Webinar 6 - The potential of universal design for learning in community colleges, colleges of further education, trade schools, and vocation education institutions

a lamp and innovative ideas with the title of the webinar ‘Towards Genuinely Inclusive Universities’ An international perspective on best practices in the implementation of universal design

Webinar 6 - The potential of universal design for learning in community colleges, colleges of further education, trade schools, and vocation education institutions
Thursday, 20 May 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

Much of the research taking place in the field around UDL in higher education focuses on universities. This is not in fact reflective of the appetite for change which is currently observed with regards to teaching and learning in the wide spectrum of further education colleges and community colleges. It is high time the best practices being developed in these various categories of further education institutions be highlighted and showcased in the discourse around UDL and inclusion, and this will be the aim of this webinar. Further education institutions and community colleges face a very specific set of variables when addressing the diversity of learners, and these need to be analyzed in detail. This SIHO webinar will support participants as they begin this reflection.

Target Audience

This webinar series will be of interest to institutional leaders, service providers, academic staff, researchers, scholars, and students interested in the implementation of UDL. The objectives of the series is to offer participants the opportunity to deepen their reflection around UDL implementation and to encourage them to develop sustainable institutional policies and practices in this area. Each webinar includes its own specific participant outcomes.

Targeted participant outcomes

  • Participants will consider the specific variables that affect non-traditional post-secondary institutions as they seek to address learner diversity;
  • Participants will explore the challenges faces by these institutions, as well as the opportunities that are present;
  • Participants will gain an insight into some of the work already on the way in community colleges/ colleges of further education in relation to UDL implementation in the classroom.

Speakers

Valérie Van Hees is the coordinator of Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (Belgium) and has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the field of policy and inclusion in higher education. At SIHO, she forms a bridge between policy and practice on a daily basis, being a point of contact for both the Flemish Government and higher education staff to support the implementation of inclusion measures in policies and practices.

Frederic Fovet is Associate Professor, School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and has served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

Sam Catherine Johnston is the Director of Postsecondary and Workforce Development at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). As Director of Postsecondary & Workforce Development, Sam Catherine Johnston provides thought and operational leadership in CAST's workforce/postsecondary opportunities. Sam's primary research focus is on social learning processes and the use of online and blended learning to support peer-to-peer knowledge transfer.

Mary Quirke is a PhD candidate at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Mary does research on Universal Design for Learning, Inclusive Education, Career Guidance and Adult Education. Her current project is 'Universal Design' and 'Universal Design for Learning'.

Patricia McCarthy is an associate researcher at Trinity College Dublin. Patricia McCarthy began her academic career with a Degree and a Masters in Social Science from University College Dublin. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, where she specialized in disability studies and inclusion in education and society.

Registration

All webinars are free of charge and registration will be open up to the start of each webinar. All webinars will be recorded and published on the website and video channels of SIHO.