In conjunction with the Center for Teaching and Learning, the IDEA Shop invites faculty to apply to participate in a faculty learning community during spring semester 2020. The community will be focused on a universal design for learning syllabus rubric. All faculty are eligible to apply; each participant will receive a stipend of $300.
The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13.
This faculty learning community provides participating faculty with an opportunity to incorporate principles of universal design for learning into a syllabus. This is a bedrock document of any course, one reflecting both the content and activities of the course but also its underlying design.
Universal design for learning is a framework based on developing tools, teaching materials and teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning differences and challenges that a diverse student population presents. Typically, after principles of universal design for learning are incorporated into a course, the changes benefit all students, not just students with specific needs and challenges.
A syllabus is a great starting point for incorporating principles of universal design for learning into course design, teaching materials and teaching methods. By taking a few simple steps, faculty can create a syllabus that will serve as a tool that helps prepare all students for success. Faculty in this syllabus rubric faculty learning community will begin creating such a tool, working in a cohort to revise syllabi to reflect the principles of universal design for learning.