Creating Young Expert Learners

Marla Lohmann provides an indispensable roadmap for understanding universal design for learning in the early childhood education context. Through rich and engaging vignettes, multiple comprehensive strategy descriptions, and connections to additional resources, Marla gives us the information needed to not just understand the concepts but actually move to implementation. With this resource early childhood educators can hit the ground running as they create learning environments in which each and every child can thrive. 

—Eva Horn, author of Six Steps to Inclusive Preschool Curriculum: A UDL-Based Framework, professor emeritus School of Education and Human Development, University of Kansas–Lawrence 

Marla makes Universal Design for Learning (UDL) accessible for educators by offering relatable analogies, clear explanations and connecting the work to align with familiar professional organizations such as the NAEYC. The text is approachable, affirming the expertise and experiences of the reader while also providing resources throughout to explore specific concepts more deeply. She includes example lesson plans and assessment ideas that could immediately be implemented into practice. Educators will appreciate the practicality of this book! 

— Andrea Laser, EdD 

I was so excited to read Marla’s book and see that there was a UDL focus for early childhood. This book will be a great tool for all early childhood teachers hoping to have a more inclusive classroom and meet the learning needs of all children. There’s also a ton of resources that Marla identifies in each chapter that extends the material in the textbook that extends the content and gives practical and economical ideas on how to use each principle of universal design of learning in an early childhood environment. 

—Samantha Riggleman, assistant professor in the Special Education Department at Saint Joseph’s University, Philadelphia