My Course Redesign Using UDL

Abstract

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of approaching teaching and learning that optimizes every student’s ability to succeed. Success is achieved through providing flexibility in the ways that students access their learning materials, engage with the materials and their peers, and demonstrate their learned knowledge. Course design flaws create student learning barriers. UDL is is a means to evaluate the course design so that you discover the design’s flaws. It utilizes a 3-part framework which addresses Engagement, Representation and Action & Expression. Each part of the framework provides the instructor with Guidelines to use when analyzing your course design. Each Guideline is further broken down into Checkpoints. By evaluating your course checkpoint by checkpoint, you discover the learning barriers. Once the learning barriers are identified, the next step is to utilize UDL +1 Solutions. UDL +1 Solutions are a single change made to a course that either mitigate or remove the learning barriers. I analyzed my course, MLSC-301 Phlebotomy Theory, which is a course I have taught every semester for 10 years at UB and at other institutions for an additional 20 years. Being confident in my course design, I was amazed to discover course flaws in all three parts of the framework to which I then applied +1 Solutions. As a measurement of the success of my course redesign, I compared my IOTA Evaluation student satisfaction scores in MLSC-301 in the semesters Fall 2022, and Spring 2023, which were prior to UDL to the UDL semesters of Summer 2023 and Fall 2023.