Course Content

Universal Design and Beyond: Designing for Human Variability

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a powerful framework for creating inclusive environments that anticipate and embrace learner variability. This course introduces UDL principles while also exploring complementary practices that extend inclusive design beyond access—toward equity, agency, and transformation. Participants will learn to plan proactively, reduce barriers, and offer flexible pathways for success that honour the diverse ways students learn and thrive.

This course blends storytelling with practical learning. As you move through the course, you will alternate between reading your chosen story and engaging in Learning Interludes that deepen your understanding of inclusive education.

To view the course content, click on each section header below. This will reveal the readings and materials for that part of the course.

How the Course Flows

The course follows a consistent sequence:
Prologue → Learning Interlude 1 → Chapter 1 → Learning Interlude 2 → Chapter 2 → Learning Interlude 3 → Chapter 3 → Learning Interlude 4 → Chapter 4 → Learning Interlude 5 → Epilogue → Learning Interlude 6

Each chapter of your story highlights key ideas in action. After each chapter, you will complete a Learning Interlude that unpacks those ideas through guided content, tools, and activities.

What’s in a Learning Interlude?

Each Learning Interlude contains three Learning Links. A Learning Link is a short, focused learning unit that includes:

A short video explaining an essential concept.
A follow-up activity to help you apply what you have learned.

After each Learning Link, you will find both individual and group activities. Choose the activities that are most meaningful and relevant to your role, goals, and context. There is no requirement to complete them all.

If you are facilitating this course for a group, Facilitator Notes are included at the beginning of each Learning Interlude. These provide guidance, timing suggestions, and tips for leading group discussions and activities.

You will also find:

Printable tools and templates to support your planning.
Reflection prompts to help connect new ideas to your own practice.

These interludes help you make sense of what you have read and offer practical strategies you can use right away, whether you are learning individually or with a group.

▶ Inside the Story: Prologue

Inside the Story: Prologue

As you move through this course, we encourage you to return to the story you selected during the “Inside the Story” sections. Each chapter aligns with the learning interludes and offers a vivid, contextualized look at inclusive design in action. Feel free to explore additional stories if you're curious how the same principles play out in different contexts. Short overviews of the chapter are included here to help you discern if you want to explore other stories.

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Prologue: Caught in the Currents ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Marnie, a seasoned Grade 3 teacher, finds herself treading water in her new split 3/4 classroom. With a mix of academic levels, behavioral needs, English language learners, and students with identified learning disabilities, her traditional strategies are falling flat. She’s exhausted from chasing individualized fixes and feels like she's failing her students and herself. The pressure to "cover the curriculum" feels incompatible with actually reaching the kids in front of her.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Prologue: The Quiet Collapse ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Olivia is used to managing her ADHD and anxiety behind the scenes. She's learned how to appear like she’s coping, even when she’s not. But this semester, everything feels heavier. The structure of high school feels unforgiving, and her usual strategies aren’t enough. Deadlines pile up. Expectations blur. She begins to retreat into silence and self-criticism. No one seems to notice until one teacher does.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Prologue: Beneath the Surface ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

As vice principal, Rhonda has reviewed hundreds of IEPs and accommodation plans. But lately, she feels unease creeping in. Supports are inconsistent. Students are still struggling. Teachers are exhausted. And worst of all, the students receiving accommodations often feel ashamed or invisible. Rhonda begins to wonder, 'Are we helping, or just managing'?

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Prologue: Not Another Platform ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Luis is proud of the division’s tech rollouts. Devices are in students’ hands, and platforms are live. But something isn’t adding up. In school after school, he hears the same feedback: “It’s not working.” Frustrated, he starts asking deeper questions and begins to see that the tools alone aren’t the issue. The design of learning itself is leaving kids behind.

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Prologue: When Rigor Isn’t Reaching ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The science department at Summit Grove is known for its depth and academic challenge—but something isn’t right. Despite their expertise, teachers are seeing more students tune out or disappear entirely. Quiet hallway conversations turn into a shared concern: their “high standards” may be unintentionally gatekeeping success. They start asking new questions and those questions spark a movement.

