Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI) both exist to address the varying needs of students. They serve the same root function, and are often confused with one another. Some professionals even use the two terms interchangeably. But UDL and DI are actually completely different things. They may look similar in action, but their differences become clear when we look at how they are used.
What is UDL?
Universal Design for Learning is an approach to teaching in which teachers plan multiple pathways for students to access material or complete a task. Using UDL helps teachers anticipate student needs before the lesson takes place. While it takes a certain amount of preparation to put these supports in place, UDL equips students with the ability to make their own choices about their learning. The teacher provides options that address a variety of learning needs, styles, and preferences, and students are able to decide which option best suits their needs. Universal Design for Learning is more student-focused in that it gives students the autonomy to choose their learning path.
What is DI?
Differentiated Instruction also addresses multiple needs in a classroom. But instead of providing everyone with multiple options, DI prescribes certain content or tasks to certain students based on how they have performed or are performing. Differentiated Instruction is more teacher-focused. Teachers, instead of students, dictate who needs what, and when.
Which One is Better?
Choosing one over the other would be like committing to only eating either fruits or vegetables. They both have their benefits. UDL is a crucial component of effective lesson planning, while DI helps ensure that teachers are being responsive to individual student needs. Both play an important role in well-designed and well-implemented instruction.
Let’s look at some examples of situations for which each one would be best-suited.
Example # 1: When a teacher forms guided reading groups in order to teach explicit skills in phonics and/or comprehension, these groups should be data-driven and therefore, differentiated. Book clubs, on the other hand, which typically enrich students’ experience with books as opposed to teaching explicit skills, can be planned using UDL. In the latter, teachers would provide book options, and students would choose their preference(s). There are, of course, a multitude of ways to differentiate within those book clubs by providing the same text on multiple reading levels, for example.
Example # 2: After scoring a math test, a teacher may want to re-teach skills that certain students struggled with. Since not every student will need the same skills reinforced, these groups would be most effectively formed by the teacher. This is an example of DI. In this situation, the teacher knows best who needs to reinforce which skills. Besides, students are not necessarily always best at choosing what they “need” over what they “want!” Within those groups, however, every student may choose to either practice the reinforced skill independently or with a partner. Providing this option is an example of planning learning activities using UDL.
The Bottom Line
The best teachers incorporate both UDL and DI in their classrooms, and are purposeful in when and how they use them. In virtually all learning experiences, there are opportunities to embed both UDL and DI in order to address as many needs as possible. This way, we are setting our students up to be successful, while also giving them ownership over their learning.
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