Faculty Workshops Inclusive Teaching Community of Practice Teaching for Inclusion Workshop Series Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Teaching Squares Research on Teaching and Learning Community of Practice Instructional Skills Workshop Online (ISW-O) Research on Teaching and Learning Symposium Western Institute for Research on Teaching and Learning Research on Teaching and Learning Workshop Series Faculty Mentor Program Generative AI Community of Practice Assessment Series Faculty-Student Collaborative: Assessment (Re)Design Studio Generative AI Workshops Teaching and Learning in Large Classes Group Work and Teamwork Certificates Conferences

Universal Design for Learning Series

This workshop series introduces participants to Universal Design for Learning, an inclusive teaching framework focused on fostering learner agency and removing barriers to learning. It is built around three key principles of multiple means of representation, multiple means of engagement, and multiple means of action and expression. Workshops in the series provide an overview of UDL and go into depth on each principle, offering opportunities for both reflection on and application of the principles.

These workshops are a core component of the Certificate in Universal Design for Learning, but participants do not need to be working on the certificate to register for the workshops.

What to Expect

Workshops are 120 minutes and include a variety of reflection, discussion, and application activities. The workshops are designed to embody the principles of Universal Design for Learning, offering multiple forms of participation and alternating modalities between in-person and online.

Audience

Western instructors, librarians, archivists, post doctoral scholars, and staff involved in teaching activities, course design, or supporting learners at Western.

Upcoming Workshops

Introduction to Universal Design for Learning: September 24, 1:00-3:00pm (online)

Learners are diverse and often have diverse needs, motivations, and expectations. A one-size-fits-all course design can create barriers to participation and success for some learners. This session will introduce participants to the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an approach to designing courses, course content, and assessments that acknowledges the diversity of learners and provides learners with more options for engagement, representation, and action and expression. We will also discuss how UDL intersects with other anti-oppressive practices in education and can be used as one tool for creating more inclusive learning environments.

UDL: Multiple Means of Representation: October 21, 10:30am-12:30pm (online)

This workshop focuses on how learners differ in the way that they perceive and understand information. We will discuss learner variability and explore concrete ways of representing information in different ways that will reduce barriers to understanding and participation for diverse classes. We will examine each of the UDL guidelines for Multiple Means of Representation in detail, including perception, language, and comprehension.