▶ Learning Interlude 1: Getting Started

Learning Interlude 1: Getting Started

Occurs After Prologue → Before Chapter 1
Module Name: Noticing Your Context

🌟 Success Criteria

I can reflect on what my students need and how I currently meet those needs.
I can name one reason inclusive design might matter in my setting.

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🎬 Learning Link 1: What is Inclusive Design?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Reflection Journal (📄PDF): Reflect on your current understanding of inclusive design and where it shows up in your classroom.
Inclusive Design Mindmap (📄PDF): Create a visual map that connects inclusive design principles to student needs in your setting.
"Inclusive Design in 3 Words" (📄PDF): Choose three words that represent your understanding of inclusive design and explain why.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Shared Definitions Gallery Walk (📄PDF): Teams each contribute 3-word definitions to a shared display and discuss themes.
Inclusive Design Jigsaw (📄PDF): Each group explores a different definition/model of inclusive design and teaches it back to peers.
Practice Audit Brainstorm (📄PDF): Collaboratively identify current classroom practices that reflect inclusive design.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Learning Variability Is the Rule

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Student Profile Snapshot (📄PDF): Complete a brief profile for one student, focusing on variability in learning needs and strengths.
"Variability Map" (📄PDF): Create a visual map of learning differences in your class (strengths, needs, preferences).
Personal Reflection (📄PDF): Write about how recognizing variability has shifted your understanding of inclusion.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Variability Patterns Discussion (📄PDF): Share and compare maps or profiles to identify classroom-wide trends.
Case Study Circles (📄PDF): Teams explore fictional student profiles to discuss inclusive responses to variability.
Inclusive Classroom Scenarios (📄PDF): Analyze brief classroom vignettes and propose adaptations based on variability.

🎬 Learning Link 3: What Do You Notice in Your Context?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier & Opportunity Walkthrough (📄PDF): Observe your classroom/school with a lens of access and inclusion.
“One Change” Reflection (📄PDF): Identify one thing you could change tomorrow to better support inclusion.
Inclusive Moment Snapshot (📄PDF): Describe a time when you noticed a student thrive. What made it possible?

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Learning Environment Walkthroughs (📄PDF): Visit peers’ classrooms (or photos/videos) and share feedback on inclusive elements.
Barrier Mapping Protocol (📄PDF): As a team, map common barriers in planning or space and propose adjustments.
“One Change” Roundtable (📄PDF): Share your reflections and create a list of small, actionable steps to try this week.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Learner Variability Planning Map (📄PDF): A flexible planning tool to map out diverse learner needs and design responses.
Barriers & Opportunities Scan (📄PDF): Checklist to support environmental, curricular, and instructional reflection.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes foundational readings on inclusive design, learner variability, and context-responsive planning.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 1

Inside the Story: Chapter 1

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Chapter 1: The Blur of Expectations ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

As the weeks unfold, Marnie begins to notice troubling patterns. Some students disengage entirely, others race ahead and lose interest, while a few dominate every discussion. She realizes her current approach caters to the middle—an imaginary “average” that doesn't really exist. One student shuts down every time math starts; another writes furiously but struggles with comprehension. Marnie starts asking herself: Who are my lessons really for? This chapter marks the beginning of her shift from planning for coverage to planning for connection.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Chapter 1: The Weight of the Bell ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Olivia starts skipping class and hiding in the library during block periods. The fast transitions, long lectures, and rigid deadlines feel impossible to navigate. Her teacher notices the withdrawal—not just academically, but emotionally—and gently creates a space for Olivia to talk. That conversation becomes the first step toward trust. For the first time, Olivia doesn’t feel punished for struggling.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Chapter 1: Another Red Folder ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

At a particularly difficult IEP meeting, Rhonda listens as a student describes feeling “like a problem to be solved.” The team is well-meaning—but stuck in a cycle of patchwork supports. Rhonda leaves the meeting unsettled. She realizes that something foundational needs to change. The student’s comment echoes in her mind: “Why can’t the classroom just work for me in the first place?”

