Many of you will have encountered this term at conferences, in training and publications. It sounds appealing, ground breaking and slightly daunting!

This session will seek to introduce the basic concepts of Universal Design for Learning from a hands-on-perspective: What is it? Why is it becoming increasingly important in achieving inclusion? How can I start exploring and implementing it as a teacher everyday in my own clasroom?

February 3, 2014

Presenter Frederic Fovet brings to the field of inclusion a unique profile in the sense that he has a combined background in Law (he was a practising solicitor in the UK) and an academic research interest in Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (he holds a MEd in SEBD from the University of Birmingham in the UK). It is undoubtedly this dual perspective that makes UDL so appealing. He has himself been a Special Ed teacher and the principal of a residential school for adolescents with Learning Disabilities and behaviour difficulties for over a decade, before triggering at the head of the OSD at McGill a radical and campus wide drive for UDL implementation.

This workshop will review three key aspects of learning. First, we will identify which brain networks are involved in learning. In part, we will review brain plasticity and the role of emotions in learning. We will then discuss what can be done within the classroom environment to enhance activation of these networks. Lastly we will discuss factors that can hinder learning such as mindset, anxiety and attention. The goal of this workshop is to provide teachers with relevant neuroscience information to help create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and the brain.

November 24, 2015

Presenter Cindy Hovington, PhD. is the founder of Curious Neuron, a program that provides people with the necessary skills and knowledge related to the brain. They create customized private sessions for children, students and seniors as well as workshops for students, teachers and parents.