Familiarity, Current Use, and Interest in Universal Design for Learning Among Online University Instructors

Carl D Westine,Julie Person,Amanda Casto,Gwitaek Park,Cornelia Okraski,Lucy Steele,Beth Oyarzun,Lynn Ahlgrim-Delzell

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v20i5.4258

Abstract

This study investigated online faculty familiarity, course design use, and professional development interest regarding universal design for learning (UDL) guidelines. The researchers surveyed all 2017 to 2018 online faculty at a large university in the southeastern United States. Findings included 71.6% of faculty reporting familiarity with at least one UDL guideline, with most respondents indicating familiarity with guidelines relating to perception, expression, and communication. Faculty reported the highest implementation of UDL guidelines was for those suggesting options for comprehension as well as expression and communication; the lowest implementation was for those suggesting options for physical action as well as language and support. Survey results also indicated high to moderate interest in learning more about all UDL guidelines, with emphasis on comprehension, persistence, and expression. This study suggests that faculty members desire UDL training and offers possibilities for planning and implementing such professional development in areas targeted to best meet the needs of online faculty.

Highlights

Introduction and OverviewExpanding the delivery of courses online presents an ongoing challenge to universities that aim to provide all students with comparable high-quality experiences that transcend all delivery modalities
Universities react to the changing needs of online students as they arise, but this increasingly places them in the precarious position of being able to react fast enough to the evolving environment
While the Universal design for learning (UDL) framework is less well-known in other disciplines, it may be useful to guide learning for all, given the new opportunities and challenges information technologies have presented to educational institutions

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and OverviewExpanding the delivery of courses online presents an ongoing challenge to universities that aim to provide all students with comparable high-quality experiences that transcend all delivery modalities. Universal design for learning (UDL) is a framework designed to optimize learning for all, based on scientific evidence of how learning occurs (CAST, 2018). While the UDL framework is less well-known in other disciplines, it may be useful to guide learning for all, given the new opportunities and challenges information technologies have presented to educational institutions. Because it has not received as much attention in online contexts, the framework presents a radical shift to one of proactivity for course designers, where planning online courses is executed to optimize the learning environment for all students prior to delivery

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