"We’ve Been Expecting You": Striving to Model Accessible and Inclusive Teacher Education

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: SIG-Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

This paper documents the collaborative self-study of three teacher educators in a large graduate teacher education program at a research-intensive university. They explore the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to create more accessible teacher education programs. Recursive, collaborative data analysis revealed numerous findings. They highlight the effects of teacher educator metacognition, reflexivity, and willingness to examine and re-imagine pedagogical practices. Benefits observed, and recounted by Teacher candidates (TCs), accruing from teacher educators enacting UDL principles were more meaningful engagement, increased depth and quality of submitted work, and greater well-being. Transparency modelling UDL principles helped TCs imagine new possibilities for their own teaching. Opportunities and limitations of using UDL to address the institutional ableist policies are also discussed.

Authors

• Lincoln Smith, University of Toronto - OISE

• Kathryn Broad, University of Toronto - OISE

• Kara Dymond, University of Toronto - OISE