ATU have won the prestigious John Kelly Award for Universal Design in Further and Higher Education at a recent event in Dublin. This award recognises the innovative practice of teaching staff in further and higher education engaging with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework.
The goal of UDL is to use a variety of teaching methods to remove barriers to learning. It is about building in flexibility that can be adjusted for every person’s strength and needs. This delivers a more inclusive learning experience for all students
This year, AHEAD and UCD Access & Lifelong Learning teamed up to expand the awards with three categories:
- · individual award
- UDL in Collaboration award
- ‘One to watch’ category award
The UDL in Collaboration category is aimed at higher education institutions (HEIs) and education and training boards (ETBs) who have used the UDL Digital Badge to systematically develop UDL capacity in their college/centre, such as the development of communities of practice, institutional projects, and new strategic actions.
After an international review process, ATU were one of four finalists shortlisted in the Collaborative category. Dr Niamh Plunkett, Head of Teaching & Learning at ATU Sligo and Maureen Haran, Lecturer in UDL presented in front of a live audience and an international judging panel in O’Reilly Hall UCD and were announced winners on the day.
ATU had further representation on the day with Cormac Flynn and Lucia Cloonan shortlisted for the individual award.
Dr. Orla Flynn, President ATU, congratulated the winners; “We are formally embedding UDL as one of the central pillars of our Teaching and Learning function and we are developing policies in this area for adoption across the university. I want to congratulate our UDL team on a their well earned award and look forward to further development in Universal Design for Leading.”
Further Information on the John Kelly Award submission and presentation can be found on the AHEAD website where you will find the published John Kelly Collaborative Award submission case studies. More information on ATUs past UDL Conferences can be found on our webpage. Contact us at teachingandlearningcentre@nullatu.ie, or follow on Twitter: @ATUSligoTLC.