Inclusive Design for Learning Award

2022-2023 Award Recipient

Congratulations to Tanya Byker (Economics) for being the first recipient of Middlebury’s Inclusive Design Award, sponsored by AGDAI and the CTLR!

Out of a rich pool of talented faculty, Tanya was selected for her pedagogical design choices in ECON 211: Regression Analysis. Nominators noted Tanya’s attention to creating a learning environment that prioritizes clarity and accessibility. Students appreciated being able to access course content, engage in class activities, and complete assessments in a variety of modalities. They also emphasized Tanya’s extra efforts to make lecture materials and Office Hour consults widely available to all. We celebrate our colleague for her work as an inclusive teacher and the positive impact she has on her students. Congratulations, Tanya, and thank you.

Inclusive Design for Learning principles help increase accessibility in curricular design and teaching, fostering more inclusive and dynamic learning. Unlike other awards that celebrate good teaching at Middlebury, this award specifically highlights an instructor’s embrace of Inclusive Design and the role of Inclusive Design in high quality instruction. 

The award recipient will receive $1,000. Winners will have the opportunity to share their work in inclusive design for learning with the broader Middlebury community.

Inclusive Design Principles

Inclusive Design for Learning encourages educators to provide multiple methods of presentation, expression, engagement, and assessment. Its goal is to create learning opportunities for all students while maintaining high expectations for performance.

Key features of inclusively designed teaching and curricular development include: 

• Clarity
• Choice and Equity
• Flexibility

These principles apply to the ways information is presented and accessed; the ways students can respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills; the ways students are engaged in learning; and the class assessment mechanisms.

More information on inclusive design, inclusive teaching, and curricular design is available in the CTLR’s teaching resources.

Nominations for Academic Year 2023-2024

Students, recent graduates, faculty, advisers, and other Middlebury employees are encouraged to nominate individuals who have exemplified inclusive design practices in their teaching and curricular development during Academic Year 2023-2024. Self-nominations will be accepted. 

The form will open up for nominations and the deadline announced in the spring. Deadline for nominations will be in the fall with the recipient being announced in late November.

Contact agdai@middlebury.edu with questions.