Inclusive Teaching

Teaching Coach: Kelly Langley-Cook

The best avenue I have found to make learning inclusive for all learners is Universal Design for Learning. “Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people base on scientific insights into how humans learn” (https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl).  What does that mean for your classroom? UDL can help solve many of the “teaching problems” that arise in classrooms at all levels. If your students are disengaged, failing to complete work, frequently absent, or struggling to understand content, UDL has tools you can employ to help overcome these issues.

UDL strategies help to meet the needs of learners you know have challenges as well as the needs of those who seem to have none. UDL provides ideas in culture, engagement, and assessment that makes learning more meaningful and accessible for all learners. Whether you teach 10 students or 100, UDL is a great tool to make your teaching better for every learner in your classroom. UDL is easy to understand, and easy employ and you can start using the strategies we explore together immediately.

UDL Strategy: Paper Pacing Guide

In this video Kelly discusses paper pacing guides as a strategy to scaffold papers and other large assignments and projects into simple tasks. 

Time: 3:59 - View Transcript

UDL Strategy: Guided Notes

In this video Kelly discusses guided notes as a simple strategy to support student learning. Guided notes help students organize material and supports understanding of difficult concepts.

Time: 5:57 - View Transcript

Kelly's Top Resources

Universal Design for Learning

Burgstahler, Sheryl. Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press, 2017.

Novak, Katie, and Mirko Chardin. Equity by Design: Delivering on the Power and Promise of Udl. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc, 2021.

Tobin, Thomas J., and Kirsten Behling. Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education. Morgantown , WV: West Virginia University Press, 2018.

Race & Equity

hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York, NY: Routledge, 2021.

Fritzgerald, Andratesha. Antiracism and Universal Design for Learning: Building Expressways to Success. Wakefield , MA: Cast, Incorporated, 2020.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners (CLD)

Hammond, Zaretta, and Yvette Jackson. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. California: Corwin, 2015.

Pedagogy

Freire, Paulo, Myra Bergman Ramos, Donaldo P. Macedo, and Ira Shor. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Ladson-Billings, Gloria. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Asking a Different Question. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2021.

Nilson, Linda Burzotti. Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2016.

Wiggins, Grant P., and Jay McTighe. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008.

Neurodiversity

Fein, Elizabeth. Living on the Spectrum: Autism and Youth in Community. New York , NY: New York university press, 2020.

Vormer, Casey. Connecting with the Autism Spectrum: How to Talk, How to Listen, and Why You Shouldn't Call It High-Functioning. Emeryville, CA: Rockridge Press, 2020.

Mental Health

Dikel, William. Student Mental Health: A Guide for Teachers, School and District Leaders, School Psychologists and Nurses, Social Workers, Counselors, and Parents. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2020.

Hammett, Emma. Mental Health First Aid: A Practical Guide for Workplaces, Schools, Families, Friends, Careers and Everyone Needing Support with Their Mental Health. London: First Aid for Life, 2021.

Packard, Josh. Mental Health & Gen Z: What Educators Need to Know. Springtide Research Institute, 2022.