Course overview

This webinar will provide an overview of the disciplines of both embodied pedagogy and experiential learning (Ambuter, 2019; Morris & Bilich-Eric, 2017), defining and explaining how the two are both differentiated and linked. Following this, Universal Design (UD; Burgstahler, 2020; DO-IT Center, n.d.) will be introduced as a method for augmenting both embodied pedagogies and experiential learning in order to encourage access for students living in diverse and oftentimes marginalized bodies. The presenters will discuss the workshop they offered at the 2023 ACES conference, where they gathered data from counselors, counselor educators, supervisors, and directors related to this topic using workshop-based data collection (Ørngreen & Levinsen, 2017). The results from this study included answers to questions around what students need in order for their bodies to be able to process and absorb information in the counselor education classroom, how educators and supervisors define an “inclusive classroom”, and practical strategies and interventions for increasing accessibility for diverse learners. From these evidence-based research findings, webinar participants will leave with a variety of practical tools and strategies for fostering accessible, embodied experiences in counselor education.

 Learning Objectives:

  1. Attendees will learn about and be able to define the following concepts: experiential learning, embodied pedagogy, and Universal Design.
  2. Attendees will be able to identify tools for making embodied pedagogies accessible for all bodies, including students with disabilities, and gain an understanding of why these tools can be beneficial for all students.
  3. Attendees will be introduced to recent evidence-based research on this topic, identifying how other counselor educators and supervisors increase accessibility in their learning environments.
  4. Attendees will consider how to augment their current educational setting in order to apply concepts learned in the webinar and foster greater inclusivity and accessibility in their own classroom.

Course curriculum

    1. Integrating Universal Design and Experiential Learning to Foster Accessibility in Counselor Education

    2. Webinar Quiz

    3. Webinar Evaluation

About this course

  • Free
  • Certificate Available
  • NBCC 1.5 CE Hours

Mariah Meyer LeFeber, PhD, LPC, BC-DMT

Dr. Mariah Meyer LeFeber (she/her) holds her PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision and has been teaching in higher education settings since 2010. Additionally, she has nearly 20 years of clinical experience working with both individuals and families as both a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist. In her current full-time faculty role, Mariah utilizes a highly experiential approach that honors the wisdom of our own embodied experiences and the value of the Therapeutic Movement Relationship. Mariah's andragogical approach centers on the belief that internal connectivity breeds outer expressivity, and that experiential practice through embodied education provides a pathway to implicit knowing and therapist growth and development. With over a decade of teaching in “traditional” counseling programs, Mariah has become keenly attuned to the undervaluing of the embodied experience in counselor education and supervision settings. She advocates for the inclusion of all kinds of bodies in CES programs and in her board member role as the WACES Accessibility Justice Committee co-chair.

Sarah M. Roundtree, PhD, CRC

Dr. Sarah Roundtree (she/her) holds her PhD in Counselor Education & Supervision. She currently serves as the Director of the Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Working for a fully online program has highlighted what connectedness and embodied learning can look like in a remote format, while still attending to marginalized bodies. Sarah has been involved in the disability community both personally and professionally for over 20 years, including working as a Clinical Rehabilitation Counselor since 2021 and presently serving as the WACES Accessibility Co-Chair.