Universal Design for Learning
I co-presented a workshop on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at the USITT 2025 Conference. We focused on practical, inclusive strategies for designing accessible learning.
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The Learners
College and university faculty teaching theatre design, technology, and production, attending the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Conference in Columbus, Ohio, in March 2025.
The Challenge
Technical theatre courses rely heavily on hands-on demonstration, visual communication, and studio critique. Those methods can create barriers for students with different abilities, backgrounds, and ways of processing information. Many instructors want to teach more inclusively but aren’t sure where to start or how to fit Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into courses.
The Strategy
My co-presenters, Maranda DeBusk (The Ohio State University) and Renee E. Yancey (Boston University), and I designed the workshop to model the practices it taught. Participants completed a short online pre-work module before the session, so our time together could focus on application rather than lecture. In the session, small groups each took on one UDL principle: multiple means of representation, engagement, or showing proficiency. Each group used its own slide deck to work through realistic teaching scenarios and develop strategies they could bring back to their own courses. Every session document was also provided in a screen-reader-compatible format, putting the workshop’s own accessibility into practice.
The Outcome
Participants left with concrete, discipline-specific strategies for reducing barriers in studio and production courses, plus a full set of resources to adapt for their own teaching. The session built on my ongoing equity-minded teaching work, which led to an article in Theatre Design & Technology.