ABSTRACTSTRATEGIES THAT TEACHERS IMPLEMENT TO HELP STUDENTS ACCESS THE GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM: INVESTIGATING THE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING By Barbara MeierTeachers today are being asked to teach to a broad range of learners (D. Rose, Sethuraman, & Meo, 2000a; Schumm, Vaughn, Haager, McDowell, & et al., 1995) and traditional instruction in not adequate to address students' instructional needs (Coyne, Kameenui, & Carnine, 2007). Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has been suggested as a way to address those needs. This study investigated three independent variables, 1) teachers' level of UDL familiarity; 2) teacher assignment (i.e., general education, special education); and 3) years teaching to determine whether a difference existed between each independent variable and how K-12 public school teachers implement instructional strategies and technology that align with UDL, in their classrooms to help student's access the general education curriculum. This study employed survey and interview protocol to assess the instructional strategies and technology teachers implemented. Data from 14 special education and 42 general education teachers was analyzed using both MANOVAs and Crosstabulations. This study suggests that while teachers implement many of the instructional strategies that align with and underlie UDL they do not do so with the intent of implementing UDL. Overall, teachers did not have a high level of knowledge about the theory of UDL. One MANOVA was significant and addressed differences between teacher familiarity with UDL and the implementation of instructional strategies for the component, provide adjustable levels of challenge. One Crosstabulation indicated that special education teachers implemented instructional strategies for the component provide multiple opportunities to practice with supports at a statistically higher level than general education teachers.
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