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Chapter 1: The Tool Isn’t the Design ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Luis spends time in classrooms, shadowing teachers and students. What he sees troubles him: devices used only for typing, translation tools ignored, accessibility features buried. Tools are being layered on top of rigid instruction—used after the fact instead of in the design. He realizes that tech isn’t a fix; it’s a reflection of how we think about learning.

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Chapter 1: Not Built for Everyone ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The data is undeniable: failure rates are rising, and engagement is dropping, particularly among students with learning disabilities, language barriers, and mental health challenges. The team realizes their instruction was built for a narrow slice of learners. Instead of asking “What’s wrong with these students?” they begin to ask, “Who is our design leaving out—and why?”

They reflect on the hidden expectations embedded in traditional science education: speed, memorization, abstract lectures, and standardized testing. Through professional learning and student feedback, they begin the hard work of rethinking everything.

▶ Learning Interlude 2: Foundations of Universal Design

Learning Interlude 2: Foundations of Universal Design

Occurs After Chapter 1 → Before Chapter 2
Module Name: Seeing Variability, Planning Intentionally

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria

I can describe what UDL is and why it matters in my classroom.
I can name at least three barriers students might face in my current practice.

🎬 Learning Link 1: What is UDL (and What It's Not)

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

UDL Misconceptions Reflection (📄PDF): Identify and challenge three myths you’ve heard or believed about UDL.
Why UDL? Personal Impact Journal (📄PDF): Reflect on how applying UDL might shift experiences for a student you support.
UDL Elevator Pitch (📄PDF): Write a short explanation of UDL for a colleague or parent.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

UDL Sorting Cards (📄PDF): Sort examples of classroom practices into “UDL-aligned” and “not yet” categories with discussion.
Four Corners: What UDL Is/Isn’t (📄PDF): Discuss statements about UDL by moving to corners labeled “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree.”
Metaphor Mapping (📄PDF): As a team, create a metaphor that captures UDL’s purpose (e.g., “UDL is like a…”) and explain.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Shifting from Retrofitting to Design

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Barrier Brainstorm (📄PDF): List current tasks or structures and identify who they might unintentionally exclude.
Design Challenge Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on a time you had to “retrofit” and imagine how it could have been redesigned.
Access Point Planning Prompt (📄PDF): Choose a current lesson and identify at least one way to build in access from the start.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Fix-It Protocol (📄PDF): Analyze a common classroom task and collaboratively redesign it using UDL principles.
Barrier Mapping Gallery Walk (📄PDF): Teams map out common barriers in different learning areas and explore shared strategies.
UDL Design Studio (📄PDF): Choose a single task and work as a team to offer multiple entry points, tools, and ways to show learning.

🎬 Learning Link 3 Wat Is Fixed and What Is Flexible in the Curriculum?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Fixed vs. Flexible Audit (📄PDF): Analyze one lesson or unit to determine what elements are essential and which are adaptable.
Goal-Method-Tool Reflection (📄PDF): Identify a goal you teach toward, and separate it from the means used to reach it.
Curriculum Flexibility Journal (📄PDF): Reflect on how shifting from “coverage” to “learning” changes your planning.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Curriculum Break-Apart Exercise (📄PDF): Choose a program of study outcome and brainstorm multiple ways to teach and assess it.
Flexible Pathways Protocol (📄PDF): In teams, explore how curriculum expectations can be met in different ways by different students.
What’s the Non-Negotiable? Discussion (📄PDF): For a shared task, debate what is essential (the learning goal) and what’s flexible.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Learner Variability Planning Map (📄PDF): Guide to design with multiple learner needs in mind.
Barriers & Opportunities Scan Template (📄PDF): Classroom walkthrough tool to identify supports and constraints.
Goal-Method-Means Sorter (📄PDF): Graphic organizer to clarify flexible and fixed components of curriculum planning.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Curated list of UDL research articles, CAST resources, planning guides, and articles on flexible curriculum design.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 2

