UK Faculty Elevate Teaching at CELT UDL Boot Camp
“Putting students first” is the first key principle of the University of Kentucky’s strategic plan, the UK-PURPOSE. The first objective of that principle is to “[e]nhance and engage in a student-first ethos that inclusively embraces all students…utilizing an equity mindedness lens.” And at the UK Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), it has long been a mission to collaborate with instructors, leaders and the larger UK community in the development of learner-centered educational programs.
For many instructors and scholars, this goal is compelling in its push to reinvent what it means (and what it looks like) to learn and be successful in the setting of a particular discipline or profession. A prominent framework for this sort of reflection and educational innovation is Universal Design for Learning (UDL): a research-based planning framework that helps educators reduce learning barriers through proactive design.
On May 14-16, faculty from nine colleges participated in the three-day CELT UDL Boot Camp, during which they explored and applied the ideas of UDL using design thinking approaches that asked participants to see their courses through a student-oriented lens.