CONFERENCE PROGRAM
5:45- 6:00 p. m. Welcome Remarks
Dean Lisa McGarry, PhD, College of Arts, Sciences, and Professional Studies Tatiana Diaz, Assistant Vice President, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Peggy Kerr, EdD, Conference Chair, and Assistant Professor, Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
6:00- 6:50 p. m. Keynote Presentation: Seen, Heard, and Supported: Leveraging Learner Assets through Intentional Design
Description: Each learner comes to the classroom with individual strengths and abilities, varied experiences and backgrounds, and specific interests and preferences. As educators, we can use learner variability as a starting point for designing supportive and engaging learning experiences.
This presentation addresses how educators can intentionally and proactively design learning environments and activities that reduce barriers, integrate supports and scaffolds, and leverage learners’ assets. With the Universal Design for Learning( UDL) guidelines, we can undertake a stepby-step process to reflect and integrate strategies to support all learners. Learn how UDL Guidelines 3.0 promote an assets-based approach that teachers, administrators, teacher educators, and postsecondary faculty can use to create inclusive learning environments that support student success.
Presentation Highlights:
• Assets-based pedagogy: Considering learner variability as a basis for student success
• Proactive Design: Using UDL 3.0 to design learning experiences that support and scaffold learning for students
• Small Steps that Make a Difference: Integrating a UDL-based design process into practice
Presenter: Kavita Rao, PhD, Professor of Special Education and Director of the College of Education Research Institute at the University of Hawai‘ i at Mānoa
Biography: Kavita Rao is a Professor and Director of the College of Education Research Institute at the University of Hawai‘ i at Mānoa. Her research and teaching focuses on instructional and assistive technology, Universal Design for Learning( UDL), inclusive instructional design, online learning, and culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Kavita has conducted professional learning workshops on UDL, technology, and inclusive strategies in the US, the Pacific islands, and Asia. Kavita was the recipient of the inaugural David Rose UDL Research award in 2024. She has served on the Advisory Board of the Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network( UDL-IRN), chaired the UDL-IRN Research Committee, and served as a member of CAST’ s UDL Rising to Equity Advisory Board.