Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Practicum

By participating in this practicum, you will:

• Reflect on the impact of the pandemic and other current events on student and instructor mental health and well being, as related to the teaching and learning experience
• Recognize how aspects of your current course design may unintentionally exacerbate challenges faced by students
• Understand how utilizing UDL principles can reduce your need to implement individual solutions for students experiencing barriers:
  • Explore ways to incorporate multiple means of representation of course material into course design to ensure all are able to access and understand key topics
  • Explore ways to redesign assessments offering multiple means of expression to optimize opportunities for all students to accurately demonstrate their learning
  • Explore ways to offer multiple means of engagement throughout a course to enhance all students’ motivation to learn
  • Apply specific UDL practices to syllabi, Canvas sites, course materials, assessments, and learning experiences.

Session 1 | Why UDL Is More Important than Ever

• This recorded session begins with an overview of the landscape of student well-being both before the onset of the pandemic and since, with an emphasis on the ways that the multiple disruptions of this period have intensified many of these challenges. By examining different scenarios, you will learn how applying UDL principles can lead to more accessible and supportive learning environments for all students. This session lays the groundwork for the practical tools and strategies that will be explored in subsequent sessions.

Session 2 | ROI: Increasing Student Engagement without Completely Redoing Your Course

• This recorded session examines the use of in-class time and reconsiders how to structure in-course discussion and activity to increase student engagement and deepen student learning. We’ll build from instructor-identified ‘pinch points’ (areas where students typically express confusion, questions, or struggles) in learning to help provide opportunities for deeper student learning and engagement while emphasizing how to implement these suggestions without a time-intensive redesign. Through the session, we’ll introduce three key tools that instructors can leverage to increase the engagement of content and discuss ways to do so efficiently and effectively.

Session 3 | Beyond the Textbook: Multiple Means of Representation as a Path to Removing Barriers

• All learners comprehend and perceive information differently. Providing more than one way for students to access information creates pathways for increased participation and deeper learning, and provides much needed flexibility for overburdened students. This recorded session focuses on the implementation of the UDL principle of multiple means of representation, which focuses on presenting information in multiple ways and/or modalities. It addresses the often time-consuming task of identifying new course materials, and gives viewers's both short and long-term strategies for finding, creating, and implementing multiple means of representation in their classes.

Session 4 | Is There Really Only One Way? Rethinking Assessments with UDL in Mind

• This recorded session focuses on the implementation of the UDL principle of multiple means of expression. Offering diverse ways of expressing what students have learned promotes equitable outcomes. The session unpacks the assumptions underlying participants’ current static assignments and assessments, identifies practices that reduce student anxiety around exams and deadlines, and discusses rethinking assessments to integrate options using a plus one thinking approach. Utilizing interactive discussion and a case study approach, this session offers ideas for implementing ‘multiple means of expression’ to reduce barriers for all, both immediately and while planning your next course.

Faculty Panel | UDL in Action: A Panel Discussion with Instructors Who Have Implemented UDL

• This recorded panel discussion with Northwestern instructors gives insight into the implementation of UDL principles and strategies from those who have successfully done it. Panelists include instructors from multiple disciplines across campus who have implemented UDL in their course materials, assignments, assessments, and overall class design. They share their approaches, why they chose to implement what they did, how it helped students and themselves, and the reaction they received from students in the class. They also discuss difficulties encountered, things they tried that didn’t work, and lessons learned along the way.

This Open Education Resource also includes many more recorded session on a variety of topics related to UDL.

Northwestern's University Practicum on Universal Design for Learning is recommended for instructors, graduate students and postdocs preparing for future instructor roles, and staff—such as program coordinators—whose work shapes course content and delivery.

All levels, backgrounds, and teaching contexts are welcome.