ADCET - Universal Design for Learning for Learning (UDL) Symposium - Masterclasses

Participants may only register for one session per time slot.

Session 1: 1:00 to 2:00 pm AEST (1 hour) - $30

Choose one of the following:

• Finding Your Why: Storytelling Practices for Communicating Empathy and Purpose
  Lillian Nave, Faculty and Educational Development Specialist, Appalachian State University

Finding Your Why: Storytelling Practices for Communicating Empathy and Purpose

Lillian Nave, Faculty and Educational Development Specialist, Appalachian State University

This interactive workshop invites participants to move from understanding empathy to practicing it through the stories they tell about their work, their values, and the communities they serve. Building on the keynote’s central idea—that empathy is a transformative force expressed through narrative—this session guides participants in uncovering and shaping the stories that reveal their own “why.” The workshop emphasizes communication strategies that build trust, deepen connection, and invite others into meaningful understanding across difference. This workshop is designed to be reflective, energizing, and deeply human, offering participants a space to reconnect with the heart of their work and the stories that sustain it.

• (How) Does UDL Work?
  Kavita Rao, Professor and Director of the College of Education Research Institute, University of Hawai‘i

(How) Does UDL Work?

Kavita Rao, Professor and Director of the College of Education Research Institute, University of Hawai‘i

Is UDL effective? For over two decades, the field has been grappling with the question of how to measure UDL.

Let’s reframe this question to get to the heart of what UDL is - an instructional design framework that can help us create more flexible and inclusive learning environments. The key to determining UDL’s efficacy is to examine HOW UDL works rather than whether it works.

As educators, we can apply UDL to our practices to support student success, leverage on learners’ assets, and create learning spaces that are inviting for all.  Using a proactive and systematic approach, we can make and document decisions about how we use UDL and assess whether these applications of UDL have intended outcomes.

In this master class, learn how the UDL Reporting Criteria (UDL RC) to share our stories of UDL implementation. The UDL RC provide a framework for articulating how we use UDL and identifying outcomes associated with our UDL-based designs. Whether you are designing lesson plans, learning activities, educational programs or considering ways to integrate technology, the UDL Reporting Criteria can help you clearly describe your intentional design process. This, in turn, can create opportunities for co-designing with students and influencing others to engage in inclusive and intentional design. 

This workshop is useful for educational practitioners who seek to articulate how they are transforming their work to support all learners and to publish or present about their use of UDL and inclusive practices.