Students arrive in our courses with a wide range of ways of processing information, managing time, navigating transitions, and making sense of expectations - especially as they move into college and across new learning contexts.  

While our Neurodiversity in Higher Education series introduces broad concepts and frameworks, like Universal Design for Learning, this series slows down to look more closely at individual neurodivergent experiences. Each session centers on building shared understanding, unpacking assumptions, and reflecting on how course design and teaching practices can support motivation, engagement, and success for all students. 

Participants are encouraged to register for the full series but are welcome to attend individual sessions as their schedules allow. 

Register for Remote Sessions | 30 Minutes Each:

Session 1: Autism and Learning 
   Monday, January 26, 2026 1pm to 1:30pm

Session 2: ADHD and Learning 
   Monday, February 2, 2026 1pm to 1:30pm

Session 3: Learning Disabilities in Educational Settings 
   Monday, February 9, 2026 1pm to 1:30pm

Session 4: Understanding Additional Neurodivergent Identities  
   Monday, March 2, 2026 1pm to 1:30pm

What is a Sparkshop? 💡 

A Sparkshop is a 30-minute burst of inspiration - quick, focused, and designed to spark new ideas. These short sessions introduce key UDL concepts and practical strategies you can immediately start thinking about and trying out in your teaching. 

Register for Remote Sessions | 30 Minutes Each:

UDL Sparkshop - Engagement
 Monday, February 2, 2026 2pm to 2:30pm

UDL Sparkshop - Representation
 Monday, March 2, 2026 2pm to 2:30pm

UDL Sparkshop - Action & Expression
 Monday, April 6, 2026 2pm to 2:30pm

What is a Campfire? 🔥 

A Campfire keeps the fire going. These longer, follow-up sessions create space to slow down, gather with colleagues, and dig deeper. Campfires are where you share what you tried, learn from others, and refine your ideas together in a supportive, collaborative setting 

Register for Remote Sessions | 60 Minutes Each:

UDL Campfire - Engagement
 Thursday, February 26, 2026 2pm to 3pm

UDL Campfire - Representation
 Thursday, March 26, 2026 2pm to 3pm

UDL Campfire - Action & Expression
 Thursday, April 23, 2026 2pm to 3pm

Play as Pedagogy 

When was the last time you felt a spark of joy or playfulness in your teaching – and saw that spark show up for students as well? What conditions made that possible?  

This three-part workshop series explores play as pedagogy and why it matters for both teaching and learning in higher education. Drawing on research from active learning, adult education, and UDL’s Engagement principle (Checkpoint 7.3: Nurture Joy and Play), the series focuses on practical, adaptable strategies that invite curiosity and intellectual risk-taking for students.  

Each workshop highlights a different way instructors can intentionally spark joy and play in learning – through gamification, visual representation, and emotion and storytelling and are offered in two separate formats:  

• 30-minute remote session provides an overview with examples and brief discussion of how to use these strategies in different classroom contexts 

• 60-minute in-person session provides an overview AND gives participants hands-on practice with activities and examples, with time to think about applying them in their own courses.  

The Power of Play: Gamification in the Higher Ed Classroom  

Friday, January 16 (10 – 10:30 am) ~ remote  

Tuesday, February 3 (12 – 1 pm) ~ in-person

Gamification applies the same principles that make games engaging - clear goals, feedback, meaningful tasks, and social interaction – into your teaching. In higher education, these strategies help students participate, stay motivated, and connect with one another. As Ziting Wang from the University of Chicago Academic Technology team notes, “a gamified learning process can immerse students in the curricular content and cultivate a positive attitude toward study.” Because learning is social, gamification can be especially effective in supporting collaboration and engagement in both in-person and remote classrooms.  

This workshop will introduce a range of gamification approaches, from low-tech activities to more structured digital and AI-supported strategies, and explore how instructors can adjust scale, duration, and complexity to fit their courses. 

Think, Draw, Discover: Visual Mapping in Higher Ed 

Friday, February 13 (10 – 10:30 am) ~ remote  

Thursday, March 5 (12 – 1 pm) ~ in-person 

In higher education, students are often asked to synthesize large amounts of information under tight deadlines. Traditional text-based approaches tend to focus on memorization and linear note-taking, but research shows that students learn more when they engage in active, creative, and reflective practices. Visual mapping, such as concept maps, mind maps, and other diagrammatic techniques, offers a playful, curiosity-driven way for students to organize ideas, see connections, and interact with course material. 

This workshop presents strategies for using visual mapping in a range of classroom settings. Participants will examine examples of how these techniques can support lectures, group work, discussions, and assessments. By representing information visually, students can reduce cognitive overload, spot patterns, and reflect on their understanding in a low-stakes, high-impact way. 

Stories that Teach: Using Emotion to Deepen Student Learning 

Friday, March 27 (10 – 10:30 am) ~ remote  

Tuesday, April 14 (12 – 1 pm) ~ in-person 

As the semester moves towards its end, students and instructors alike may be feeling a mix of fatigue and anticipation. This period, between mid-semester routines and end-of-term closure, offers an opportunity to pause and reflect. Grounded in Sarah Rose Cavanagh’s work on emotion in learning, this workshop explores how engaging students’ emotions – through storytelling, mindfulness, Joy Cards, and other reflective activities – can strengthen presence in the classroom. Emotions stick with students, helping them make connections, step out of their comfort zones, and engage in meaningful ways. Storytelling can reach all kinds of learners and make revision and performance central to learning.  

This workshop will introduce a range of strategies and tools from brief in-class activities to longer assignments and explore how instructors can adapt them for the end of the semester and carry these approaches forward into future courses.