CAST Universal Design for Learning announced today that it will collaborate with the University of the Azores, the government of the Azores, and Lesley University’s Portuguese World Language Institute (Cambridge, MA) to make instructional materials for teaching Portuguese based on UDL principles.

The announcement stated that CAST will provide training and technical assistance to educators in both the Azores and Cambridge, MA, as part of the Universal Design for Learning in the Teaching of the Portuguese Language Worldwide (UDL-TPW) project.

“The project will support the development of high-quality, universally designed instructional materials for teaching Portuguese throughout the world,” says Yvonne Domings, Instructional Designer and Professional Development Associate at CAST. “188 million people speak Portuguese worldwide, and it is the third most spoken language in Massachusetts. We look forward to working with these great partners and schools on a much-needed project.”

The partners will develop materials using CAST UDL Book Builder, a free online authoring environment for educators.

School partners include: The King Open School and the Portuguese School in Cambridge, MA, USA, and Colégio do Castanheiro; Externato Colégio da Passarada, Colégio S. Francisco Xavier, Escola BI da Maia, Escola 3º Ciclo e Secundária da Lagoa; Escola Secundária das Laranjeiras e Escola BI da Ribeira Grande, all on São Miguel in the Azores.

CAST is a nonprofit research and development organization that works to expand educational opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning. To learn more, go to www.cast.org .

Related article >>