Options for Welcoming Interests and Identities

Providing choice for learners helps them design the learning conditions that work for them. Providing a variety of organizational tools can also help learners manage cognitive load and screen fatigue. Opportunities for agency and independence are vital to engage and interest learners. Consider providing opportunities for learners to choose:

• the type of rewards or recognition available;
• the tools used for information gathering or production;
• content, colour, design, graphics, layouts;
• the sequences or timing to complete subcomponents of tasks; and
• the design of classroom activities and academic tasks.

Vary activities and sources of information so that they can be:

• personalized and contextualized to learners’ lives;
• culturally relevant and sustaining;
• socially relevant; and
• inclusive of different racial, cultural, ethnic, and gender groups.

Design activities so that learning outcomes are:

• authentic;
• communicate to real audiences;
• reflect a purpose that is clear to the participants;
• allow for active participation, exploration, and experimentation;
• invite personal responses, evaluation, and self-reflection to content and activities; and
• include activities that foster the use of imagination to solve novel and relevant problems.

Vary the level of novelty or risk:

• Charts, calendars, schedules, visible timers, and cues can increase the predictability of daily activities and give advance notice of novel events.
• Create class routines.
• Create a welcoming, non-judgemental, and supportive classroom climate. 

Vary the level of sensory stimulation:

• Moderate the presence of background noise or visual stimulation by adding noise buffers or limiting the number of features or items presented at a time.
• Vary the pace of work, length of work sessions, availability of breaks, or timing or sequence of activities.
• Vary the social demands required for learning or performance, and the requirements for public display and evaluation.
• Involve all participants in whole class discussions.

Create an accepting and supportive learning culture by:

• Exploring how educator and learner biases can impact the learning environment
• Creating space and ways for learners to share the biases, threats, and distractions they may be experiencing
• Nurturing a culture where mistakes are a part of the learning process

Learning environments that foster joy and play are essential to the learning process, supporting curiosity, imagination, and relationship-building for learners of all ages. Playful experiences enhance engagement and spark new understandings, offering a pathway to joy from early childhood through adulthood. For historically marginalized learners, joy can also serve as a powerful act of resistance against systemic oppression, exemplified by the concept of Black Joy, which emphasizes freedom, imagination, community, and love. Recognizing learner variability, a UDL approach advocates for flexible and inclusive environments that help each learner discover their unique sources of joy.

• Encourage diverse forms of play, including outdoor, sensory, imaginative, and artistic play.
• Provide opportunities for exploration, experimentation, and discovery.
• Create spaces that connect joy to learners’ identities, sense of self, and communities.
• Celebrate learners’ accomplishments to build pride and confidence.
• Use storytelling to inspire and engage.