next Steps

Here are some suggestions for next steps after finishing Module 3.
Choose an option that's right for you or create your own. 
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next steps
if ​This is New Information
​for You

​(The first two activities below are also "Next Steps" at the end of the UDL module.)

Review your own learning experiences
Make a list of your favorite and least favorite teachers and courses.  Why and how did they affect you?  Can you replicate anything that worked?  Or address any problems that may also be showing up in your courses?  Imagine a student who would prefer the teachers and courses you didn't like.  How would those students learn in your course, and consider how to universally design courses for them.

Apply UDL to new or existing courses
Look at a worksheet with ten steps for applying UDL and try it with one of your courses (this is a Microsoft Word document).

Learn about disability and accommodations from a non-medical perspective. 
This module discusses functional limitations and medical conditions.  Try to take a different approach by thinking about what it's like to experience a rich, full, complex life as a college student or instructor with a disability.  Check out the list of films and books on the NCCSD website and watch for disability-related events or presentations offered by your campus, your local community, or your professional association.  Also look for disability-related presentations at professional conferences.  Social media, YouTube and other online sources may be helpful, but are not always accurate.  They may also portray disability as a problem to be overcome or something to be pitied, so avoid anything about disability that is one-dimensional or geared toward making you feel sorry for people with disabilities.

Another option is to watch disabled comedian Stella Young talk about why she is not your inspiration.

Next steps if you're 
​Familiar with Information
​in This Module

Plan an event to teach others
Plan a departmental or campus event to educate others about disabilities and accommodations.  You can take a more medical or legal approach, or discuss disability in terms of personal experiences or UDL.  If you prefer creative options, try hosting an open mic, having an exhibit of art from disabled artists, holding a poetry reading by people with disabilities, or anything else you are interested in doing!

"Come out of the closet?"
Do you have a disability or chronic health condition that affected you as a student?  Or maybe one that you have as an instructor or faculty member?  Think about how you choose where and when to disclose that to others.  How might your choices affect the way you implement accommodations or work with students who have disabilities?  How might "coming out of the closet" about your experiences affect your work or your students?  And many instructors with disabilities never get accommodations.  Contact Human Resources or a confidential Employee Assistance Program if you have questions about how to get services, and review this faculty training's module for instructors with disabilities.  

Push yourself to make significant changes to your courses
Look at a handout from this module (handouts are also available in the Resources section of this website). Whether the goal is universally designing your course or simply challenging yourself as an instructor, pick one thing about your course that you've always done the same way.  Now think about who would struggle with that and think of at least three other ways you could change things up while keeping high standards and the integrity of your course intact.

Need some inspiration?  Take a look at an article by David Rose and colleagues about how he implemented creative UDL strategies in a large lecture course at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education.  CAST, Inc. has case studies from two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions, as well as technical programs. DO-IT at the University of Washington has webinars, videos, and publications for postsecondary instructors.  Click here to see DO-IT resources organized by subjects like accessible technology, or access in STEM courses.
 
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