Inside the Story: Chapter 2

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Chapter 2: Starting from the Edges ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Prompted by a UDL workshop and her own growing discomfort, Marnie reframes her role. Instead of adapting for “struggling” students after the fact, she begins designing with them in mind from the start. Her first experiment? A flexible math task with tiered entry points, choice of tools, and room for exploration. Students surprise her—not just with their engagement, but with how they lean into challenges. The student who usually shuts down builds a math model out of LEGO. Another records a voice note explaining her strategy. Marnie begins to see what’s possible when the design shifts.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Chapter 2: Choice Without Shame ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Instead of standardized assignments with firm due dates, Olivia is given flexible timelines and options for how to demonstrate her understanding. She’s invited to co-plan how she’ll complete tasks and what scaffolds might help. There’s no pressure to disclose everything—just an invitation to learn on terms that work for her. With each choice, the shame starts to loosen its grip.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Chapter 2: If One, Then Many ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Inspired by the idea that what works for one often benefits many, Rhonda introduces her staff to proactive design. She facilitates a conversation: What if we planned for variability instead of reacting to it? Together, the team explores entry points into UDL, and begins to reframe accommodations as design choices—choices that reduce stigma and increase access for all learners.

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Chapter 2: Tech as Invitation ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Luis rethinks his professional learning sessions. Instead of leading with devices or platforms, he starts with people. He begins with how students engage, what sparks curiosity, and how tech can invite participation. He models how tools can support collaboration, co-creation, and self-regulation. Teachers begin to see tech not as one more task, but as a way to reach learners they’ve been missing.

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Chapter 2: Finding the Hook ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The team experiments with new ways to spark interest. Some students now start units through experiments, others through narrative podcasts or community-based inquiry. Instead of one way in, there are many.

Engagement increases. One student who had been frequently absent begins showing up early to help prep labs. Another student, who struggles with reading, becomes the class expert on soil health after a field-based project. The shift toward curiosity-centered design opens the door for all students to feel like science belongs to them.

▶ Learning Interlude 3: Designing for Engagement

Learning Interlude 3: Designing for Engagement

Occurs After Chapter 2 → Before Chapter 3
Module Name: Inviting Motivation & Voice

🌟 Success Criteria:

I can list a few new ways to help students feel connected and interested.
I can make one small change to support student voice or identity.

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🎬 Learning Link 1: Engagement Starts with Safety

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Classroom Climate Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on your current classroom climate and identify one barrier to emotional safety.
“Safe for Whom?” Journal Prompt (📄PDF): Explore whose voices or needs may be less visible in your environment.
Safety Signals Scan (📄PDF): Complete a checklist of environmental and relational cues that promote or hinder safety.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Safety Scenarios Discussion (📄PDF): Analyze classroom vignettes and discuss how to respond with empathy and support.
Safe Space Protocol (📄PDF): Collaboratively define what a “safe learning space” looks, sounds, and feels like.
Compassion Audit (📄PDF): As a team, assess a typical day for moments of warmth, humor, care, and protection.

🎬 Learning Link 2: What Sparks Student Motivation?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Motivation Map (📄PDF): Identify what sparks interest and motivation for students in your class.
“Barrier Spotting” Checklist (📄PDF): Reflect on structures that may unintentionally dampen motivation.
Engagement Entry Points Planner (📄PDF): Plan one upcoming lesson with multiple options for student investment.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Entry Points Exchange (📄PDF): Share strategies that have helped students become re-engaged and co-create a toolkit.
Interest-Based Brainstorm (📄PDF): In teams, rework a learning task using interest, choice, and relevance.
Group Challenge: Spark Finder (📄PDF): Pick a disengaged fictional student and design strategies to increase motivation.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Supporting Identity Through Design

