Welcome to the Tuesday Teaching Tip, an easy-to-implement tool that you can use immediately in your classroom teaching. 

TUESDAY TEACHING TIP: Build a course where all learners can thrive 

Each of us differ in the way we learn and process information. In our courses, we have the opportunity to work with students who bring variability in 1) how they learn, 2) what motivates them to take your course, and 3) how they stay engaged with your teaching. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an equity-driven set of guidelines that can help you create accessible courses with tools to support students to internalize the knowledge you present in your classroom. 

Accessibility is a space where each learner can access the knowledge you impart in a way that meets their unique needs to be challenged, motivated and engaged in their learning. How can we build accessible learning environments where each of our students thrive? 

This week, we challenge you to UDL+1 and make one incremental change from the list below that commits to making your learning environment more accessible for all learners. 

Here’s one way to do it 

• Create Access: If you assess student participation, offer students’ credit for being a notetaker and posting their class notes on Camino. A daily notetaker gives students in need of note taking services the resources they need to thrive in your course. It also encourages those less comfortable with speaking or contributing verbally to demonstrate their course engagement. Plus, it bakes in mutual support among your students! 
• Build in The Why: Show your students where they are in your course through a course map. Visualizing what they have accomplished and seeing the material and activities they have ahead encourages their motivation. It also reinforces skills for them to self-regulate their time and energies, and to recognize potential and actual barriers to achieving their goals. 
• Give Space to Internalize: Give your students a stop light self-reflection at the end of your next unit or module. Elicit three short responses from students: Red Light (“My learning was stopped because . . .”); Yellow Light (“I have a question, confusion, or need further clarification about . . .” and Green Light (“My most valuable takeaway is . . .” Use the responses to create feedback loops between you and your students in order to address barriers they may be experiencing. 

DID YOU DO IT?

Let us know how it went. We would love to hear your feedback about how you implemented today’s Tuesday Teaching Tip in your classroom. Click here to fill out our 3-question survey. The survey is anonymous, but if you choose to enter your name, you’ll be entered in a drawing at the end of the quarter to win a new book from Faculty Development!

UPCOMING EVENTS 

• Join us TODAY for an advising basics workshop with Drahmann Advisor Diana Morlang, 2 - 3 PM in Varsi 222.
• Join us next Tuesday, April 22 at 12:15 for lunch and conversation in Varsi 222 and hear from colleagues across campus in our CAFE on Meaningful Advising: Connecting Students with Opportunities Beyond Campus

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITY

Help us celebrate educational excellence! Nominate yourself or a colleague for the Brutocao Family Foundation Award for Curriculum Innovation—honoring faculty whose bold, creative approaches to teaching and curriculum have transformed learning for Santa Clara students. Submit your nomination by Monday, April 25th, 2025!

WANT TO READ A LITTLE MORE?

• See our Digital Resource Page on Accessibility
• Read more about Universal Design for Learning, including CAST’s Top 5 UDL Tips for Learning Environments and UDL Tips for Assessment
• “What is Accessibility?” National Center on Accessible Educational Materials (AEM)
• “Graphic Organizers: Guiding Principles and Effective Practices Considerations Packet” Training & Technical Assistance Center, The College of William and Mary.
• Tobin, Thomas J. and Kristen T. Behling. 2018. Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press. 

 

This week’s Tuesday Teaching Tip was prepared by Mythri Jegathesan on behalf of the Faculty Collaborative.

Missed a teaching tip? Read them all here. Don’t forget to check out our Faculty Associates office hours here.

And check out our full calendar of CAFEs and other Faculty Development and Faculty Collaborative events.