From the back:
You know that Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can improve teaching and learning in higher education. You want to share UDL's innovative best practices on campus and throughout your institution. Yet getting buy-in for trying new approaches can be tough given the many different stakeholder interests represented by faculty, departments, and administrative offices. It can feel like you are navigating through dark woods.
That's where this book can help. Jodie Black and Eric J. Moore have been at the vanguard of UDL implementation at their respective institutions. In UDL Navigators in Higher Education: A Field Guide, they share strategies and resources for introducing UDL to postsecondary systems. Topics include:
- Program-level design
- Course-level design
- Instructional experience
- Technology selection and use
- Accessibility services
- Professional learning
Chapter in Transforming Higher Education Through Universal Design for Learning
From Teaching Content to Teaching Students: UDL as a Vehicle for Improving Curriculum and Praxis Design
Abstract
Instructors in institutions of higher education (IHE) are always content experts, but not always instructional experts. In effect, many IHE instructors explicitly focus on teaching, or at least "disseminating" content, which plays to their strengths. Unfortunately, the methods that are best suited for disseminating content (e.g., lecture, textbook reading) are not always effective–and rarely the most effective– way to support learning for all learners. This chapter provides perspective as to how instructors and administrators can re-conceptualize the role of instruction in IHE as student-centric rather than content-centric. Included in the discussion is research demonstrating the value of this approach to ensure that students learn the content instructors are taking the time to share. UDL will be demonstrated as a framework that can guide this transition in curriculum and praxis design.
Implementing UDL on Canvas is a free, massive open online course (MOOC) has been taken by over 1000 people across its two iterations. Eric designed this course to focus on practical implementation of UDL theory and concepts in the context of designing courses on Canvas. Others have since adapted it for Moodle and Blackboard at their institutions - a testament to its usefulness and generalizability.
The course features four modules focused on Conceptual Foundations, then strategies for using Canvas features to provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression respectively. The latter three modules are framed in terms of high-incidence barriers that students and instructors often face. Check it out!
In this inaugural episode of Think UDL, Eric and Lillian talk about why emotion is so important to learning and what a large difference a caring high school teacher made in Eric’s life. This brings a broader discussion of why Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is so important to understand in postsecondary contexts and why he and so many others in higher education are leading the charge to bring UDL to colleges and universities across the country in multiple ways. From Learning Management System (LMS) system trainings to faculty workshops and national conferences, Eric and a cadre of colleagues in the UDL-IRN (Implementation and Research Network) Higher Education Special Interest Group (SIG) are broadening the scope of UDL in higher education in the US and Canada on their individual campuses and through the #UDLHE (UDL in Higher Education) network.
In this Inside Higher Ed article, Mark Lieberman described Eric's work in Creating a ‘Universal Design for Learning’ Movement at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He reflects on the framework that Eric used at UTK through:
1. Identify the UDL expert on campus
2. Amplify the UDL expert’s message
3. Launch a campaign
4. Foster systemic cultural change
Eric was a featured speaker at the UDL-IRN Summit in 2018. There, he used the opportunity to talk to the event audience about capturing UDL in a way that is researchable. In this talk, called "Capture, Don't Compress," he demonstrates his skill as a presenter and speaker while tackling a complex and contested topic.
David Rose went on to highlight the talk in his fireside chat at the end of the event.
This ~6 minute video titled "Introduction to UDL," is one of several Eric created for the Learning Designed certificate program, Eric introduces UDL through a highly visual presentation that combines images, text, voice, and motion to present ideas. This type of highly engaging presentation is something that Eric frequently employs for workshop presentations.