Strategies for integrating diversity through UDL: Inclusive classroom practices and course design for contract faculty

Event Date & Time

Event Description

As contract faculty we often do not have the time and resources for professional development. We also might find ourselves overwhelmed with our course loads and the diverse needs of our students. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an empirically proven educational framework emphasizing that accessibility and inclusivity begin with changes to curriculum that are responsive to students’ needs. Instead of juggling student accommodations on an individual basis, UDL provides design principles that benefit all learners while alleviating barriers for students with disabilities, culturally diverse learners, and students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Workshop participants will leave with specific, manageable strategies and resources to apply UDL in their own teaching and course design.  

Facilitators:

• Jennifer Gagnon is a Sessional Lecturer in Political Science at UBC and the Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for the educational programming of the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre. Her research is interdisciplinary and embraces a broad range of topics in political theory, classics, disability studies, feminism, and gender. Her main area of research is in the intersections between ancient political thought and disability studies, especially as concerns gender, inclusion and exclusion, violence, and visible and invisible disabilities. With the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre she facilitates workshops and campus engagement on issues related to sexual assault awareness and supporting survivors.

• Laila Ferreira is a Lecturer in ASRW and teaches academic writing and research to both first and upper-level students in the Faculty of Arts and Vantage College. From the distinct but interlinked disciplines of literary, writing and disability studies, Dr. Laila Ferreira conducts research and contributes to pedagogical initiatives that work towards creating the conditions for a fully inclusive scholarly community.