Conlon, E.G., Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., Creed, P.A., Tucker, M.: Family history, self-perceptions, attitudes and cognitive abilities are associated with early adolescent reading skills. J. Res. Read. 29, 11–32 (2006)
Connell, B.R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M., Vanderheiden, G.: The principles. Retrieved from http://www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud/univ_design/princ_overview.htm. Accessed 10 June 2004 (1997)
Cytowic, R.E.: The NEUROLOGICAL side of Neuropsychology. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (1996)
Dalton, B., Coyne, P.: Universally Designed Digital Picture books to Support Beginning Reading in Children with Cognitive Disabilities.In: 52nd Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference. San Antonio, Texas (2002)
Dalton, B., Kennedy, M., Lutz, L., Schleper D.: Shared Reading Project: chapter by chapter—Thinking Reader. CAST Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Wakefield, MA (2005)
Dalton, B., Pisha, B., Eagleton, M., Coyne, P., Deysher, S.: Engaging the text: final report to the U.S. Department of education. CAST, Peabody (2002)
Dalton, B.D., Herbert, M., Deysher, S.: Scaffolding students’ response to digital literature with embedded strategy supports: the role of audio-recording vs. Writing student response options. In: Proceeding of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the National Reading Conference, Scottsdale, AZ (2003)
Damasio, A.D.: Descartes’ error: emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York, Putnam (1994)
Dolan, R.P., Hall, T.E., Banerjee, M., Chun, E., Strangman, N.: Applying principles of universal design to test delivery: the effect of computer-based read aloud on test performance of high school students with learning disabilities. J. Technol. Learn. Assess. 3 (2005). Retrieved 8 December 2006 from http://escholarship.bc.edu/jtla/vol3/7/
Efklides, A., Petkaki, C.: Effects of mood on students’ metacognitive experiences. Learn. Instr. 15, 415–431 (2005)
Farah, M.J.: The cognitive Neuroscience of Vision. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA (2000)
Frieden, L.: Improving educational outcomes for students with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.educationalpolicy.org/pdf/NCD.pdf. Accessed 8 September 2004 (2004)
Fuster, J.M.: Cortex and Mind: Unifying cognition. Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2003)
García, J.N., De Caso, A.M.: Effects of a motivational intervention for improving the writing of children with learning disabilities. Learn. Disability. Q. 27, 141–159 (2004)
Glaser-Zikuda, M., Fur, S., Laukenmann, M., Metz, K., Randler, C.: Promoting students’ emotions and achievement–instructional design and evaluation of the ecole-approach. Learn. Instr. 15, 481–495 (2005)
Goldberg, E.: The Executive Brain: frontal Lobes and the Civilized Mind. Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2001)
Graves, A.W., Levin, J.R.: Comparison of monitoring and mnemonic test-processing strategies in Learning disabled students. Learn. Disability Q. 12, 232–236 (1989)
Hock, M.F., Deshler, D.D., Schumaker, J.B.: Tutoring programs for academically under-prepared college students: a review of the literature. J. Coll. Read. Learn. 29, 101–122 (1999)
Jacques, R., Preece, J., Carey, T.: Engagement as a design concept for multimedia. Can. J. Educ. Commun. 24, 49–59 (1995)
Jeannerod, M.: The cognitive Neuroscience of Action. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA (1997)
Konrad, K., Neufang, S., Hanisch, C., Fink, G.R., Herpertz-Dahlmann, B.: Dysfunctional attentional networks in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Evidence from an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T4S-4H6PKT5-7&_coverDate=09%2F28%2F2005&_alid=370038815&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=4982&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=df835f3ce85ea175a657415c6c19a526. Accessed 23 February 2006 (2005)
