Educators deserve better education
Without the proper support, professional development, and resources, it can be difficult – if not impossible – to improve your practice. Even when professional development is available, it sometimes falls short. Our online courses will provide you with the theory you need to implement UDL but will focus on practical methods for improving daily practice.
Learning & Leading with Universal Design for Learning
Earn a certificate in Universal Design for Learning from the The Penn Literacy Network of The Graduate School of Education. In these courses, we’ll share the power and promise of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and the Innovator’s Mindset and provide learners with options, choices, and opportunities to reflect, create, connect, and innovate. This certificate program consists of 2 courses, each worth 1.13 Course Units = 4.5 Continuing Education Graduate Credits. Courses are provided in partnership with George Couros and Katie Novak.
Facilitated Courses
Interactive courses offer a mix of asynchronous and synchronous sessions to take your practice to the next level!
Coaching and Supporting UDL Implementation
In this course, participants will explore the UDL Guidelines and take a deep dive into the implementation of UDL, focusing on creating innovative learning environments for teachers that can be scaled to improve the outcomes of all students within the district, developing PLC’s rooted in UDL, supporting the work in classrooms, and staying true to a vision of UDL.
February 8 – April 4, 2021
$445 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreCoaching and Supporting UDL Implementation Level II
This course is designed for administrators, coaches, and leaders who are serious about implementing UDL. Participants will dive deeper into the implementation of UDL through thoughtful analysis of system drivers to support adaptive change, enhance the study of best practices to support implementation, and advance the application of key learnings to their organization’s current journey to UDL.
April 19 – June 13, 2021
$445 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreBuilding Relationships Along the UDL Journey
Building relationships with students is crucial to their ability to learn in both remote or traditional classrooms. This course will provide the why, what, and how of building relationships to assure that the teacher-student relationship is strong in order to face barriers together.
July 12 – September 6, 2021
$445 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreFlexible-Pace Courses
Self-directed courses provide the option for you to go as quickly or as leisurely as you want.
Educating the Whole Child
As education has evolved, it has become clear that in addition to academics, it is critical for students to learn 21st-century skills, like collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity to succeed in school and life. Our instruction must go beyond “teaching to the test” to empower students to excel. Universal Design for Learning and Social-Emotional Learning create a powerful partnership in educating our youth. There is a beautiful overlap between these two frameworks and this course explores how they complement each other to engage learners and focus on the whole child. We will explore how to create an environment that fosters social, emotional, behavioral, and academic growth using both UDL and SEL in your learning environment.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreLearning and the Brain
Whether you are a teacher, administrator, museum curator, coach, parent, or you are interested in learning more about how learning and the brain are connected – this course is for you. Learn about learning and the brain, including the central role of emotions for learning. From the theories presented in this course, the goal is for you to develop a new lens that you can apply to your practices and that you take concrete action steps to better design for learning based on what we know about the brain. This course is as much a self-reflection of your own learning as it is an opportunity to think about how you design learning experiences for others.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreUDL for Remote Learning
We live in a brave new world! COVID-19 has changed everything, and we must respond accordingly. This course has been designed to help you successfully navigate the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in Remote Learning so that each of your students can thrive!
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreUDL for Remote Learning: PreK-3
Learn to navigate the use of UDL in remote learning so that your PreK-3 students can continue to thrive, no matter the setting.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreSpecially Designed Instruction (SDI) & Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Designed for educators (regardless of role) to learn how to bridge the gap between special education and general education practices in order to create more inclusive, rigorous, and individualized learning outcomes for all using SDI best practices with UDL.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreOnline By Design
This course was designed to support you in designing effective and accessible online learning environments specifically using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the context of contemporary learning management systems.
For the purpose of this course, we will provide links for “how to’s” for the top 4 LMSs (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle, Schoology). However, the principles we advocate here are practicable in all modern LMSs.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreDeeper Learning
Students enrolled in this course will explore the concept of Deeper Learning, why it is needed, what it looks like, and how to do it. The modules are set up to take you through a process of understanding and doing so that, by the end, you are ready to create meaningful Deeper Learning experiences for your students. Course materials will cover both theory and practice, providing the understandings of key concepts and real examples from Deeper Learning classrooms.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreUDL Now! Self-Directed Course
Unpack the why, the what, and the how of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in this self-paced course. Dive into the UDL guidelines, learn how UDL creates more equitable learning environments, and try out tools to start embedding UDL into your practice.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreInnovate Inside the [Virtual] Box
To ensure our students learn and succeed we must innovate every day. This is even more true now as we are forced to transition to distance learning. Learn to adopt the Innovator’s Mindset through the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreEquity by Design
A first of its kind course, gain the tools to equip students (and teachers, too) with the will, skill, and collective capacity to enact positive change. This self-directed course makes the critical link between social justice and UDL and provides a blueprint for educators to alter the all-too-predictable outcomes for our historically under-served students.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreUniversally Designing Professional Learning Communities
Universally Designed PLCs can help to increase expert teaching and learning. By optimizing expert learning and focusing on eliminating the barriers that prevent all students from learning, groups of educators can foster growth and improvement.
$50 | 15 Continuing Education Hours
(1 continuing education grad credit may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn MoreInnovator's Mindset
With the swift transition from face-to-face to remote learning, teaching and learning have been disrupted. In order to eliminate barriers that prevent all learners from succeeding, we have to not only foster our own innovator’s mindset, but we have to scale these practices throughout our schools and districts.
$150 | 45 Continuing Education Hours
(3 continuing education grad credits may be obtained for an additional fee)
Learn More