Date
03 December 2024

Prepare the physical and virtual environments for flexibility and personalisation

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Planning using UDL in intermediate and secondary settings’

Student-led design for diversity

Student-led design for diversity

Consider how you support student agency in the inclusive design of your learning space.

Expect and plan for variability

Expect and plan for variability

Ensure all learners, staff and students can equitably access and participate in learning environments.

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Source: Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Source:
Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Ensure furniture supports learning

Ensure furniture supports learning

Often the simplest resources will support accelerated learning if students are given the agency to personalise the environment.

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Source: Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Source:
Ministry of Education | Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga

Plan for flexibility

Plan for flexibility

Create physical and virtual spaces that students can adjust to meet their needs and the demands of the task.

Inclusive environments are responsive to our varying need to “work together or alone, in silence or with noise, standing or sitting, passively or actively, with technology and without it, indoors and outdoors.

Mark Osborne

Reflection questions

Reflection questions

Reflect on the following questions for your context.

  • How can we more effectively involve all students in the design of our flexible learning space?
  • How can we improve the design of online environments to remove barriers to access and engagement?
  • Can our learning space be changed and rearranged based on user needs and preferences at that time?
  • How can the layout of the environment minimise threats and distractions to learning?
  • How can the layout of the environment create opportunities for connection and collaboration?
  • What regular processes do we have to seek student and whānau feedback on the usefulness of our physical and online environments?

Useful resources

Useful resources

Website

UDL Virtual tour

An interactive 360 deg tour of a high school classroom to see every day examples of UDL. To navigate through the classroom, click and drag the mouse to the left or right. Click on hotspots and magnifying glasses to zoom in on specific examples. Use the map to locate and see a brief description of each UDL support.

Publisher: Maryland Learning Links

Visit website

Website

5 ways to improve student voice and choice

Five practical suggestions to support student engagement in the classroom through student voice and choice.

Publisher: 4 O'Clock Faculty

Visit website

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Design considerations in secondary settings”:

Return to the guide “Universal Design for Learning”

Guide to Index of the guide: Universal Design for Learning

Strategies for action:

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