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Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center

Introduction to Universal Design for Learning Workshop (SUNY CPD)

Registration is now open for SUNY CPD’s Introduction to Universal Design for Learning Workshop. Participants will learn why the UDL framework is important, how to apply its principles and guidelines to their own courses, and best practices for interacting with students with disabilities. Additional modules will share strategies to dismantle ableism, incorporate an anti-racist pedagogy, promote social justice, and be more inclusive in the classroom.

Workshop Description

This spring, the SUNY Center for Professional Development (SUNY CPD) is offering an Introduction to Universal Design for Learning Workshop facilitated by Dr. Christopher D. Hromalik (Onondaga Community College). These sessions are currently offered in a hybrid format and provides a comprehensive introduction to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework.

Participants will learn why the Universal Design for Learning framework is important, how to apply its principles and guidelines to their own courses, and best practices for interacting with students with disabilities.

Additional modules will share strategies to dismantle ableism, incorporate an anti-racist pedagogy, promote social justice, and be more inclusive in the classroom.Participants in this workshop will apply what they learn about Universal Design for Learning to design a new lesson or revise an existing lesson.

Target Audience

Faculty and Instructional Designers

Workshop Objectives

Upon successful completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define Universal Design for Learning and differentiate between Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning, accessibility and usability.
  • Differentiate the three principles of UDL and explain how each of the three principles can be applied to their work with students.
  • Explain best practices for interacting with students with disabilities.
  • Provide strategies to stop ableism, incorporate anti-racist pedagogy, promote social justice, and be more inclusive when working with students.
  • Recognize barriers to learning in their own instruction and choose UDL strategies that could be used to mitigate those barriers.
  • Apply the UDL framework to create a more inclusive lesson and create a plan to develop and implement this instruction.
  • Determine the next steps to take to build a UDL culture in their discipline, department, college/school or institution.

Completion Requirements

A series of assignments are incorporated into the workshop modules. This includes discussion forum assignments and assignments that build toward the creation of a lesson plan based on the Universal Design for Learning framework. In order to receive a passing evaluation, participants will have to earn a minimum of “Complete” on each assignment.

Workshop Dates

This workshop is currently offered in a hybrid format on three different dates:

Session 1 Schedule:

  • Week 1: Opens March 25, 2022, Asynchronous Module
  • Week 2: April 1, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 3: April 8, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 4: April 11, 2022, Asynchronous Module

Session 2 Schedule:

  • Week 1: Opens April 15, 2022, Asynchronous Module
  • Week 2: April 22, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 3: April 29, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 4: May 2, 2022, Asynchronous Module

Session 3 Schedule:

  • Week 1: Opens May 19, 2022, Asynchronous Module
  • Week 2: May 26, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 3: May 27, 2022 9:00am - 3:00pm, Synchronous Module
  • Week 4: May 31, 2022, Asynchronous Module

Register for “Introduction to Universal Design for Learning” Workshop

Meet the Instructor

Christopher D. Hromalik, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher D. Hromalik is Professor of Spanish and Coordinator of Spanish and French in the World Languages Department at Onondaga Community College. He is also the Project Manager of the SUNY Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Student Empowerment Initiative, funded by SUNY’s Office of Disability, Diversity and Non-Traditional Student Services, which seeks to provide training in the UDL framework to all SUNY faculty.

He has led many UDL presentations and workshops since 2011. From 2016-2019, Dr. Hromalik was the Faculty Coordinator of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Academy, which was funded as part of the Onondaga Pathways to Careers (OPC) project through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. In this role, he served as the lead instructional designer and principal investigator studying the impact of UDL training on community college faculty, staff, and students. His primary research interests include investigating the role of self-regulated learning in second language acquisition, with a focus on community college students studying a language online, as well as the impact of Universal Design for Learning instruction on faculty practice and student learning outcomes.