Education / Outreach
Everyone Together Concept Paper - Universal Education: A Design for Learning
Universal Education: A Design for Learning
Adopted February 13, 2003
Everyone Together and its member networks define Universal Education: A Design for Learning as:
“An approach to education that creates learning environments which are inherently designed for diversity, thus making natural educational settings accessible to all children, all together, all the time.”
This definition represents a conscious decision to move away from a teaching methodology that directs instruction to an “average” student in a “traditional” classroom. Universal Education embraces a differentiated approach to learning that acknowledges that all children learn differently, enter the classroom at different academic levels, and have very diverse abilities, disabilities, and innate skills, gifts and talents. The myth of general education classrooms where all children are performing at grade level must be dispelled. Universal Education: A Design for Learning is a philosophy that would build learning environments that are inherently flexible and accessible, thus benefiting all learners.
The Everyone Together concept of Universal Education embraces techniques like authentic multi-level teaching and differentiated instruction so that classrooms are inherently designed to meet the needs of all our diverse learners without ability groupings and pull-out programs. All students, not only those with educational “labels,” benefit from educational environments which are flexible and serve a wide range of student learning styles and needs, thus enabling students to learn in the ways that are the most natural, comfortable and effective for them.
We conclude that Universal Education: A Design for Learning benefits all students. It is the right thing to do for all children, all together, all the time.
copyright 2002 Everyone Together
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