2024 Mathematics Education Colloquium March 21st
Please join us at the upcoming Mathematics Education Colloquium, on Thursday, March
21st from 10:00-11:30 am in 133F Erickson and on Zoom. Dr. Rachel Lambert, Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will be presenting
Radical notions at the heart of Universal Design for Learning: Engaging teachers in
designing from the margins in mathematics.
If you are atttending virtually, please see the zoom link and passcode in the Colloquium flyer posted on our Mathematics Education Colloquium page.
Abstract: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to design lessons, curriculum and even educational systems in ways that work for heterogeneity of humans in our classrooms. At the heart of UDL is its origin in Universal Design, a movement in architecture and product design led by disabled designers. In this work, design is better when it includes all not as afterthoughts but central to initial design, when developed through empathy with and leadership by those most affected, and when it is iterative and emergent. Yet UDL has often been presented to educators in less-than-thrilling ways. For many educators, UDL has been stripped of its radical roots, of any design process, and of its connection to empathy and equity. Dr. Lambert has been working on a specifically mathematical version of UDL (UDL Math) for over ten years, across multiple research projects. In this talk, she will explore the radical roots of UDL, including how design, disability and intersectionality can be centered in UDL work with pre-service and in-service educators. She will describe findings from multiple projects in which educators engaged in design thinking and empathy work as part of UDL professional development in mathematics, creating concrete ways in which educators can design from the margins.
Bio: Dr. Rachel Lambert is an Associate Professor in Special Education and Mathematics Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before becoming a researcher, she worked for over 10 years as both a special education and a general education inclusion teacher. Her work has focused on critical analysis of research in both special education and mathematics education using a disability studies in education lens. Dr. Lambert researches emotion and identity in mathematics classrooms, particularly for neurodiverse students of color. She has designed a mathematical version of Universal Design for Learning that integrates Design Thinking (UDL Math). Other current work includes designing agentic intervention through non-digital games. You can find her work on mathematizing4all.com.
The Program in Mathematics Education sponsors this event.
