Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Higher Education: A Case Study in LTH

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is considered an approach to include all students in the university. UDL is based on three main principles providing multiple means of Engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression. It is relevant for teachers and departments to focus on more flexibility for students to get the required information, expressing their thoughts and knowledge, and enhancing their motivation to learn. This project aims to investigate the possibility of implementing the UDL in the teaching style of the Faculty of Engineering (LTH), Lund University. Two main approaches were considered in this project. The first one was to interview an expert at LTH about the implementation of UDL at LTH. The second one was to analyze three self-experienced teaching situations according to the UDL guidelines. The results of this project stated that LTH management is considerably serious about UDL, and they already planned a seminar series for training teachers at LTH on how to implement UDL in their course design. The analyses for the three different teaching situations showed that the UDL guidelines provide options for making these teaching and learning experiences much better for both teachers and students. We concluded that the UDL is a vital tool to improve teaching in the higher education sector, in Sweden and worldwide.