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Identity-Affirming Practices Scan (📄PDF): Reflect on current classroom practices that affirm or ignore student identities.
“I See Me” Student Lens Reflection (📄PDF): Write about how a student in your class might (or might not) see themselves reflected.
Belonging & Identity Planning Tool (📄PDF): Use the checklist to make one small change that centers student dignity.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Diverse Representation Audit (📄PDF): Review materials, images, texts, and examples used in class for cultural inclusivity.
Design for Dignity Protocol (📄PDF): Collaboratively adapt a lesson or bulletin board to better affirm student identity.
Collective “I Belong” Design Jam (📄PDF): Brainstorm classroom systems, visuals, or traditions that communicate belonging to all.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Engagement Entry Points Menu (📄PDF): Examples of how to design learning with choice, interest, and relevance.
Barrier Spotting Checklist (📄PDF): Tool to help educators identify potential access and motivation blockers.
Motivation Map (📄PDF): Planning tool to connect student interests to learning goals.
Belonging & Identity Checklist (📄PDF): Reflection sheet to examine representation, safety, and affirmation in your classroom.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes selected research and practitioner articles on motivation, engagement, learner voice, safety, and belonging in inclusive education.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 3

Inside the Story: Chapter 3

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Chapter 3: What They Need to See ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Encouraged by early success, Marnie turns to representation. She starts layering multiple ways for students to access concepts: anchor charts, video clips, physical manipulatives, sentence frames, and live modeling. She experiments with whole-class “notice and wonder” routines and small group stations. One multilingual student begins to contribute more during partner talk; another student with ADHD is more focused when using fidgets and visual timers. Marnie notices the room becoming more alive—less about control, more about clarity and curiosity.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Chapter 3: Finding the Thread ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

With layered supports—guided outlines, captioned videos, audio summaries, and visual frameworks—Olivia begins to re-engage with content. The material no longer feels like a test of attention or endurance. She starts to make connections, not just in the curriculum, but within herself. Representation and accessibility allow her to see her learning differently—and to see herself as capable again.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Chapter 3: Planning for the Invisible ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The planning team starts revisiting unit plans—not just for content, but for how information is shared and who it reaches. They realize that many students’ barriers aren’t visible—and that traditional formats often miss the mark. They redesign lessons to include audio, visual, and multilingual supports, and begin embedding cultural and linguistic responsiveness into their materials.

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Chapter 3: Signals and Supports ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Luis works alongside teams to embed technology into representation strategies. For multilingual learners, he helps introduce audio scaffolds and multimodal texts. For students with reading difficulties, he shares how tools like immersive readers, captioning, and visual prompts can reduce barriers. The focus shifts from “using tech” to “designing access.”

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Chapter 3: Access for All ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

The team now tackles representation. Instead of relying on dense textbooks and long lectures, they incorporate diagrams, videos, interactive models, and bilingual prompts. They invite community scientists to speak and co-teach.

One newcomer student lights up during a hands-on group challenge and shares, “This is the first time I’ve understood what’s going on.” The team realizes that by diversifying how content is presented, they’re not diluting expectations—they’re deepening understanding.

▶ Learning Interlude 4: Representation that Connects

Learning Interlude 4: Representation that Connects

Occurs After Chapter 3 → Before Chapter 4
Module Name: Designing for Understanding

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria:

I can try 2–3 new ways to explain a concept to support more learners.
I can use tools like images, sentence frames, or real-life links to support understanding.

🎬 Learning Link 1: What Does It Mean to Represent Content?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Modality Scan (📄PDF): Reflect on which modes (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) are currently over- or underused in your instruction.
Representation Expansion Log (📄PDF): Choose one lesson and add 2–3 new ways to represent its core idea.
“Explain It Differently” Practice Sheet (📄PDF): Practice explaining a concept three different ways (e.g., analogy, diagram, story).

