A udl journey

We are very pleased to share our journey with UDL, Universal Design for Learning. This pedagogical model has empowered our teaching, and our feeling of doing something good in our classes, for almost five years now.

Variability is the norm !

Nowadays, variability is the norm in our classrooms: we have to teach the same content but to a new and very diverse student population.

In fact, students haven’t changed a lot; the society we live in has. Our technological environment has impacts on all our lives, personal and professional. Added to this reality, the knowledge of the brain that we have today is much more accurate than before, even if we are still far from understanding everything.

Remove the barriers

In this context, we need to rethink our classroom. Pratiques pédagogiques CUA

And that is where UDL makes us realise that what is helpful for one student can be helpful for anyone in the classroom.

The idea is to recognize all possible barriers in our teaching in regards to the learning process and then to make them disappear, in order to reach ALL students.

UDL principles

The table below represents the three means of the model. Les compositions progressives en français langue seconde

• When we start to think about our course and the way we teach, we often find out that we already apply a lot of good practices.
• The concept of multiple means (Engagement, Representation and Action & Expression)  enables us to approach our teaching with a wider vision, that of inclusion, without lowering academic standards. This pedagogical model is based on neuroscience literature.

Thinking out of the box

Venturing out of our comfort zone, reflecting on our pedagogy, observing our classroom from a different perspective and through a wider lens. Experiencing vulnerability, discomfort … not always an easy process! Creativity, yet another challenge: listening to our students, a key component in this process.

Thinking out of the box, a necessary step towards the shift of paradigm and the embracing of an inclusive pedagogy.