March 2020

Jose Blackorby, PhD

Jose Blackorby is the Senior Director of Research and Development at CAST and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). He has been working to improve access and outcomes for children and youth with disabilities for more than 20 years. He has led large-scale national studies, designed assessments, developed innovative technology solutions for UDL and higher order thinking skills, and conducted significant design and experimental research. His current work focuses on next generation applications of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in instruction and assessments to support inclusion and learning. Current projects include the development of teacher dashboard for Ismart, a next generation application of DLM in STEM, development of an open source UDL player for digital content called Clusive, an efficacy study of a UDL based inquiry science notebook called SNUDLE, and a Google application called CORGI to support higher order thinking skills for struggling learners. Dr. Blackorby also implements innovative practices to reflect the principles of UDL in his classes at HGSE. He currently serves on the Noyce Advisory Panel for the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, NSF DRK-12 conference advisory committee, and Technical Work Group for the 2020 National Education Technology Plan. He has contributed to the field through publications, products, and membership on national advisory boards.