Universal Design: Implications for Computing Education

Universal design (UD), a concept that grew from the field of architecture, has recently emerged as a paradigm for designing instructional methods, curriculum, and assessments that are welcoming and accessible to students with a wide range of characteristics, including those related to race, ethnicity, native language, gender, age, and disability. This proactive approach holds promise for more fully including underrepresented groups in computing studies and for decreasing the need, and thus costs, for academic accommodations for students with disabilities. This article summarizes the history and development of UD, references research and practices that support the UD approach, provides examples of the strategies that apply UD to instruction and assessment, and recommends topics for future research. Although the application of UD to teaching and learning is in its infancy, the potential of UD to improve computing instruction should not be ignored. Further research could test the efficacy of specific UD practices in promoting learning in computing fields.

[1]  Constantine Stephanidis,et al.  Developing inclusive e-learning and e-entertainment to effectively accommodate learning difficulties , 2005, ASAC.

[2]  Steven Jones.  Making a statement. , 1996, The Lamp.

[3]  Laurie Lewis,et al.  An Institutional Perspective on Students with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education. Statistical Analysis Report. , 1999 .

[4]  John P. Buerck,et al.  Learning Environments and Learning Styles: Non-traditional Student Enrollment and Success in an Internet-based Versus a Lecture-based Computer Science Course , 2003 .

[5]  K. Thompson.  Cognitive and Analytical Psychology Howard Gardner .Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, Basic Books, 1983. , 1985 .

[6]  Samantha G. Daley,et al.  Universal Design for Learning in Postsecondary Education: Reflections on Principles and their Application , 2006 .

[7]  Marilla D. Svinicki,et al.  New Directions in Learning and Motivation. , 1999 .

[8]  Susan R. Jones.  Toward Inclusive Theory: Disability as Social Construction. , 1996 .

[9]  Shannon Pollard,et al.  Everything I needed to know about teaching I learned in kindergarten: bringing elementary education techniques to undergraduate computer science classes , 2006, SIGCSE '06.

[10]  S. McManus,et al.  Strategies for Implementing Professional Development Activities on College Campuses: Findings from the OPE- Funded Project Sites (1999-2002) , 2003 .

[11]  Sheryl Burgstahler,et al.  Steps toward Making Distance Learning Accessible to Students and Instructors with Disabilities , 2005 .

[12]  Roy P. Pargas.  Reducing lecture and increasing student activity in large computer science courses , 2006, ITICSE '06.

[13]  K. C. Strehorn,et al.  Universal Instructional Design in Higher Education: An Approach for Inclusion , 1998 .

[14]  Ciarán O'Leary,et al.  Universal Design, Education and Technology , 2009 .

[15]  Eric Roberts,et al.  Assisting and assessing the development of technological fluencies: insights from a project-based approach to teaching computer science , 2002, CSCL.

[16]  Brenda Cantwell Wilson,et al.  Contributing to success in an introductory computer science course: a study of twelve factors , 2001, SIGCSE '01.

[17]  Anne Meyer,et al.  The Universally Designed Classroom: Accessible Curriculum and Digital Technologies. , 2005 .

[18]  Dc Washington,et al.  Differentiated instruction and implications for UDL implementation (Effective Classroom Practices Report). U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. , 2004 .

[19]  Skip Stahl,et al.  Assistive Technology, Universal Design, Universal Design for Learning: Improved Learning Opportunities , 2003 .

[20]  Sally S. Scott,et al.  New Directions in Faculty Development. , 2003 .

[21]  N. Dixon,et al.  The Kolb Model Modified for Classroom Activities , 1987 .

[22]  Yao-Ting Sung,et al.  Learning through computer-based concept mapping with scaffolding aid , 2001, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[23]  Constantine Stephanidis,et al.  Developing inclusive e-learning and e-entertainment to effectively accommodate learning difficulties , 2005, ACM SIGACCESS Access. Comput..

[24]  Marcia C. Linn,et al.  Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework , 1995 .

[25]  Mordechai Ben-aft,et al.  Constructivism in computer science education , 1998, SIGCSE '98.

[26]  Jack J. Mino.  Planning for Inclusion: Using Universal Instructional Design to Create a Learner-Centered Community College Classroom , 2004 .

[27]  M. O’Loughlin,et al.  Rethinking science education: Beyond piagetian constructivism toward a sociocultural model of teaching and learning† , 2007 .

[28]  Amer Diwan,et al.  Student culture vs group work in computer science , 2004, SIGCSE '04.

[29]  Mary A. Moriarty,et al.  Inclusive Pedagogy: Teaching Methodologies to Reach Diverse Learners in Science Instruction , 2007 .

