Think UDL

UDL and Intersectionality with Denia Bradshaw

Welcome to Episode 93 of the Think UDL podcast: UDL and Intersectionality with Denia Bradshaw. Denia Bradshaw is a UDL Advocate and Independent Scholar, an adjunct instructor at Landmark College, a musician, and the Music Department Coordinator at California State University, Los Angeles. We are fortunate to hear how she brings all of these amazing gifts to bear in her work during this conversation. This episode centers on the emergence and history of both Universal Design for Learning and the concept of Intersectionality. We will define these terms and discuss similarities and connections between the two, taking particular aim at what has been overlooked and what to do now. We will discuss why using both of these lenses matters in higher education today. 

Disability Cultural Centers with Carrie Ingersoll Wood

Welcome to Episode 92 of the Think UDL podcast: Disability Cultural Centers with Carrie Ingersoll-Wood. Carrie Ingersoll-Wood is the Director of the Disability Cultural Center at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. In this conversation, Carrie and I talk about what in fact a Disability Cultural Center is, and what it is not. It is not your university’s Office of Disability Services. It is very different. We also discuss a little about the history of Disability Cultural Centers, why they are important, what they do, how UDL figures into them, and why we need them in Higher Education now. 

Reflecting On A Starfish Difference with Joe Houghton

Welcome to Episode 91 of the Think UDL podcast: Reflecting On A Starfish Difference with Joe Houghton. Joe Houghton is an Assistant Professor at the Smurfit College of Business at University College, Dublin. In this conversation we talk about the usefulness of reflection and feedback in various projects, and talk about a lot of collaborative projects that Joe has been implementing in his graduate courses, along with the fantastic work he has been doing to raise awareness and spread the effectiveness of Universal Design for Learning principles in higher education in Ireland. He has his own podcast, called the Plus One podcast, which is also about UDL! In fact, I met Joe when he asked to interview me on his podcast over a year ago. You can find a link to his podcast in our resources for this episode, and look for his interview with me on Episode 5 from May of 2021. The title of this episode is Reflecting on a Starfish Difference because not only do we talk about reflection and how important it is in learning, but also how important one little change, one small effort can be to just one student, and to that student, it makes all the difference. You’ll hear the story of the starfish a little later on as Joe tells it.

UDL’s High Impact Teaching Blueprint with Erin Leif and Lizzie Knight

Welcome to Episode 90 of the Think UDL podcast: UDL’s High Impact Teaching Blueprint with Erin Leif and Lizzie Knight. Erin Leif is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Educational Psychology and Counseling at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and Lizzie Knight is a Research Fellow at the Mitchell Institute: Centre for International Research on Education Systems also in Melbourne. Erin and Lizzie have told me that they are both dialing in for our interview from the Traditional Lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. This conversation focuses on disability, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and how UDL can be used a blueprint to engage High Impact Teaching Strategies to include a wide variety of students. You’ll also hear of quite a few resources that are listed on our website for this episode, so feel free to follow up on this conversation for some great information and a free eLearning course.

Technical and Further Education with Jen Cousins and Meredith Jackson

Welcome to Episode 89 of the Think UDL podcast: Technical and Further Education with Jen Cousins and Meredith Jackson. In this episode I speak with Meredith Jackson, the Leading Vocational Teacher at TAFE (Technical and Further Education), Queensland, and Jen Cousins, a Teaching and Learning Specialist in Accessibility and Inclusive Education at TAFE, South Australia. This is a great companion to our last episode, Episode 88 with Luis Perez and Tracey Hall from CAST who discussed Career and Technical Education in the United States of America. Now get a chance to speak with the leading voices in UDL in Technical and Vocational, or Further Education in Australia. You’ll hear a few different acronyms during this conversation besides our usual UDL. They include VET which stands for Vocational Education and Training, ADCET, which is the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training, the NDCO, National Disability Coordination Officer Program, and of course TAFE, which is Technical and Further Education and is akin to Vocational, Technical and Community College programs in the United States. In this conversation, we hear how UDL has been integrated into Technical and Further Education in Australia to a great extent and hear about the successes of this integration!

Thank you for listening and a special thank you to the folks at the UDLHE Network for their financial support of the Think UDL podcast!

Career and Technical Education with Luis Perez and Tracey Hall

Welcome to Episode 88 of the Think UDL podcast: Career and Technical Education with Luis Perez and Tracey Hall. In this episode, I speak with two CAST members. And when I say CAST members, I don’t mean a theater play or a Disney employee, but rather CAST, the non-profit that created and introduced the Universal Design for Learning guidelines to the world several decades ago. Originally, the acronym CAST stood for the Center for Applied Specialized Technology, but now they are simply known as CAST. At CAST, Luis Perez is a Technical Assistance Specialist and a noted speaker, and Tracey Hall is a Senior Research Scientist and Instructional Designer. In today’s conversation we talk about how UDL has been and can be implemented in career and technical programs in the United States. Our next episode, episode 89, will cover similar initiatives in Australia, so be on the lookout for that. I often am asked about how UDL can be applied in technical fields, and so I was very excited to talk to Luis and Tracey who have been successfully working in Career and Technical education and workforce readiness, and continuously implementing UDL strategies. If you have questions about ways in which UDL can help you and your students in practical ways, this episode will prove helpful for you!