Kozma, R.: The material features of multiple representations and their cognitive and social affordances for science understanding. Learn. Instr. 13, 205 (2003)
Lane, R.D., Nadel, L. (eds.): Cognitive Neuroscience of Emotion. Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2000)
Ledoux, J.: Synaptic Self: How Our Brains become Who We are. Penguin, New York (2003)
Lindner, J.L., Rosen, L.A.: Decoding of emotion through facial expression, prosody and verbal content in children and adolescents with asperger’s syndrome. J. Autism. Dev. Disord. (2006)
Luria, A.: The Working Brain: an Introduction to Neuropsychology. Basic Books, New York (1973)
MacArthur, C.A., Haynes, J.B.: Student assistant for Learning from text (salt): a hypermedia reading aid. J. Learn. Disabil. 28, 150–159 (1995)
Mastropieri, M.A., Scruggs, T.E., Shiah, R.-L.: Can computers teach problem-solving strategies to students with mild mental retardation? A case study. Rem. Spec. Educ. 18, 157–165 (1997)
McFarlane, A.E., Williams, J.M., Bonnett, M.: Assessment and multimedia authoring–a tool for externalising understanding. J. Comput. Assist. Lear. 16, 201–212 (2000)
McNamara, D.S., Levinstein, I.B., Boonthum, C.: Istart: interactive strategy training for active reading and thinking. Behav. Res. Methods. Instrum. Comput. 36, 222–233 (2004)
Meloy, L.L., Deville, C., Frisbie, D.A.: The effect of a read aloud accommodation on test scores of students with and without a Learning disability in reading. Rem. Spec. Educ. 23, 248–255 (2002)
Meyer, A., Rose, D.H.: Learning to Read in the Computer Age. Brookline Books, Cambridge, MA (1998)
Meyer, A., Rose, D.H.: The future is in the margins: the role of Technology and Disability in Educational Reform. In: Rose, D.H., Meyer, A, Hitchcock, C. (eds.) The Universally Designed Classroom: accessible Curriculum and Digital Technologies. Harvard Education Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 18–51 (2005)
Mountcastle, V.B.: Perceptual Neuroscience. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1998)
Murray, E., Hall, T.: Science Writer: a Universally Designed Thinking Writer for Science. CAST Wakefield, MA (2006)
National Center for Education Statistics.: Digest of Education Statistics, 2003. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov//programs/digest/d03/. Accessed 31 March 2005 (2003)
O’Boyle, M.W., Cunnington, R., Silk, T.J., Vaughan, D., Jackson, G., Syngeniotis, A., Egan, G.F.: Mathematically gifted male adolescents activate a unique brain network during mental rotation. Brain. Res. Cogn. Brain. Res. 25, 583–587 (2005)
Ochsner, K.N., Bunge, S.A., Gross, J.J., Gabrieli, J.D.: Rethinking feelings: an fmri study of the cognitive regulation of emotion. J. Cogn. Neurosci. 14, 1215–1229 (2002)
Pailliotet, A.W., Semali, L., Rodenberg, R.K., Giles, J.K., Macaul, S.L.: Intermediality: bridge to critical media literacy. Read. Teach. 54, 208 (2000)
Palinscar, A.S., Brown, AL.: Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cogn. Instr. 1, 117 (1984)
Palmer, B.M., Codling, R., Gambrell, L.: In their own words: what elementary students have to say about motivation to read. Read. Teach. 48, 176–178 (1994)
Panksepp, J.: Affective Neuroscience: the Foundations of Human and Animal Emotions. Oxford University Press, New York, NY (1998)
Pisha, B., Coyne, P.: Smart from the start: the promise of universal design for Learning. Rem. Spec. Educ. 22, 197–203 (2001)
Plass, J.L., Chun, D.M., Mayer, R.E., Leutner, D.: Cognitive load in reading a foreign language text with multimedia aids and the influence of verbal and spatial abilities. Comput. Human. Behav. 19, 221 (2003)
Pressley, M., Woloshyn, V. (eds.): Cognitive Strategy Instruction that Really Improves Children’s Academic Performance. Cognitive Strategy Training Series. Brookline Books, Cambridge, MA (1995)
