All teachers want their students to learn, but not all students learn in the same way.  Sometimes these differences are as simple to define as a visually impaired student needing audio textbooks.  More often than not, however, the need is neither so obvious to define or to address.  In fact, frequently the different learning preferences go unrecognized, even by the students themselves.  

United States law obligates the Institute to provide accommodations for students with documented disabilities, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but it is entirely up to each instructor to decide whether and how much to accommodate those other, less well defined, learning needs that each student presents.

Whether you ascribe to the notion of individual learning styles or not, one way to accommodate the diversity in your classroom is to vary your teaching style, the way you present information, and the ways you let students express their learning.  Not only are you more likely to let your students find learning activities at which they excel, but you may also open their eyes to different ways of thinking.  

Ideally, an inclusive class would not only offer variety among assignments and class sessions but also within each of those.  Students would have a chance to choose the way they engage with the information they receive and also choose the way they demonstrate what they’ve learned. Thankfully there is a framework called Universal Design for Learning that can help us approach inclusive teaching.