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Representation Roundtable (📄PDF): Share go-to strategies for representing complex content and build a collective toolkit.
One Concept, Many Paths Challenge (📄PDF): In teams, represent the same idea using at least three different methods.
Gallery Walk: Representation in Action (📄PDF): Showcase anchor charts, sentence frames, and visuals used in various subjects.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Making Concepts Clear

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Visual and Language Supports Checklist (📄PDF): Reflect on which supports (e.g., charts, diagrams, frames) are used intentionally.
Clarity Audit (📄 DF): Revisit a past lesson and identify where students may have struggled with concept clarity.
“Explain to a 10-Year-Old” Practice Tool (📄PDF): Try breaking down a concept into plain, relatable language.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Visuals Brainstorm Jam (📄PDF): In groups, brainstorm 10 different visual tools that clarify core ideas.
Sentence Frame Swap (📄PDF): Exchange and test sentence frames used in your classroom to scaffold thinking and talk.
Concept Clarity Protocol (📄PDF): Bring a tricky concept and walk through how you’d make it clear across modalities.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Connecting to What Students Already Know

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Background Knowledge Builder (📄PDF): Reflect on how you currently activate prior knowledge and where this could be strengthened.
Everyday Links Planning Tool (📄PDF): Brainstorm connections between upcoming content and real-life examples from students’ lives.
Bridge the Gap Map (📄PDF): Map out steps to move students from familiar to unfamiliar concepts with confidence.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Cultural Relevance Brainstorm (📄PDF): Share strategies that honor diverse experiences in making content relatable.
Real-Life Anchors Protocol (📄PDF): Design a lesson hook or analogy using something from pop culture, current events, or lived experience.
Knowledge Gaps Dialogue (📄PDF): Discuss common assumptions we make about what students already know and how to adjust.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Representation Planner (📄PDF): A tool to help educators plan multiple ways of representing key concepts.
Visual and Language Supports Bank (📄PDF): A curated set of strategies like sentence frames, anchor visuals, and scaffolding supports.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes sources on multiple means of representation in UDL, multimodal teaching, and culturally responsive instruction.

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 4

Inside the Story: Chapter 4

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Chapter 4: Evidence of Learning, Differently ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Now ready to rethink assessment, Marnie invites students to show what they know in diverse ways. Some create dioramas; others record themselves teaching a concept, build digital slideshows, or draft illustrated journals. She gives feedback not just on the product, but on the process—celebrating persistence, creativity, and depth of thinking. Even students who rarely completed traditional assignments now proudly present their work. Marnie sees not only more data, but richer data—and students more invested in their own growth.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Chapter 4: This Counts Too ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

For her final project, Olivia chooses to create a podcast exploring themes of identity in literature. She’s never done anything like this before. The format allows her to speak freely, reflect deeply, and show what she knows. The feedback she receives is meaningful, not just about grades—but about growth. It’s the first time in a long time she feels proud of her learning.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Chapter 4: The Culture of a Lesson Plan ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Rhonda introduces a simple, structured UDL planning protocol. It becomes a powerful tool for collaboration. Teams use it to co-plan, reflect, and support each other. Slowly, the school begins to feel different. Fewer emergency interventions. Fewer isolated “behaviour issues.” More student voice. More engagement. Teachers are still working hard—but they’re working together, not alone.

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Chapter 4: Choice Isn’t a Menu ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Too often, Luis sees “student choice” offered as a list of disconnected options. He supports teachers in integrating tech into meaningful expression—voice notes, video reflections, digital storyboards, and interactive demonstrations. Students begin to show what they know in powerful new ways, and teachers gain insight into their thinking like never before.

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Chapter 4: Inquiry as Expression ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Assessment is the next frontier. Students are invited to choose how to show their learning: a photo essay on biodiversity, a video tutorial on electrical circuits, a podcast debating climate policy, or a hand-built model explaining plate tectonics.

The results surprise everyone. Projects are rich, precise, and reflective of student identities. Teachers are energized by what they learn—not just about science, but about their students. Rigor hasn’t been lost—it’s been rediscovered through voice and ownership.

▶ Learning Interlude 5: Flexible Expression and Student Agency

Learning Interlude 5: Flexible Expression and Student Agency

Occurs After Chapter 4 → Before Epilogue
Module Name: Empowering Voice & Choice

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria:

I can offer at least two valid options for students to show their learning.
I can use scaffolds like checklists or templates to support independence.

