Prioritizing Universal Design for Learning at The Pearl Remote Democratic High School

Professional development is a key part of any educator’s life. At The Pearl Remote Democratic High School, our teachers meet weekly to explore new concepts or dig deeper into the best practices we already use. We know that a commitment to our continual learning is foundational to our students' success. We began the 2025-26 academic year by building our skills on implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework for inclusive and accessible teaching that is uniquely suited to microschool contexts and perfectly aligned with The Pearl’s guiding principles.

CAST, the non-profit organization that developed UDL, organizes the framework through three guiding principles: Engagement, Representation, and Action and Expression. During our professional development sessions, we reviewed these principles, walked through a sample assignment design, and then invited teachers to begin thinking of just one change they could make this term to incorporate one of these principles. While UDL is important in any educational context, microschools have the advantage of small class sizes where teachers are already well acquainted with their students and focused on making the learning experience highly personalized (9 Principles for Microschooling). UDL provides a structure that simplifies the teacher’s work while increasing students' engagement opportunities.

Although anyone can design their educational experiences using UDL, it takes intentional planning and effort. At The Pearl, we include UDL in our Teacher's Manual, provide continuing education and professional development on it to our teachers, and engage in regular discussions about how to incorporate the principles into our lessons, activities, and assessments. We also emphasize the Plus-One Approach, recommended by UDL researchers Thomas Tobin and Kirsten Behling. If educators are new to UDL, it can feel overwhelming at first because it is so comprehensive. The Plus-One Approach recommends you pick a single change to incorporate initially, then add one more each term. Becoming proficient in UDL takes time and is iterative. However, small changes and consistent actions yield exponential results! By designing for inclusion from the start, teachers can provide flexible lessons aligned with the personalized philosophy of microschooling without spending extra time customizing for each student.

Curiosity is the spark that ignites learning at The Pearl, and therefore, we regularly see how UDL benefits our learners. Aligning with the Engagement principle of the UDL guidelines, students play an active role in deciding what they want to learn for the term, and teachers design classes to foster curiosity. When students are curious, they become more motivated, engaged, and creative. During their learning process, our students do not rely on a textbook or on a single type of learning material.

We incorporate UDL’s Representation principles by utilizing multiple resources—videos, articles, guest speakers, and hands-on materials—to present information in diverse ways that meet different learning needs. In a curiosity-driven classroom, students themselves serve as excellent resources, too! Student learning outcomes are assessed dynamically at the Pearl, and in keeping with the Action and Expression principle of UDL, students are always given multiple options to demonstrate their understanding. Our students have choices and a sense of ownership in their learning, and they gain expertise in their chosen topics.

Microschools are uniquely positioned to incorporate the UDL framework, as teachers already think in terms of personalized, flexible, student-centered learning design. UDL provides guidance for doing that important work, grounded in learning science and accessibility best practices. By ensuring equitable access and appropriate challenges for everyone, UDL recognizes that students thrive when they can engage in meaningful ways that let them focus on the learning goal rather than the logistical barriers they may encounter in achieving it. UDL is for everyone—just like microschools!