Pre-conference program at NOVA

In this interactive, full-day workshop, educators will embark on a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure journey through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Designed for teachers with prior UDL experience, the day offers multiple pathways to revisit foundational concepts, deepen understanding, and investigate meaningful challenges in their own teaching practice.

Through self-directed inquiry, collaborative meaning-making, and authentic design challenges, participants will explore UDL as a framework for anticipating learner variability and removing barriers - not a checklist of strategies or an exercise in offering more choices. Together, we will examine the important distinctions between access, choice, independence, and learner agency, considering how intentional scaffolding can empower learners without unnecessarily limiting their ownership of learning.

Throughout the day, participants will experience scaffolded choice firsthand, collaborate with colleagues, and develop practical insights they can apply to their classrooms.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Deepen their understanding of UDL by pursuing a personally meaningful inquiry connected to the three UDL principles and reflecting on implications for their teaching practice.
2. Identify barriers to learning by examining how instructional design, learning environments, and task demands influence access and participation.
3. Distinguish between choice, independence, and learner agency, recognizing how intentional scaffolding supports meaningful ownership of learning.
4. Collaboratively evaluate and redesign learning experiences to anticipate learner variability, reduce unnecessary barriers, and balance access with opportunities for agency.
5. Identify actionable next steps for applying UDL principles to a meaningful challenge in their own classroom or teaching team.

April J Remfrey, MS, is a 20-year teaching veteran turned educational consultant, passionately guiding international schools toward embracing neurodiversity and supporting children with disabilities. April is dedicated to empowering school staff through professional development that creates truly inclusive learning environments. Together with the Remfrey Education Consulting team, she conducts comprehensive audits across all three tiers of support, carefully assessing current practices and identifying areas for growth. Through co-facilitated workshops, coaching, and targeted follow ups, April and the REC team guide schools to build more inclusive and supportive educational communities.

April holds a BA in Special Education and Elementary Education from Luther College, Iowa, and a Master’s in Exceptional Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With teaching experience across public, private, and international schools in three countries, she brings a global perspective to her work. She also serves on the International and European boards of directors for SENIA, is actively involved in SPAN: Safe Passages Across Networks, and is recognized as a Council of International Schools Affiliated Consultant.

Since 2013, April has called Zurich, Switzerland home, where she lives with her husband and adult child. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, cooking gourmet meals, and playing the clarinet.

Participants audit a real lesson or unit for barriers, redesign it using the three UDL principles, and build a simple Tier 1 plan to check whether it is working and decide what to do next. Most of the day is spent designing and refining work with facilitator coaching and structured peer feedback. Participants will leave with:

• A UDL-redesigned lesson or unit
• A Tier 1 data and differentiation plan for one instructional cycle
• A UDL + Tier 1 "look-fors" tool for their own setting
• A 90-day implementation plan

Who it is for: Teachers, school leaders and coordinators, and learning support, EAL staff and teaching assistants. Participants choose the work that fits their role: teachers redesign a lesson, leaders build a school-level plan, support staff build a scaffolding and collaboration plan.

Please bring: One lesson or unit you teach or support, a small anonymised sample of recent class data (e.g. exit tickets, a formative check or rubric), and a device.

Lauren Jones is a global inclusion and leadership consultant who partners with schools and organizations to develop inclusive policies and programs that support neurodivergent learners. Her work focuses on breaking down barriers to access and driving sustainable change in school systems. She has collaborated with a range of organizations, including the Ministry of Education in Rwanda, the National Geographic Society, Save the Children, and international schools across regions. With a Master's Degree in Special Education and Post Graduate Studies at Harvard School of Business, Lauren has focused her learning on sustainable inclusion, embedded in the culture of communities.

A CIS-affiliated consultant and published author, Lauren previously served as Head of School at the International School of Kigali, where she expanded access for neurodivergent students and strengthened student support services. Prior to her work in Rwanda, she led inclusive education initiatives at Qatar Foundation, creating programs designed to reach a broader range of learners. Lauren chairs the board of the Parents Alliance for Inclusion and facilitates the Playbook for Expanding and Enhancing Student Support Programs with the Office of Overseas Schools at the U.S. State Department. She also leads board trainings and retreats and partners with schools to design and implement tiered systems of support.

With a whole-child approach at the heart of her work, Lauren is deeply committed to transforming school cultures and systems—empowering educators, families, and communities to reimagine what's possible for all learners.

This full-day workshop builds on the key concepts of the Adaptive Schools Foundation Seminar. Participants will explore psychological safety, using disagreement as a resource, navigating difficult conversations and five essential mindsets for facilitation. They will leave with practical tools for developing collaborative groups and expanding their facilitation toolbox.

Pam Ciganick served as the Coordinator of Professional Learning at the Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District in Charlevoix, Michigan, for 13 years, retiring from that position in 2025. Her primary responsibilities include coordinating, planning, and supporting implementation of professional learning opportunities that integrate theories, research, and models of adult learning needs. She works collaboratively to develop the facilitation skills of building and district leaders through training, modeling, consulting, and coaching. Her passion is to build resourcefulness in individuals and in groups.

Pam’s background includes 33 years in education with 14 years of experience as a middle school teacher in English Language Arts and Social Studies. In addition, she worked for 10 years as a Secondary Literacy Consultant at the ISD level where she supported multiple school districts in implementing best practices in literacy instruction.

Pam has a strong background in group facilitation. In addition to facilitating the ISD’s Professional Learning Committee in its work toward building, implementing, monitoring, and reflecting upon a system-wide professional learning plan, she has also facilitated the English Language Arts Collaborative, superintendent subcommittees, administrative teams, and community organizations in their efforts to collaboratively develop priorities and strategic plans that are aligned to their mission and vision.

Pam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University in English Language Arts Education and a Master of Arts Degree from Central Michigan University in Middle Level Education.