Growing diversity in today's classrooms increases the need for teachers to individualize instruction. At the same time, heightened concern about student achievement mandates that teachers meet specific local, state, and national standards. These two factors, learning standards and student diversity, seem to pose conflicting priorities. How can teachers set goals that address standards while supporting the unique propensities of each learner?

The key is to design a goal that represents the true purpose of the learning activity. This sounds obvious but actually many goals are stated in a way that confuses means and ends. Only when the essential learning purpose is clear can we determine the educational focus for all learners. At the same time, a clear goal enables us to determine which alternative pathways and scaffolds can be used to meet diverse learning needs while keeping the learning challenge where it belongs.

The UDL Goal Setter Tutorial steps you through the process of analzying learning standards and benchmarks through the lens of UDL. Using a selected set of standards and benchmarks, the tutorial helps you learn to analyze what is essential to a goal and what can be changed and varied to support different learners.

The UDL Goal Setter Tool supports you in refining your own goals for use in the classroom.