Content

As our seminars and lecture theatres become increasingly diverse, our practices must also adapt to reflect the changing landscape of higher education. Everyone learns differently. This course will invite you to review your own Teaching and Learning practice through the lens of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). We will explore ways to make interactions and learning more accessible – not just for people with disabilities, but also for support learners with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and talents through learning opportunities that promote student ownership and self-directed learning.
The workshop’s activities serve as a model for participants to re-frame accessibility and inclusion conversations by broadening our focus away from learners with disabilities and toward a larger ease-of-use/general-inclusion mindset. Participants will reflect on their practice and learn practical “use-them-tomorrow” strategies to increase student access to learning – without having to change what or how they teach or interact with learners. A second workshop will take the format of a guided-practice self-study conversation, where participants expand and strengthen learner choices and agency in one activity, assignment, or interaction they have with their learners.
Objectives

• Identify diverse groups of students in their respective institutions
• Examine the linked concepts of learner variability and construct relevance
• Reflect on current practice using a UDL lens
• Plan adjustments to interactions and documents to increase accessibility
• Redesign some elements of your teaching and learning practice to expand and strengthen learner choices and agency

Key points

• Universal Design for Learning Principles in a Higher Education Context
• Strategies to lower access barriers without lowering rigor & standards
• Practical tools for planning and implementation