🎬 Learning Link 1: Expression Isn't One-Size-Fits-All

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Output Options Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on current methods students use to show understanding and brainstorm new ones.
“Same Outcome, Many Paths” Sheet (📄PDF): Design two new ways students could demonstrate learning in an upcoming task.
Barrier Check for Output (📄PDF): Identify and address barriers that limit expression for specific learners.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Expression Strategy Exchange (📄PDF): Share flexible output ideas that have worked in different subjects or grade levels.
Assessment Menu Design Jam (📄PDF): Co-create an assessment menu for a shared concept, task, or unit.
Voice & Validity Conversation Protocol (📄PDF): Discuss what makes an expression “valid” and how we uphold student dignity.

🎬 Learning Link 2: What Makes a Flexible Task?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Flexible Task Audit (📄PDF): Analyze one recent task and identify opportunities to add flexibility.
Choice Board Sketch (📄PDF): Draft a simple choice board for an upcoming lesson.
Pathways to Success Tracker (📄PDF): Design success criteria that allow for multiple forms of demonstration.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

“One Task, Many Routes” Design Lab (📄PDF): Work in teams to redesign a single task to include flexible options.
Task Review Circle (📄PDF): Share a current task and get feedback on how to increase flexibility.
Success Criteria Calibration (📄PDF): Practice writing open-ended criteria that are inclusive of diverse expressions.

🎬 Learning Link 3: Scaffolding Student Ownership

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Ownership Self-Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on how much control students currently have in showing what they know.
Scaffold Builder Worksheet (📄PDF): Create a simple tool (e.g., checklist, template) to guide students through a flexible task.
Planning with Students Tool (📄PDF): Use a template to co-plan a task with one or more students.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Student Ownership Scenario Discussion (📄PDF): Explore case studies and discuss how scaffolds can support—not control—students.
Scaffold Design Sprint (📄PDF): Rapidly design student-friendly supports (e.g., organizers, prompts, rubrics).
Agency in Assessment Roundtable (📄PDF): Discuss what authentic student agency looks like in assessment practices.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Flexible Output Planner (📄PDF): Helps design tasks that allow students multiple ways to demonstrate learning.
Choice Board Template (📄PDF): A customizable board to offer learning or expression options.
Scaffold Builder (📄PDF): A tool for designing supports that promote independence.
Student Planning and Self-Check Cards (📄PDF): Visual supports to guide students through planning and reflection.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Includes sources on Universal Design for Learning, assessment flexibility, learner agency, and research on student ownership of learning.

▶ Inside the Story: Epilogue

Inside the Story: Epilogue

Designing for Belonging: Marnie’s Shift Toward Inclusive Practice

Epilogue: A Classroom Transformed ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Marnie takes a quiet moment after dismissal. The classroom hums with evidence of learning: anchor charts, student-created posters, bins of tools, and cozy reading nooks. Her lesson plans are more intentional, her classroom more inclusive—and her mindset transformed. She no longer sees her role as “accommodating for difference,” but as designing for it from the start. What once felt like survival now feels like a place of belonging—for her and her students alike.

Walking In: Olivia’s Story of Voice and Visibility

Epilogue: Still Walking In ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Olivia still has hard days. Her anxiety doesn’t vanish. But the classroom no longer feels like a place to survive or escape. With the right supports, relationships, and flexibility, she walks into her learning now—instead of around it. And that shift, simple and profound, has changed everything.

Leading for All: Rhonda’s Shift from Fixing to Designing

Epilogue: A New Lens for Leadership ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Rhonda no longer sees student challenges as isolated problems. She sees patterns—and knows how to respond with system-level thinking. Her leadership now centers on collective growth, dignity, and the power of designing from the start. Inclusion isn’t just a goal—it’s the way the school moves forward.

Beyond the Tool: Luis and the Design of Access

Epilogue: Seeing the Impact ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Luis no longer tracks login data or device counts. He tracks impact. He watches students use tech to find their voice, share their knowledge, and participate with confidence. The tools haven’t changed. But the design has—and so has the learning.

