What does it mean to adapt curriculum?
All students, regardless of placement in an inclusive classroom or specialized school, are required to be involved and make progress in the general education curriculum 10. Making modifications and adapting curriculum materials plays an important role in ensuring equal access for all students. In its simplest form, curriculum adaptation refers to adjustments to the way existing educational content is presented and/or the ways in which a student engages and demonstrates understanding of the content 12. These adaptations aim to ensure that the content is accessible to all students. Examples of curriculum adaptations include talking books and symbol-supported response boards for answering questions about academic topics.
Universal design for learning (UDL) refers to a philosophy and growing emphasis to design, develop and implement instructional approaches that provide multiple means of representation, multiple means of action and expression, and multiple means of student engagement 5. UDL is not focused on defining just one approach that meets the needs of all students, but rather, calls for a variety of instructional strategies and tools to meet the unique needs of individual students. Symbols and technology play an important part in realizing the dream of UDL.