Balanced Instructional Support and Challenge in Universally Designed Learning Environments

Abstract

This article suggests a future where accessibility and the universal design of the physical education environment is no longer an issue and where the focus is on universal design for learning. The supports and scaffolds necessary to ensure progress for all learners will, from the very beginning, be built into the instructional methods and learning materials thus reducing the need for remediation and enabling full participation in the general curriculum by all learners. Access to digital information and flexible, portable communication and learning technologies will be pervasive and necessary to achieve the goals of full access, participation, and progress by diverse learners. The author's vision of the future shifts the focus from modification and accommodation of learning opportunities to universal design.