Jose Blackorby

José Blackorby is the Senior Director of Research and Development at CAST, Inc. and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). He has been working to improve 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 STEM 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. Current projects include the development of an open source UDL player for Open Educational Resources, 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. In collaboration with UDL-IRN, he provides leadership for the UDL Credentialing and Certification Initiative, which is building an online platform called Learning Designed to provide personalized pathways to micro-credentials for educators, certifications for school buildings, and education technology products. This initiative will contribute to efforts to implement UDL at scale. He has contributed to the field through publications, products, membership on national advisory boards, and higher education teaching at HGSE.