CAST is a nonprofit organization working to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through the research, development, and dissemination of educational approaches based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This pioneering approach encompasses three primary principles: 1) Multiple means of representation - giving options for acquiring information, 2) Multiple means of action and expression - providing options for students to demonstrate what they know, 3) Multiple means of engagement - tapping into student interests to increase motivation when offering appropriate challenges.

Enhanced UDL Lesson Builder

Based upon the UDL framework, CAST is creating a web-based professional development package to support lesson development for candidates in teacher preparation programs and in-service high school teachers. The professional development package will be designed as an interactive learning environment following UDL principles with numerous opportunities for progress monitoring, feedback, communication and collaboration.

The professional development package will include:
• A foundation in Universal Design for Learning; and
• A practical guided tool that applies UDL to high school curriculum development and whose social media capacities build a UDL community of practice.

This project will support teacher candidates and current high school teachers as they strive to develop instructional approaches that meet rigorous Common Core State Standards and support the diverse learners in their classrooms. Learning about and applying UDL principles will empower teachers and teacher candidates to meet the needs of all students, including those from socio-economically disadvantaged areas, racial and ethnic minority communities, English language learners and students with a range of disabilities.

Meet the Project Leaders

Samantha Daley, Ed.D., Co-Project Director (sdaley@cast.org)
Samantha Daley is a research scientist at CAST, where she investigates the relationship between emotions and cognitive performance of students, particularly those with learning disabilities. She is the Project Director for a grant funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focused on implementation of UDL at the district and school level to improve reading across the curriculum for middle school students. She also worked closely with teachers to incorporate UDL in middle- and high-school science curriculum in projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. She holds a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has also published work in Mind, Brain, and Education, for which she was co-editor of a special section, and the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability.

Grace Meo, M.Ed., Co-Project Director (gmeo@cast.org)
Ms. Meo manages CAST's programs for preK-20 teachers and administrators. She has helped to create tools for teachers to understand and assess their implementation of the UDL framework including the UDL Online Modules, the UDL Curriculum Self Check, the initial prototype UDL Lesson Builder, the UDL Bookbuilder; and the Teaching Every Student Website. Ms. Meo also oversees a national consortium of schools that collaborate with CAST on researching, designing, modeling, and disseminating universally-designed materials and practices that address the needs of all learners. Ms. Meo leads CAST’s state level professional development initiatives. In addition, she leads the onsite institutes at CAST. She received a Masters in Early Childhood Education from Boston College Graduate School of Education.

Learn more about the Enhanced UDL Lesson Builder by clicking here.