Principle of Representation - Guideline 3 - Criterion 4

Universal Design for Learning

Principle of Representation - Guideline 3 - Criterion 4

When developing a course using the first principle of Universal Design for Learning, there are three specific guidelines to assist us. The third, Comprehension focuses on maintaining clarity about the content provided.

Criterion 4 of this guideline advocates that we maximize transfer and generalization so students can apply learning to new contexts.

Each learner varies in the amount of scaffolding necessary for memory and information transfer in order to access prior learning. Offering assistance in how to transfer the information to new situations, accelerates the learning process. Without this ability, the learned information may become inaccessible in new situations. Supports for memory, generalization, and transfer include techniques designed to heighten the memorability of the information can be assisted by:

• Providing checklists, organizers, notes, electronic reminders
• Prompting the use of mnemonic strategies and devices
• Incorporating explicit opportunities for review and practice
• Providing templates, graphic organizers, concept maps to support organizing the information learned
• Scaffolding the content to connect new information to prior knowledge
• Embedding new ideas in familiar ideas and contexts
• Providing explicit, supported opportunities to generalize learning to new situations
• Offer opportunities over time to revisit key ideas and linkages between ideas

By following these suggestions, your course will assist students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line the Principle of Representation in the Theory of Universal Design for Learning.