In our last learning design meetup, we started the conversation about inclusive learning, where Ashley Willcox (Inclusive Practices Support Officer, LX.lab); Katie Duncan (Inclusive Practices Coordinator, LX.lab); Franziska Trede (Associate Professor, IML), and Melinda Lewis (Senior Lecturer, IML), shared their perspectives using the lense of ABCD for inclusivity in learning and teaching. To continue the conversation, our next meetup will be addressing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in higher education. Developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), the UDL framework is used to help teachers and learning designers to develop learning experiences and guide the design of instructional goals, assessments, methods, and materials that can be customised and adjusted to meet individual needs.

In May 2022, the UTS Learning design meetup will continue the inclusivity in learning talk by focusing on UDL functions to support inclusive pedagogy in higher education. UDL is sometimes viewed as a special education initiative as it aligns with accessibility in education. However, access to education is not only constrained by the physical and cognitive abilities of the learners, but it can also be hindered by social, political, and cultural constructs that reside in educational settings. Our speaker Dr Frederic Fovet will be talking to us about this interesting yet challenging topic in higher education.

Speaker

Dr Frederic Fovet, Victoria, BC, Canada

Frederic is an Inclusion and Universal Design for Learning scholar. His practice and research have focused originally on the creation of inclusive provisions for learners with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD). He has held, in turn, the positions of Head of Accessibility Services at McGill University, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Prince Edward Island, and Associate Professor in the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University. He acts as a consultant, domestically and internationally, both in the K-12 and post-secondary sectors, in relation to the integration of UDL and to the management of change in the context of inclusive pedagogy. He was the instigator and program chair of the first three pan-Canadian conferences on UDL in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He sits on the editorial board of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, the International Journal of Disability and Social Justice (IJDSJ) and the European Journal of Inclusive Education (EJIE).

Meetup location

This event has 2 parts: Online and in person.

Online from 12 - 1pm
The first part will be fully online starting at 12pm and finishing at 1pm (Zoom link will be sent upon registration).

Social catchup: 1 - 1:30pm
The second part is a social catch-up with participants. This is optional, but if you are on the UTS campus please join us at 1:00 pm for coffee (we will be providing vouchers so you can order your own from DAB cafe) and cookies!

This event is facilitated by the LX.lab as part of the Learning Design Meetup

The Learning Design meetup is a community of practice to support learning designers with opportunities to collaborate and improve skills and processes, network, and share best practices in learning design. The meetup performs as a vehicle to brainstorm and discuss topics like authentic assessment, accessibility guidelines, learning design models, teacher-generated pedagogies, and many more. Topics are proposed to inspire each other in all aspects of teaching and learning and foster belonging and connectedness across the teams and create productive two-way relationships with each other and, importantly, teaching staff.

For further information or questions, please contact Mais Fatayer, at mais.fatayer@uts.edu.au