In Teaching to Diversity, Dr. Jennifer Katz synthesizes the research, and 16 years experience of teaching in inclusive classrooms and schools, to provide answers to several questions:

• How do I make inclusion work for ALL students?
• What are the foundational best practices of a truly inclusive learning community?
• How does one create such a community?

The author pulls together, in an organized way, a three-block model of universal design for learning (UDL) and suggests a step-by-step approach for implementing it. This framework includes:
Block One, Social and Emotional Learning: details ways to build compassionate learning communities (K–12) in which all students feel safe and valued, and develop a positive self-concept, sense of belonging, and respect for diverse others.
Block Two, Inclusive Instructional Practice: includes a framework for planning units from K–12, and explains instructional and management practices for teaching, assessing, grading, and reporting in UDL Classrooms.
Block Three, Systems and Structures: suggests strategies for creating inclusive learning communities, and explores ways in which resource teachers, student services personnel, and school administrators can support and create socially and academically inclusive schools and classrooms.
The three-block model of UDL can empower educators with the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to teach diverse learners in the same classroom—including those who have previously been excluded. Ultimately, it is about creating classrooms and schools that heal by teaching to the heart, mind, and spirit of every student.

Jennifer Katz, PhD, taught for 16 years in diverse classrooms from K to 12, including special education and inclusive classrooms in Winnipeg and Vancouver. She has also served as a resource teacher and counselor. In addition, she has been a sessional lecturer at the University of British Columbia, educational consultant, editor, and presenter. Her work as an advocate of inclusive education has spanned several provinces and territories, and multiple audiences – university courses, academic conferences, parent advocacy groups, professional development workshops, and educational conferences. She continues to work closely with students and teachers who are living and learning in inclusive classrooms across Canada and internationally. Dr. Katz is currently an assistant professor in faculty of education at the University of Manitoba.

Jennifer Katz's profile page

Faye Brownlie has worked in staff development with teachers, co-planning and co-teaching, providing seminars, workshops and keynote presentations in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. She’s passionate about including and supporting all learners, and her work focuses on literacy, teaching for thinking, assessment and inclusion. She has co-authored many books for teachers, including

It’s All about Thinking in English, Social Studies and Humanities and It’s All about Thinking in Mathematics and Science. Faye believes, "We know enough, collectively, to teach all our students to read, and more importantly, to create readers who not only can read but want to read." Faye lives in Vancouver.

Faye Brownlie's profile page