Staying present and authentic in those spaces requires hypervigilant awareness of student learning styles in ways that theories such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL) outline. UDL focuses on the what (learning disabilities, learning styles), how (access to literacy in the class and in the past) and why (what motivates students to engage with the material). No matter the subject matter, from a graduate class on British Romanticism to an undergraduate class on introductory academic writing, the most efficient way for me to hit the what, how and why is to leverage popular culture sources delivered in various media, particularly YouTube.