UDL Masterclasses with Jodie Black

Welcome to Episode 87 of the Think UDL podcast: UDL Masterclasses with Jodie Black. Jodie Black is a Teaching and Learning Specialist at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and this episode is actually the second time I get to talk to Jodie on the Think UDL podcast. You can find our earlier conversation on episode 12 in which we discussed her work at Fleming College. Today we will talk about her new project, Masterclasses, which are open to everyone worldwide. In today’s episode we will talk about what a UDL masterclass is and discuss three different topics that her UDL masterclasses cover. These topics include what it means to be a UDL-informed leader, what UDL-informed Course Design is, and the difference between UDL, Accessibility, and Academic Accommodations. Even if you cannot take a masterclass, this discussion is a fruitful one that helps us all understand the importance of UDL in leadership, course design, and its place in the university. 

Thank you for listening and a special thank you to the folks at the UDLHE Network for their financial support of the Think UDL podcast!

Different Kinds of Intelligence with Temple Grandin

Welcome to Episode 86 of the Think UDL podcast: Different Kinds of Intelligence with Temple Grandin. Temple Grandin is an author, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, and a sought-after speaker on Autism and Neurodiversity all over the world. She has been named one of the top 10 college Professors in the country by CEO World Magazine, she is the subject of her own eponymous movie biopic in 2010, and a recognized thought leader on different kinds of intelligence. I was surprised and greatly honored when she accepted my invitation to speak with me on the Think UDL podcast.  I have known of her, listened to her speak, and read so much about her over the last 20 years, that I was very excited during this interview! When I told my friend and colleague Jill Van Horne from our university’s counseling program that I was offered an interview with Temple Grandin in 4 hours time, Jill was equally excited and so I invited Jill to join me for today’s conversation. Jill leads our really fantastic equine therapy program at Appalachian State. I asked Jill to join me because she thinks differently than I do and especially because she knows a lot more about animals than I do, and even more especially because she is also a big fan of Temple Grandin. You’ll hear Jill pop in the conversation and ask her own questions in this episode as well. In this episode, Professor Temple Grandin talks about the different ways people think, how to teach a variety of learners, what advice she gives college professors, what advice she gives college students, and why she thinks we don’t need algebra (for some things at least) among other things! Thank you for listening and a special thank you to the folks at the UDLHE Network for their financial support of the Think UDL podcast! Dr. Grandin, it is a great honor to have you on the podcast and I will start us off with the question I ask all of my guests, and that is, “What makes you a different kind of learner?”

Design for Divergence with Megan Kohler

Welcome to Episode 85 of the Think UDL podcast: Design for Divergence with Megan Kohler. Megan Kohler is a Learning Designer with the John A. Dutton e-Education Institute at Penn State. 

Her areas of interest/research revolve around supporting neurodivergent learners. Megan and her colleague, Tracy Balduzzi offer a workshop on creating Neuroinclusive learning experiences called Designing for Divergence. She has also collaborated with Penny Ralston-Berg to develop a new learning design model called the Collaborative Content Design Model in which the processes are put to the side and the focus is placed on collaboratively designing courses with faculty.

Megan has presented nationally and internationally and relies on her training and experience as a professional actor to create a fun and engaging experience within her presentations and design work. Today our conversation focuses on how instructors can create inclusive educational spaces for neurodiverse learners in higher ed, creating community and supporting interpersonal connections. 

Thank you for listening and a special thank you to the folks at the UDLHE Network for their financial support of the Think UDL podcast!

Engaging Alternative Grading with Joshua Eyler

Welcome to Episode 84 of the Think UDL podcast: Engaging Alternative Grading with Joshua Eyler. Joshua Eyler is the Director of Faculty Development at the University of Mississippi and the author of How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories Behind Effective College Teaching and the forthcoming book Scarlet Letters: How Grades are Harming Children and Young Adults, and What We Can Do About It. Josh recently has been raising the chatter about the usefulness and challenges of traditional grading and also bringing a lot of attention to alternative grading practices. Today’s conversation will focus on how the UDL guidelines dovetail with non-traditional grading, especially focussing on multiple means of engagement. In fact, we will look at the specific ways that alternative grading practices recruit learner interest, help sustain effort and persistence in multiple ways, and also serve to guide students through self-reflection. It is a veritable engagement smorgasbord and I am so excited to have this conversation!