UDL Conversations
UDL Conversations are informal, 30-minute online sessions where U of T instructors and staff share how they are applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their teaching and professional practice. Each session surfaces everyday strategies, highlights diverse approaches, and sparks discussion about making learning more accessible and inclusive across U of T.
Visit UDL in Practice for strategy libraries that connect these conversations to practical teaching ideas, and UDL Programming for upcoming UDL events and opportunities.
Upcoming UDL Conversations
Register for upcoming sessions using the links below, and learn from colleagues across U of T as they share how they are applying UDL in practice.
Sophia Bello
February 6, 1:30–2 pm
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of French, Faculty of Arts & Science
Caylen Heckel
March 2, 2:30–3 pm
Assistant Professor, Art History, Department of Visual Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga
Adriana Grimaldi
April 1, 11:30 am–12 pm
Acting Senior Educational Developer, RGASC; Sessional Lecturer, Italian Studies and Education Studies, Department of Language Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga
Past UDL Conversations
Browse recordings and summaries of past UDL Conversations to learn how colleagues across U of T are applying UDL in practice. Each session highlights practical insights and strategies you can adapt for your own teaching.
Inclusion from the Start
Design for access, inclusion, and belonging
How can we design for belonging from the start? In these UDL Conversations, U of T members share strategies for inclusive practice:
Engagement Design
Use reflection and transparency to strengthen engagement
Learn how reflective and transparent teaching practices can strengthen student engagement. In these UDL Conversations, instructors discuss practical ways to help learners enter into and sustain their learning:
Assessment Design
Design assessments for learner variability and meaningful learning
How can we design assessments that reflect learner variability and support meaningful learning? In these UDL Conversations, U of T members share strategies for building flexibility, creativity, and equity into assessment design:
GenAI and UDL
Explore how AI can reduce and introduce learning barriers
Explore how generative AI introduces new challenges and opportunities for reducing barriers, supporting learner variability, and designing equitable learning environments:
Forthcoming Recordings and Summaries
Upcoming recordings and summaries will be posted for the following past conversations:
- Sheila Batacharya, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy, UTM
- Rebecca Laposa, Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, St. George and Melanie Jeffrey, Program Director, Master of Public Health, Indigenous Health, Dalla Lana Faculty of Public Health; Assistant Professor, Human Biology and Indigenous Studies, Faculty of Arts & Science, St. George
Monitor-Side Chats: UDL-ing in Winter 2024
Discussions about practical applications and concrete strategies of Universal Design for Learning
The average student does not exist. So, how do we design learning environments that maximize learning for all students?
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for minimizing barriers and fostering purposeful, motivated, resourceful, knowledgeable, strategic, and goal-oriented learners. UDL offers various guidelines for providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression. UDL is an iterative and reflective process and CTSI is here to help!
Join CTSI staff and U of T instructors in Winter 2024 for informal monitor-side (in-person and online) chats about implementing UDL in your teaching (i.e., UDL-ing your course). We will examine each UDL guideline and checkpoint and discuss practical strategies to help students access, build, and internalize learning.
New to UDL? Watch the 5-minute “UDL at a Glance” video created by CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology).
- UDL Guideline 7: Recruiting Interest (Accessing Engagement) (January 26)
- UDL Guideline 1: Perception (Accessing Representation) (February 2)
- UDL Guideline 4: Physical action (Accessing Action and Expression) (February 9)
- UDL Guideline 8: Sustaining Effort and Persistence (Building Engagement) (February 16)
- UDL Guideline 2: Language and Symbols (Building Representation) (February 23)
- UDL Guideline 5: Expression and Communication (Building Action and Expression) (March 1)
- UDL Guideline 9: Self Regulation (Internalizing Engagement) (March 8)
- UDL Guideline 3: Comprehension (Internalizing Representation) (March 15)
- UDL Guideline 6: Executive Functions (Internalizing Action and Expression) (March 22)
- Explore Proposed Updates for UDL Guidelines 3.0 (April 12)
U Design Learning | Teaching with Universal Design for Learning at U of T