Proctor, P., Dalton, B., Grisham, D.: Scaffolding English language learners and struggling readers in a digital environment with embedded strategy instruction and vocabulary support. J Lit Res (in press) (2006)
Rose, D.H., Dalton, B.: Using technology to individualize reading instruction. In: Block, C.C., Gambrell, L.B., Pressley, M. (eds.) Improving Comprehension Instruction: rethinking Research, Theory, and Classroom Practice. Jossey Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA 257–274 (2002)
Rose, D.H., Meyer, A.: Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Alexandria, VA (2002)
Rosenshine, B., Meister, C.: Reciprocal teaching: a review of the research. Rev. Educ. Res. 64, 479–530 (1994)
Sadler-Smith, E., J., Smith, P.: Strategies for accommodating individuals’ styles and preferences in flexible learning programmes. Br J Educ Technol 35, 395–412 (2004)
Salomon, G.: Of mind and media. Phi. Delta. Kappan. 78, 375 (1997)
Sandak, R., Mencl, W.E., Frost, S.J., Pugh, K.R.: The neurobiological basis of skilled and impaired reading: recent findings and new directions. Sci. Stud. Read. 8, 273–292 (2004)
Seung, Y., Kyong, J.S., Woo, S.H., Lee, B.T., Lee, K.M.: Scientific Studies of Reading Brain activation during music listening in individuals with or without prior music training. Neurosci. Res. 52, 323–329 (2005)
Shaywitz, S.E., Shaywitz, B.A.: Reading disability and the brain. Educ. Leadersh. 61, 7 (2004)
Shaywitz, S.E., Shaywitz, B.A.: Dyslexia (specific reading disability). Biol. Psychiatry. 57, 1301–1309 (2005)
Silani, G., Frith, U., Demonet, J.F., Fazio, F., Perani, D., Price, C., Frith, C.D., Paulesu, E.: Brain abnormalities underlying altered activation in dyslexia: a voxel based morphometry study. Brain. 128, 2453–2461 (2005)
Snow, C.E., Burns, M.S., Griffin, P.: Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council, Washington, DC (1998)
Song, S.H., Keller, J.M.: Effectiveness of motivationally adaptive computer-assisted instruction on the dynamic aspects of motivation. Educ. Technol. Res. Dev. 49, 5–22 (2001)
Strangman, N., Hall, T.E., Meyer, A.: Graphic Organizers With UDL. NCAC, Wakefield, MA (2003)
Strangman, N., Hall, T.E., Meyer, A.: Virtual reality/simulations with UDL. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_vrudl.html. Accessed 29 July 2005 (2003), file://%5C%5CFileserver1%5CWriting%20Resources%5CArticles%20by%20and%20About%20CAST%5CDigital%20Versions%20of%20Articles%5CStrangman%20and%20Hall%202003%20virtual%20reality%20and%20udl.pdf
Stuss, D.T., Knight, R.T. (eds.): Principles of Frontal Lobe Function. Oxford University Press, New York, NY (2002)
Theall-Honey, L.A., Schmidt, L.A.: Do Temperamentally Shy Children Process Emotion Differently than Nonshy Children? Behavioral, Psychophysiological, and Gender Differences in Reticent Preschoolers. Dev. Psychobiol. 48, 187–196 (2006)
US Department of Education.: Twenty-third Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. US Department of Education, Washington, DC (2001)
Villaverde, J.E., Godoy, D., Amandi, A.: Learning styles’ recognition in e-learning environments with feed-forward neural networks. J. Comput. Assist. Learn. 22, 197–206 (2006)
Vygotsky, L.S., Hanfmann, E., Vakar, G.: Thought and Language. MIT Press, Wiley, New York (1962)
Zeman, J., Cassano, M., Perry-Parrish, C., Stegall, S.: Emotion regulation in children and adolescents. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr. 27, 155–168 (2006)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rose, D.H., Strangman, N. Universal Design for Learning: meeting the challenge of individual learning differences through a neurocognitive perspective. Univ Access Inf Soc 5, 381–391 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-006-0062-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-006-0062-8