CAST: Forty years of learning without limits

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As a child, George had challenges with speaking, reading, and writing. In a time when no one knew exactly how to label or diagnose these challenges, he was placed in a separate school for students with disabilities before the first grade.

Some of the biggest challenges faced by students with disabilities or learning differences is stigma and discrimination, arising from the idea that they don’t fit in standard education systems. Fortunately, George’s mother Joanne was determined to explore every option for his learning, including advocating for George’s learning needs and even volunteering in his classrooms.

Joanne’s growing interest in helping children with disabilities led her to become a community leader around inclusion. Eventually, she discovered the Pioneer Program run by CAST, a small educational service clinic in Boston offering coaching for individuals with a variety of disabilities.

Leveraging George’s deep interest in weather, horses, and painting, CAST’s Pioneer Program helped George learn computer skills and grow his confidence as a learner and a communicator. Joanna’s passion for CAST’s work led her to volunteer as a member of the Board for a decade.

Now in its fortieth year, CAST has evolved from developing personalised solutions for individuals, to creating approaches that benefit everyone. It has grown in scope, size, and impact, from one Boston clinic to an influential US-based not-for-profit organisation changing lives worldwide.

“Research shows that the way people learn is as unique as their fingerprints. That’s why CAST will be here until learning has no limits,” says Lindsay Jones, chief executive officer. “We envision a world where all learning – whether in school, work, or life – is designed to elevate strengths and eliminate barriers. This gives everyone the opportunity to grow and thrive.”

CAST carries out research and develops innovative approaches to teaching and learning, as well as guidelines and standards. It also provides professional development support, technical assistance, and outreach.

One of the core drivers of change is CAST’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework to optimise teaching and learning for all people, based on the science of how people learn. This framework was built over decades of experience of working with children like George and their families.

CAST developed the UDL guidelines based on extensive research into how students, particularly those with disabilities, learn. The guidelines give educators practical ideas for how to design for students with learning differences, and provide students with multiple means to present their learning. By incorporating the UDL principles of Engagement, Representation, and Action and Expression into a curriculum and teacher instructional practices, students are provided with multiple ways of learning. In this way, all students, including those with learning differences, have an equal opportunity to succeed.

“Students need to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for learning – a well-designed curriculum helps them do all three,” explains Lindsay. “UDL gives teachers practical tools to create a curriculum with goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone.”

To achieve this, educators follow UDL’s three principles to create more interactive lessons:

Representation, i.e., presenting information on new topics in different ways, such as graphics, animations, and vocabulary guides.

Action and expression, such as allowing students to approach a new task in different ways, with different options to express what they know.

Engagement, so that students are offered a range of ways to engage with – and stay interested in – a topic.

“Thinking inclusively benefits more people than you’d expect,” says Lindsay. “A good example is subtitles – designed for people with hearing loss, but also brilliant for learning a new language, or watching a movie with the volume down. In the same way, adapting learning materials can benefit everyone.”

Watch this video to find out more about the framework:

UDL’s benefits are certainly far-reaching. In New Hampshire, where UDL has been implemented statewide, students are becoming experts in their own learning styles. 54 per cent of teachers reported that students have become more goal-oriented, 50 per cent noticed an increase in resourcefulness, and 44 per cent said students were more motivated to learn.[1]

Thanks to the hard work of researchers, educators, students, and advocates, the framework is recognised as a leader in its field. Former Harvard Law School dean, Martha L Minow, has described it as “one of the few big and truly transformative ideas to emerge in education over the past two decades”.

When the US Department of Education unveiled the much-anticipated 2024 National Education Technology Plan (NETP) in January, its transformative vision for bridging the digital learning gap had UDL principles at its heart.

And in June this year, CAST celebrated a historic milestone as Senate Resolution 723 recognised 40 years of UDL, its pivotal role in supporting educators, and its achievement in breaking down barriers for everyone.

“The resolution is not just a recognition of the past 40 years, but a beacon for the future of education,” says Lindsay. “It highlights the relentless efforts of our UDL community to ensure that every learner has the opportunity to succeed.”

Oak supports CAST and its work on UDL as part of our Learning Differences Programme. We believe that together we can build a world in which schools unlock the creativity and power of every young person, and equip them to shape more just and equitable communities. If you would like to read the final report on the New Hampshire UDL Innovation Network, please click here. You can also read an article on the topic of UDL by Lindsay Jones, CEO of CAST, here.

[1] The New Hampshire UDL Innovation Network: Year 5 Report (2022)