UDL – Interaction is More than Participation

Friday, 10/31/2025

At the CTL, our theme for this semester is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Each Teaching Minute explores one component of the updated UDL Guidelines, and we're sharing a few options for small adjustments you can make to your teaching. This Teaching Minute shifts our focus to UDL’s attention to interaction, which addresses how learners navigate courses, interact with materials, and express what they know.

What is Interaction in UDL?

CAST's explanation of the interaction guideline emphasizes:

Education must be accessible to every student, regardless of ability status. Accessibility means a commitment to eliminating barriers that prevent some students from participating in class or using certain course materials. The UDL framework asks us to imagine a wide variety of students and to plan our courses accordingly. The interaction guideline involves both physical and digital possibilities.

Why Interaction Matters

The guideline for interaction focuses attention on the ways course materials and physical environments are prepared. Students’ participation is greatly affected by how we make textbooks and instructional materials available and how we make use of the physical space in our classrooms, labs, and field settings.

Making course materials available in accessible formats promotes inclusivity. Accessible instructional materials benefit everyone. Various modes of accessibility make documents easier to navigate, make dialogue in video or audio clear, and make images and figures legible. Similarly, making the physical dimensions of our learning environments easy to navigate, with options, opens up participation in more ways for all learners.

Practical Ideas to Try

• Use headings in the texts and material you prepare for students. Microsoft’s Office Suite and other word processors and presentation software allow:
  • Titles, headings and subheaders that make the structure of texts clear
  • Use of navigation sidebars
• Provide captions and/or transcripts for audio and video. While auto-generated captions are available in many programs, human-created or human-edited captions are more accurate (and required for accommodation). The Office of Accessibility Services provides free captioning services for UVM faculty.
• Create physical options for movement and grouping in learning environments. In addition to ensuring that the physical space in your room is navigable—no blocked doorways or aisles—consider whether options for flexible seating, lighting, or working areas could enhance participation options.

Digging Deeper

• The UVM Office of Accessibility Services offers accessibility support for faculty, including toolkits and a checklist.
• The CTL’s page on accessible course materials offers easy strategies for getting started.

If you want to talk through how UDL could work in your own course, the CTL team is here to brainstorm ideas, share strategies, or connect with upcoming workshops. Schedule a consultation with us to keep the conversation going!

Happy teaching!

Center for Teaching & Learning 
www.uvm.edu/ctl
ctl@uvm.edu