The College of Education received six awards in the newest round of Teaching Innovation Grants, given to University of Maryland faculty to enhance their instructional practices. This year, approximately $473,000 in 48 total awards funded course-based projects integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, which emphasize addressing natural variability in how learners process information, engage with content and demonstrate knowledge.
“Inclusive teaching is effective teaching,” said Mary E. Warneka, director of teaching innovation in the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC), which administers the grants. “And digital accessibility is an important aspect of effective teaching—making sure all learners can access course content.”
Part of the university’s strategic plan to reimagine learning, the Teaching Innovation Grants program has since 2022 invested $4.4 million in 187 projects. The new awards will benefit an estimated 5,100 learners this academic year, and mid-semester surveys will gather feedback about their experiences.
This years’ grants also require UDL training for recipients through the TLTC, to help them “really shine as ambassadors of this practice,” Warneka said. The three key UDL principles encourage educators to design multiple means of representation, or presenting information in different ways; multiple means of action and expression, meaning students have various ways to communicate what they learned; and multiple means of engagement, or stimulating interest and motivation for learning.
The College of Education projects are listed below. The full list of awardees is available here.
- Advancing Equitable and Inclusive Mathematics Education Beyond College Courses: Experiencing, Practicing and Bringing UDL into Elementary Schools: Carolina Napp-Avelli, assistant clinical professor (PI), and Sara Kirschner, assistant clinical professor (co-PI)
- Redesigning EDHD 200: A Universal Design to Enhance Accessibility and Engagement in Learning Human Development Theories: Lucas Butler, associate professor (PI); Emily Neer, lecturer (PI); and Jennie Lee-Kim, assistant clinical professor (co-PI). (Note: This project received two Teaching Innovation Grants.)
- Transforming Creative Initiatives in Teacher Education: Integrating Universal Design for Learning in a Blended Elementary Education Program: Theresa Nebel Robinson, principal faculty specialist (PI)
- UDL as Process and Content: Modeling Universal Design for Learning Pedagogies in Teacher Education: Jennifer McCatharn, assistant clinical professor (PI), and Melody Mann, Ph.D. student in special education (co-PI)
- Universal Design for Learning in Assessments to Increase Awareness and Empathy, Connect with the Disabled Community, and Challenge Exclusionary Practices: Katryna Andrusik, assistant clinical professor (PI), and Yewon Lee, associate clinical professor (co-PI)
This article is adapted from a story that first appeared in Maryland Today.
Illustration by iStock
