CAST offers many opportunities for educators at all levels—and their organizations—to build their understanding and practice of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility, and professional development.
“This has been one of the most relevant and practical professional development trainings I have attended.” CAST Institute Participant
We know that each school district is unique, which is why we design customizable implementation plans to bring UDL to educators. We will work with you to meet your goals within your timeline and budget. Professional development for teachers, instructional coaches, and school and district leaders can vary from one-hour virtual workshops to multiyear statewide implementation plans.
At CAST, one of the ways we set ourselves apart by offering our UDL Coaching Academy. We will develop a cohort of UDL coaches that will support the scaling and facilitation of UDL training and implementation within the district. This self-sustaining model allows you to continue scaling long after the contract has concluded.
Our training opportunities are tailored to your specific needs and can include a mix of the services below to help support your unique goals for learning and growth.
Understand the underlying foundations of UDL
Explore the UDL Guidelines
Observe and analyze teaching videos using the UDL lens
Design or redesign a lesson using the UDL Lesson Designer
Practice strategies to develop clear goals
Gain ways to evaluate curriculum and tools, including assessments, materials, and methods using the UDL framework
Infuse UDL into any lesson or learning experience
Design and refine a lesson or other learning experience (i.e., professional development session) using the UDL Lesson Design Process
Take a deep dive into the three neural networks
Learn about and apply both proactive and reactive design tools
Use UDL to develop student agency
Apply UDL to your own setting
Monthly Interactive Virtual Workshop Series
Review the “what and why” of inclusive technology practices including federal requirements
Design accessible documents, slides decks of lesson plans
Address barriers that are organic to their own context, e.g., supporting ELL students with disabilities, accessible AT on a budget,
Learn about and use the iterative process to measure change and inform growth
Draft policies to support the implementation of accessible educational materials and assistive technologies
Our personalized workshops can focus on any of the following to most support participant learning:
Design UDL lessons and give/receive feedback on these lessons from their peers
Address issues that are organic to their own context, e.g., UDL for ELLs; UDL and MTSS; UDL for student engagement
Learn about and use the iterative process to measure change and inform growth
Dive more deeply into the UDL Guidelines
Create a portfolio to submit for the UDL Credential 2
Identify pedagogical and learning trends across a team of teachers
Acknowledge areas of strength
Identify next steps for growth
Create professional learning and implementation plans/timelines
Learn how to recruit a team
Set up a learning plan
Learn how to run instructional rounds
Learn how to create a plan for scaling
Lead lesson planning with the Lesson Design Guide
Practice Journey Mapping
Give and receive feedback on lesson or PD plans
Be able to coach educators on the basics of UDL
Use the UDL Lesson Planning Guide to collaboratively create a lesson that addresses a problem of practice
Observe while the lesson is taught in a classroom
Use the Journey Mapping protocol to analyze the lesson
Identify design elements to use in future lesson planning
Design and get feedback on an Intro to UDL to present to Cohort 2
Build UDL team in their school – 10 hours of consultation and 2 hours’ support to design an introductory training
Design monthly two-hour monthly trainings in consultation with CAST Implementation Specialists
Run a set of Instructional Rounds with their team and give/get feedback from their peers and CAST Implementation Specialists afterward
Participate in a one-day in-person Lesson Design Studio
Be able to coach educators on the advanced application of UDL
Earn the credentials independently or integrate them into professional learning goals.
UDL Credential 1
Demonstrate understanding of the Associate (Level 1) concepts of Universal Design for Learning
Receive a micro-credential
UDL Credential 2
Demonstrate understanding of UDL and the Core Knowledge Statements by explaining how a scenario anticipated variability and reduced barriers
Upload submissions and receive feedback
UDL Credential 3
Demonstrate ability to coach teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and professional developers to implement UDL in their own settings
Two rounds of personalized CAST feedback per participant
Proactively design a plan to ensure the smooth rollout and adoption of UDL
Problem-solve around barriers faced