Designing Belonging at Summit Grove

Epilogue: Belonging by Design ( 📖 Read | 🎧 Listen | 🎬 Watch )

Looking back, the Summit Grove science team sees more than improved grades or attendance. They see students showing up—fully. The work is no longer just about covering outcomes. It’s about cultivating relationships, building trust, and creating classrooms where every learner has a way in. They haven’t just redesigned units—they’ve redesigned who feels welcome in science.

▶ Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

Occurs After Epilogue
Module Name: Taking It Forward

📎 Facilitator Notes (📄PDF)

🌟 Success Criteria:

I can name one design shift I will make in my own context.
I can reflect on how UDL connects to inclusion, dignity, and belonging.

🎬 Learning Link 1: What Will You Keep Doing?

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

“Keep, Start, Stop” Reflection Tool (📄PDF): Identify practices to maintain, begin, or let go based on UDL principles.
Personal UDL Practices Inventory (📄PDF): Take stock of current practices that already reflect inclusive design.
My Story Snapshot (📄PDF): Write a brief narrative about one moment this course shifted your view of inclusion.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

Practice Share Carousel (📄PDF): Share successful strategies and insights in rotating small groups.
Storytelling Circle (📄PDF): Participants reflect aloud on their journey and key takeaways.
Visioning Together Protocol (📄PDF): Collaboratively dream about what inclusive learning could look like at your school.

🎬 Learning Link 2: Small Changes, Big Impact

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Practice Shift Tracker (📄PDF): Identify and record one UDL-inspired practice to shift in your next unit or lesson.
Next Steps Action Plan (📄PDF): Create a step-by-step plan to implement your chosen shift.
Impact Reflection Journal (📄PDF): Journal about how even one small change can ripple out for students.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

Peer Coaching Triads (📄PDF): Share your next step plan with two colleagues for feedback and encouragement.
Barriers and Supports Mapping (📄PDF): Map internal and external factors that might support or hinder your shift.
“One Thing” Brainstorm Wall (📄PDF): As a team, post one small change each person will try next.

🎬 Learning Link 3: UDL as a Tool for Belonging

Power Point Slides (📄PDF)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Belonging Design Reflection (📄PDF): Reflect on how UDL can be used to foster dignity and connection in your classroom.
My UDL Commitment Poster (📄PDF): Create a visual representation of your personal UDL commitment.
Inclusive Impact Statement (📄PDF): Write a short paragraph on how your practice will affirm student identity and belonging.

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

Belonging Gallery Walk (📄PDF): Share UDL Commitment Posters and reflect on common themes.
Design for Dignity Roundtable (📄PDF): Discuss how your plans will center dignity and belonging in design.
Future Commitments Ceremony (📄PDF): Celebrate commitments through a small ritual, signing a team charter or statement of intent.

🧰 Tools & Templates:

Practice Shift Tracker (📄PDF): Plan and reflect on one instructional shift toward inclusion.
Next Steps Action Plan (📄PDF): Guide to plan concrete actions after course completion.
UDL Commitment Poster (📄PDF): A creative summary of personal learning and future intentions.

📚 Reference List (📄PDF)

Course Content

How the Course Flows

What’s in a Learning Interlude?

▶ Inside the Story: Prologue

▶ Learning Interlude 1: Getting Started

🤝 Group Learning Activity 1 (Choose 1 or More)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

🤝 Group Learning Activity 2 (Choose 1 or More)

📝 Individual Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

🤝 Group Learning Activity 3 (Choose 1 or More)

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 1

▶ Learning Interlude 2: Foundations of Universal Design

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 2

▶ Learning Interlude 3: Designing for Engagement

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 3

▶ Learning Interlude 4: Representation that Connects

▶ Inside the Story: Chapter 4

▶ Learning Interlude 5: Flexible Expression and Student Agency

▶ Inside the Story: Epilogue

▶ Learning Interlude 6: Writing Your Own Story

▶ Reflection and Recognition