{"id":32,"date":"2026-06-27T20:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T00:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/chapter\/learner-agency-and-udl\/"},"modified":"2026-06-28T07:14:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T11:14:24","slug":"learner-agency-and-udl","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/chapter\/learner-agency-and-udl\/","title":{"raw":"Learner Agency and UDL","rendered":"Learner Agency and UDL"},"content":{"raw":"The concept of learner agency lies at the heart of UDL efforts. Take a moment and think about this phrase.\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>What does learner agency mean to you?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Can you think of some examples of how students might exercise agency over their learning?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>What does this look like in your own teaching practice?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nOne way to think about this more concretely is as follows:\u00a0If you were asked to write a letter of reference for a student, and the guidelines specifically asked you to comment on how the student demonstrated agency in their learning, what would you point to as evidence of this? Just for yourself, try writing a few sentences about this in the box below as you would in a reference letter, keeping one or more of your past students in mind.\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"8\"]\r\n\r\nWhat sorts of things did you mention? Perhaps your student demonstrated evidence of what we call metacognition, or the ability and willingness to think about the act of thinking itself - recognizing, for example, where they might need to shore up specific skills to be successful on a project or re-plan out their work in a different way when they encounter an unexpected obstacle. Maybe they chose an essay or presentation topic that would allow them to explore an aspect of their own identity or culture, integrating their own lived experience with their more-abstract learning. Perhaps they made use of specific institutional resources, like consulting librarians or exploring archives, that were not required by the assignment and yet enhanced their overall work. Maybe they offered support to their peers in the course without specific prompting, recognizing that fostering others\u2019 success is a worthy goal for both their own and others\u2019 learning.\r\n\r\nThere are many different ways that a student can demonstrate agency, and, as in these examples, the result is usually a superior learning experience and a more positive orientation toward the subject matter. Perhaps your own love for the subject that you study or teach was sparked similarly? Was there a specific course, project, or teacher who helped you to claim agency over your own learning and set you on the path that brought you to where you are now?\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_90\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"238\"]<img class=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5326164 wp-image-90 size-medium\" title=\"Image by Slobodan Dimitro\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.openedmb.ca\/app\/uploads\/sites\/200\/2026\/06\/Paulo_Freire_1977-238x300.jpg#fixme\" alt=\"Paulo Freire with a beard and glasses.\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" \/> Paulo Freire[\/caption]\r\n\r\nUDL seeks to foster the design of learning environments in which learning is purposeful, reflective, resourceful, authentic, strategic, and action-oriented \u2013 and all of these are linked with learner agency. At its foundation, the UDL framework is a significant movement away from what famed Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire derisively termed <a id=\"new-window1\" class=\"new-window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beds.ac.uk\/jpd\/journal-of-pedagogic-development-volume-2-issue-3\/key-pedagogic-thinkers-paulo-friere\/\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cthe banking model of education\u201d<\/a>.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_47\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-47 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.openedmb.ca\/app\/uploads\/sites\/200\/2026\/05\/pexels-shvets-production-7203727-300x200.jpg#fixme\" alt=\"Person in orange sweater with cardboard box labeled 'BRAIN' over head, hand dropping red 'IDEA' card into box opening\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/> Depositing Knowledge[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\"Depositing\" information into students as if they were passive containers and towards a more liberatory approach to education, which recognizes students as creative meaning-makers who have the potential to change themselves and the world around them. Facilitating ownership over learning increases engagement and commitment, fosters a desire for further learning beyond the course, and can even reduce some of the problems and stresses involved in teaching \u2013 more engaged and agentive learners are less likely to involve themselves in academic misconduct or turn in last-minute, carelessly produced work, for example.","rendered":"<p>The concept of learner agency lies at the heart of UDL efforts. Take a moment and think about this phrase.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<ul>\n<li>What does learner agency mean to you?<\/li>\n<li>Can you think of some examples of how students might exercise agency over their learning?<\/li>\n<li>What does this look like in your own teaching practice?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>One way to think about this more concretely is as follows:\u00a0If you were asked to write a letter of reference for a student, and the guidelines specifically asked you to comment on how the student demonstrated agency in their learning, what would you point to as evidence of this? Just for yourself, try writing a few sentences about this in the box below as you would in a reference letter, keeping one or more of your past students in mind.<\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-8\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-8\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"8\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Note-Taking \/ Documentation Tool\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>What sorts of things did you mention? Perhaps your student demonstrated evidence of what we call metacognition, or the ability and willingness to think about the act of thinking itself &#8211; recognizing, for example, where they might need to shore up specific skills to be successful on a project or re-plan out their work in a different way when they encounter an unexpected obstacle. Maybe they chose an essay or presentation topic that would allow them to explore an aspect of their own identity or culture, integrating their own lived experience with their more-abstract learning. Perhaps they made use of specific institutional resources, like consulting librarians or exploring archives, that were not required by the assignment and yet enhanced their overall work. Maybe they offered support to their peers in the course without specific prompting, recognizing that fostering others\u2019 success is a worthy goal for both their own and others\u2019 learning.<\/p>\n<p>There are many different ways that a student can demonstrate agency, and, as in these examples, the result is usually a superior learning experience and a more positive orientation toward the subject matter. Perhaps your own love for the subject that you study or teach was sparked similarly? Was there a specific course, project, or teacher who helped you to claim agency over your own learning and set you on the path that brought you to where you are now?<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_90\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-90\" style=\"width: 238px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=5326164 wp-image-90 size-medium\" title=\"Image by Slobodan Dimitro\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.openedmb.ca\/app\/uploads\/sites\/200\/2026\/06\/Paulo_Freire_1977-238x300.jpg#fixme\" alt=\"Paulo Freire with a beard and glasses.\" width=\"238\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-90\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Paulo Freire<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>UDL seeks to foster the design of learning environments in which learning is purposeful, reflective, resourceful, authentic, strategic, and action-oriented \u2013 and all of these are linked with learner agency. At its foundation, the UDL framework is a significant movement away from what famed Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire derisively termed <a id=\"new-window1\" class=\"new-window\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beds.ac.uk\/jpd\/journal-of-pedagogic-development-volume-2-issue-3\/key-pedagogic-thinkers-paulo-friere\/\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cthe banking model of education\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_47\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-47\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-47 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.openedmb.ca\/app\/uploads\/sites\/200\/2026\/05\/pexels-shvets-production-7203727-300x200.jpg#fixme\" alt=\"Person in orange sweater with cardboard box labeled 'BRAIN' over head, hand dropping red 'IDEA' card into box opening\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-47\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Depositing Knowledge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;Depositing&#8221; information into students as if they were passive containers and towards a more liberatory approach to education, which recognizes students as creative meaning-makers who have the potential to change themselves and the world around them. Facilitating ownership over learning increases engagement and commitment, fosters a desire for further learning beyond the course, and can even reduce some of the problems and stresses involved in teaching \u2013 more engaged and agentive learners are less likely to involve themselves in academic misconduct or turn in last-minute, carelessly produced work, for example.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-32","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":27,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/32","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/32\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/32\/revisions\/72"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/27"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/32\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=32"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openstudio.pub\/designingonlinecoursesthroughudllens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=32"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}