K-12, Multiple Representations of the Same Objects

A UDL Pathway to Accessible Educational Materials

Abstract

The explosion of Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) made possible by technologies, materials and manipulatives creates a UDL pathway to using multiple representations of the same object to meet the needs of varying student populations, learning styles and preferences for different attributes; possibly at the same time. Educators have become aware that they can cross over exceptionalities to use materials, manipulatives and technologies to meet the needs of general education, special education, gifted, sighted and visually impaired students, etc. In this paper, a modified version of Jerome Bruner’s mathematical Concrete to Abstract theory, is used as a mnemonic device to provide an organizational structure for a variety of science materials. This concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) model can be generalized to other subject areas.