Belonging in and beyond the Classroom with Universal Design for Learning by Thomas J. Tobin | The Teaching & Learning Centre

“Belonging in and beyond the Classroom with Universal Design for Learning” from the Teaching & Learning Summer Conference 2022 on August 25, 2022

Facilitated by Thomas J. Tobin

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we moved our face-to-face courses to remote instruction—in a hurry and with “good enough” as our benchmark.

Now that we’re prioritizing both flexible instruction and a return-to-campus ethos, we have to learn how best to balance how we support learners in the classroom as well as when they are beyond formal spaces and times with us, ideally in a considered and intentional way.

We must now find ways to be ready to re-open for in-person learning that are safe, provide choices for instructors and students, and make students want to be back in the classroom—while also keeping the affordances and flexibility that fully remote instruction gave our students.

This keynote will share three low-effort do-them-right-now design techniques that reduce student anxiety and pressure, reduce your own instructor frustrations, and allow you to focus on the interactions that you want to have with your students. We will discuss three new-normal practices for

• access to materials, interactions, and people (in the course and beyond);
• assessment techniques: testing, grades, and feedback; and
• engagement strategies that make students want to come to the classroom.

All of the techniques and strategies that we will examine in each of these focus areas are backed by neuroscience research that shows us how — and why — we can lower barriers for our students and for ourselves. Are you under a mountain of grading? Learn how to shrink it. Are your students anxious and worried about access to materials or big exams? Learn how to help them see ahead and plan well. Do your students feel like they can just watch your videos and skip the classroom all together? Learn how to make them feel “a part of” instead of “apart from.”

This session will provide multiple ways to keep participants engaged, multiple ways to present information, and multiple ways to join the conversation and show skills.

Resources from Thomas Tobin:

• Belonging in and beyond the Classroom with Universal Design for Learning handout
• Belonging in and beyond the Classroom with Universal Design for Learning slide notes
• Belonging in and beyond the Classroom with Universal Design for Learning slides