Kavita Rao

Research Overview

Sparked by the creative potential of designing inclusive and welcoming learning environments, my research focuses on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). I am particularly interested in how digital tools and instructional technologies can be used to reduce barriers, provide meaningful scaffolds, and draw on learners’ strengths in alignment with UDL principles. My scholarship includes numerous articles and book chapters on inclusive instructional design, UDL, and the thoughtful integration of technology to support both K–12 and postsecondary educators and learners.

My prior work experiences include being the Director of Technology at a school in Massachusetts and an educational technology specialist for Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) in Honolulu. Over the last three decades, I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with students, teachers, schools, and state educational agencies, in Hawai’i, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia. In collaboration with Pacific educators across the region, I have developed curriculum and educational resources grounded in local cultures and languages, work that greatly influenced my research on UDL and technology-based strategies to support culturally and linguistically diverse learners as well as students with disabilities.