Designing for variability

Section 1 of four

How this landscape is organized

This is the accessibility work of a learning design practice, gathered in one place. It draws on two branches: Accessibility, which concerns access at the level of an individual person and the obligation an institution holds toward them, and Universal Design for Learning, which concerns designing for the predictable range of learners before any individual request is made. The two are related but not the same, and the arrangement here keeps them distinct while showing where they meet.

Resources are arranged in seven groups by what they are for, rather than by which branch they grow on. A group therefore holds resources from both branches where the question they answer is shared. Each resource names its home branch so the distinction is never lost. Groups are given in alphabetical order.

Every resource states the bodies of knowledge it rests on and cites its sources by number to the reference list in Section 4. Where a resource is still in development, it is marked as such: the grounding and sources are settled, and the written resource is not yet published.

Two kinds of relationship are given for each resource. Most related is calculated from sources and themes held in common, and surfaces resources that answer similar questions from different groups. Connected resources are the direct relationships recorded on the map — the resources a reader is likely to need alongside this one.

Section 2 of four

What is here

4 resources in this group — 4 from Universal Design for Learning. Resources from other groups are named where they are closely related; the full landscape carries all thirty-five.

Visit the Designing for variability page · All seven groups in one page

Section 3 of four

Every resource, in full

Sources are written out in full here as well as numbered, so that following a reference is never necessary to understand an entry.

Designing for the predictable range of learners. Distinct from disability, and kept distinct here: variability is a design premise, disability is a relationship between a person and an environment.

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale

The thesis the other UDL work inherits

Published resource

Designing from the outset for the full, predictable range of human variability, so the environment fits diverse learners rather than a mythical average one. It is the worldview that grounds every other contribution on this branch.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Universal Design for Learning (CAST; Rose & Meyer)

Themes. Variability, Scale

Sources

Reference 1: Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD.
Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Variability · 1 shared source
Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — Variability · 1 shared source
Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — Scale · 1 shared source
From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Variability · 1 shared source
Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — 1 shared source

Connected resources

From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Rights, duty and accommodation

Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners

The engagement principle in practice

In development

Designing multiple pathways into motivation for learners who arrive with very different reasons for being there, including those who would rather not be. Where engagement is not solved, little downstream can land.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Newer or contested

Grounding. UDL engagement principle; adult learning

Themes. Motivation, Variability

Sources

Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
Reference 3: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Variability · 1 shared source
From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Variability · 1 shared source
Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — 1 shared source
Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Variability · 1 shared source

Connected resources

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges

Multiple entry points and pathways

In development

Designing entry so newcomers and experienced practitioners can each begin where they are, without boring the one or losing the other. It is a representation-principle problem common to every sector.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Newer or contested

Grounding. UDL representation principle

Themes. Variability, Access

Sources

Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — Variability · 1 shared source
Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost

The production economics of flexibility

In development

Making multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression economically feasible at scale, increasingly with AI-assisted production. It is the meta-capability that makes the rest affordable to deliver.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Newer or contested

Grounding. Learning technology; AI-assisted design

Themes. Scale, Iteration

Sources

Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
Reference 4: Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Scale · 1 shared source
Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — 1 shared source
Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — 1 shared source
From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — 1 shared source
Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — 1 shared source

Connected resources

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Section 4 of four

References and resources

The theory, law, and standards these resources are rooted in, listed once and cited by number above. Peer-reviewed, statutory, and institutional sources link directly. Books, reports, and legislation are cited in full so they can be found in any library catalogue or official register.

Universal Design for Learning1. Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD.
Universal Design for Learning2. CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
https://udlguidelines.cast.org
Motivation3. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Learning sciences4. Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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Every resource on this page reflects applied work carried out with learners, design teams, and partner organizations, and is grounded in the scholarship listed above. An interactive version of this map presents the same content as a navigable diagram.