This event introduces a Neuro-Affirming approach to course design for graduate students and postdoctoral instructors. Participants will explore neurodiversity, examine how neurodivergent strengths and challenges shape learning, and identify elements of Neuro‑Affirming instruction. The event highlights practical strategies for creating neuro‑inclusive courses covering syllabus design, course organization, participation structures, and assignment creation and applies the UDL +1 method to help instructors make small, meaningful changes to support all learners. By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

• Describe the tenets of a neurodiversity affirming instructional approach.
• Explain how neurodiversity impacts learning.
• Apply neuro-affirming instructional principles and strategies to course design.

Instructors

Melissa Tamas, Stanford University

Schedule

This one-session online event meets on Thursday, November 12th at 10pm-12am Gulf / 1-3pm Eastern / 12-2pm Central / 11am-1pm Arizona / 10am-12pm Pacific.

Audience

This event is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers looking for an introduction to fundamental academic professional development topics.

Registration

Request a registration reminder

Cap: 75. Registration opens on Monday, October 26th at 10am CT and closes once capacity is reached. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.

Accessibility

If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu), who is supporting this event, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the event to support accessibility for all our students:

• Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
• Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming

CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants improving evidence-based teaching.

This course supports the following CIRTL learning goals:

• Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge. See more Goal 1 programming.
• Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement. See more Goal 3 programming.