Allison Posey presented at CAST UDL a session entitled: “Learner Voice in the Design of the UDL Credentials.” The slides were linked at: bit.ly/2022CredentialsSymposium Posey is a Senior Content Editor and Producer at CAST and has been there for eleven years. I have been able to take CAST UDL courses now and enjoyed each of them. I am also intrigued by credentials. Posey started with the prompt: “Come as you are! How are you feeling today? With a photo of bananas and a scale from 1-4 with “ripeness.” I had not seen this one before and thought it was a fun welcome. The goals of the session were to provide an overview of the challenges faced and addressed in the UDL credentials. Posey asked:
When we design with UDL, what do we see, hear, feel that is different? How are learner voices honored?
Alison Posey, UDL Symposium 2022
Posey explained that CAST gathered an advisory team and learned that:
- UDL is a mindset and a journey – it’s not a checklist!
- UDL is about feedback and collaboration to reduce barriers and inclusion for all.
- We need to model UDL in the credentials themselves.
They developed and launched version 1 for three credentials: level 2 is why, level 2 is what, and level 3 is how. Level 1 credential is to understand key ideas such as barriers, learner variability, UDL as a research-based framework, UDL Design Process (proactive, iterative, flexible, high expectations for all). This is the 1 UDL Associate, and more information was shared at bit.ly/L1Resources Posey explained that they are redesigning this level. Level 2 is the what, centering on “UDL is not just about options, but anticipating variability & reducing barriers.” This level addresses barriers through goals, assessments, methods & materials, and expert learning for all by design. For this, flexibility is mentioned often. Level 3 is the how and you proactively plan your own learning experience and gain feedback… to then revise based on feedback. Posey mentioned this level does take longer because you need to incorporate feedback. I am now going to check this out to continue learning about UDL.
