Universal Design for Learning
Course Development Grants
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. - From http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/udl_about
To support WVU instructors in designing or re-designing courses with UDL principles, the Teaching and Learning Commons (TLC), in partnership with the Office of Accessibility Services (OAS), is offering UDL Course Development Grants. The grant will be a stipend in the amount of $3500. A limited number of awards will be available.
Individuals assigned from the TLC and OAS will be available as your course design team for consultations and developmental support throughout this process. OAS will provide captioning for video content and transcripts for audio-only content. There will also be curated resources and Q&A sessions available to help you explore UDL principles. For a good introduction into UDL, check out Tom Tobin’s webinar on Implementing UDL to Benefit All Learners. (Available in WVU’s Go2Knowledge resources).
Recipients will be expected to meet 80% of the overall “essential” requirements of the WVU Course Design Rubric, must meet the essential UDL elements (see below), and will meet a number of the enhanced UDL criteria as agreed upon with the course design team assigned to your course. Improvements may be made to the rubric as part of this development process and your feedback may be solicited.
Examples of Essential UDL Elements
- The course syllabus is available electronically and has passed the accessibility checker in Word or Adobe Acrobat as appropriate
- All electronic course media have text alternatives, including captions for videos, transcripts for audio-only content, and alternative text for images.
Examples of Enhanced UDL Elements
- Explicit discussion of alignment between course learning outcomes, learning activities, and assessments.
- Alignment is clearly shown in a visual format such as a graphic or table.
- Students are presented as partners in the teaching and learning of the course.
- The learning activities are varied.
- Students have choice in some learning materials or content.
- Students have choice in the way they demonstrate their learning.
- The instructional materials and tools are varied (including varied formats, e.g., text-based readings, video content, audio content, and graphic content)
- The instructional materials are accessible and promote readability.
- Feedback is incorporated into some or all learning activities with a focus on growth and improvement.
Work is to begin this summer and is expected to be concluded by December 31st, 2021. Recipients will be asked to discuss or showcase their work at two upcoming workshops or events (a professional development event hosted by the TLC in the fall or spring, and at Celebrate 2022).
First consideration will go to applications received by May 17th. Submissions will close when the program is full.