Our team has the incredible privilege to teach educators all over the world about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Introducing UDL, its core tenets, principles, and what it looks like in practice is such an important step to support educators in shifting to more flexible and inclusive classrooms.
Fast forward two months (or two years) after training. When we reconnect with a client, one of the most common conversations we have with school and district leaders at this stage goes something like this:
"We had great feedback from the training, but when we walk into classrooms, we are still seeing a lot of traditional instruction. I think we need more professional development.”
I completely understand why leaders reach that conclusion. If UDL isn't being implemented consistently after a professional learning workshop or series, it seems logical that educators need more training. And sometimes that's true. If the initial professional learning was brief, lacked opportunities for practice, or did not build a shared understanding of what UDL looks like in classrooms, additional learning may be the right next step.
However, when educators have already experienced high-quality professional learning, more workshops alone are rarely the solution. In my experience, the challenge is often not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of implementation support. Educators understand the concepts and genuinely want to apply them, yet translating new ideas into daily practice is difficult without opportunities for feedback, coaching, collaboration, and ongoing refinement.
To put it simply, in most cases, the issue isn't a lack of knowledge. It's a lack of application.
Let me explain with an analogy. Imagine you've decided you want to get healthier. You probably don't need another book explaining that vegetables are good for you or that exercise improves your health. You already know those things. The hard part comes at 6:00 pm on a Tuesday when you've had a long day at work, you are hungry, and fast food sounds a whole lot easier than cooking the healthy meal you envisioned. Suddenly, what you know you should and want to do and what you actually do don't quite line up.
Now imagine your neighbor texts and asks if you want to come over for a fresh salad (picked from his garden!) and then go for a walk after dinner. Nothing about your knowledge has changed, but your chances of following through have increased dramatically because your environment changed.
Teaching is no different.
Applying UDL to lesson design and delivery requires teachers to rethink lesson planning, anticipate learner variability, redesign assessments, offer meaningful choices, be prepared to respond with differentiated instruction, and reflect on what worked and what didn't. That's a lot to do while also managing a classroom, responding to student needs, grading, communicating with families, and keeping up with everything else on a teacher's plate.
This is why many schools unintentionally get stuck. When implementation isn't consistent, the instinct is to schedule another day of professional learning rather than address systemic needs.
Don't get me wrong. Professional learning matters and is necessary to build initial knowledge. Also, a great workshop can build excitement, create a shared language, and introduce powerful ideas. But workshops are designed to build understanding. They are not designed to build habits.
James Clear, author of an amazing book called Atomic Habits, writes that we don't rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems. The same is true in schools. A workshop helps address a goal of building UDL knowledge. If the workshop is done well, teachers leave excited, motivated, and committed to trying something new, but excitement eventually fades, and when it does, people naturally return to the routines and systems they already have in place.
If we want UDL to become part of everyday instruction, we have to build systems that make it easier to practice. That means setting aside time for planning lessons collaboratively through a UDL lens, discussing UDL strategies and outcomes during PLC meetings, looking for evidence of UDL during learning walks, and providing coaching and ongoing feedback that helps teachers refine inclusive practice over time. When implementation becomes part of the routine rather than a once-a-year initiative, lasting change becomes much more likely.
When it comes to teaching and learning, I often think about something Simon Sinek said: "Consistency is more important than intensity."
A full-day UDL workshop is certainly intense. But a month after a workshop, the pace of school has taken over, and many people have naturally drifted back toward familiar routines, not because they understand or don’t believe in UDL, but because changing practice is hard.
As leaders, it's worth asking a different question when we don’t see UDL in classrooms. Instead of asking, "How can we teach teachers more about UDL?" maybe we should be asking, "What structures have we put in place to help teachers implement what they already know?"
If we want UDL to become part of everyday instruction, we have to build systems that make it easier to implement than to ignore. That doesn't necessarily mean creating new initiatives. It often means intentionally embedding UDL into existing structures.
For example:
None of these strategies require teachers to attend an additional workshop. Instead, they create repeated opportunities for educators to apply, refine, and strengthen their knowledge of UDL. Over time, small moments of practice, feedback, and collaboration become new habits, and those habits become part of the culture of the school.
So, the next time you find yourself wondering whether your staff needs another UDL workshop, pause for a moment. Ask yourself whether the challenge is really one of knowledge or of implementation. Your teachers may understand UDL better than you think.