[30]  Brenda Cantwell Wilson,et al.  A Study of Factors Promoting Success in Computer Science Including Gender Differences , 2002, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[31]  Paul Beckman.  Universal Design for Learning: A Field Experiment Comparing Specific Classroom Actions , 2009, AMCIS.

[32]  M. Pieper.  Digital divide and learning disabilities: counteracting educational exclusion in information society , 2005, ASAC.

[33]  Amer Diwan,et al.  Student culture vs group work in computer science , 2004 .

[34]  C. Gill,et al.  A new social perspective on disability and its implications for rehabilitation. , 1987, Occupational therapy in health care.

[35]  Elizabeth G. Harrisson,et al.  Working with Faculty toward Universally Designed Instruction: The Process of Dynamic Course Design. , 2006 .

[36]  A. Chickering,et al.  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education , 1987, CORE.

[37]  R. Dunn,et al.  Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles in Higher Education , 2000 .

[38]  Diane Cordry Golden.  Instructional Software Accessibility: A Status Report , 2002 .

[39]  Mathew L. Ouellett,et al.  Faculty Development and Universal Instructional Design , 2004 .

[40]  H. Hahn,et al.  The Politics of Physical Differences: Disability and Discrimination , 1988 .

[41]  Kathleen Gradel,et al.  Putting Universal Design for Learning on the Higher Ed Agenda , 2009 .

[42]  Lecia Jane Barker,et al.  Making Visible the Behaviors that Influence Learning Environment: A Qualitative Exploration of Computer Science Classrooms , 2004, Comput. Sci. Educ..

[43]  Linda McIver,et al.  Research Agenda for Computer Science Education , 2001, PPIG.

[44]  Larry J. Kortering,et al.  What Algebra and Biology Students Have to Say About Universal Design for Learning (NCSET Research to Practice Brief) , 2005 .

[45]  Barbara M. Moskal,et al.  Evaluating the effectiveness of a new instructional approach , 2004 .

[46]  Duane Buck,et al.  JKarelRobot: a case study in supporting levels of cognitive development in the computer science curriculum , 2001, SIGCSE '01.

[47]  Hugh C. Davis,et al.  Managing Diversity: Experiences Teaching Programming Principles , 2001 .

[48]  C. Claxton,et al.  Learning Styles: Their Impact on Teaching and Administration. AAHE-ERIC/Higher Education Research Report No. 10, 1978. , 1978 .

[49]  Kathleen McLane,et al.  A Curriculum Every Student Can Use: Design Principles for Student Access. ERIC/OSEP Topical Brief. , 1998 .

[50]  Peggy Coyne,et al.  Smart From the Start , 2001 .

[51]  Frank Bowe,et al.  Universal design in education : teaching nontraditional students , 2000 .

[52]  Yao-Ting Sung,et al.  Learning through computer‐based concept mapping with scaffolding aid , 2001 .

[53]  Cecilia Conrath,et al.  The Modern Practice of Adult Education, Andragogy versus Pedagogy, Malcolm S. Knowles. New York: Association Press, 1970. 376 pp. $12.95 Hardbound , 1971 .

[54]  Sally S. Scott,et al.  Universal Design for Instruction , 2003 .

[55]  Mordechai Ben-Ari,et al.  Constructivism in computer science education , 1998, SIGCSE '98.

[56]  Stephen Cooper,et al.  Evaluating the effectiveness of a new instructional approach , 2004, SIGCSE.

[57]  Heather W. Hackman,et al.  A Pathway to Access for All: Exploring the Connections Between Universal Instructional Design and Social Justice Education , 2004 .

[58]  Daniela Marghitu,et al.  Use of Technology Enhanced Education to Improve Teaching and Learning Process , 2008, Int. J. Virtual Real..

[59]  Susan M. Pliner,et al.  Historical, Theoretical, and Foundational Principles of Universal Instructional Design in Higher Education , 2004 .

[60]  T. Santangelo.  The Application of Differentiated Instruction in Postsecondary Environments: Benefits, Challenges, and Future Directions , 2009 .

[61]  Ann Cunningham,et al.  Supporting Student-Centered Teaching and Learning: Technology in Wake Forest University Education Programs , 2003 .

[62]  Patrick L Bruch.  Interpreting and Implementing Universal Instructional Design in Basic Writing: Inclusive Postsecondary Education for Students wit , 2003 .

[63]  John H. Pryor,et al.  The American freshman : forty year trends, 1966-2006 , 2007 .

[64]  Jennifer Berktold,et al.  Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Education Institutions: 1995-96. With an Essay on Undergraduates Who Work. Statistical Analysis Report. , 1998 .

[65]  Eileen B. Entin,et al.  Comparison of in-class and distance-learning students' performance and attitudes in an introductory computer science course , 2002 .

[66]  H. Gardner,et al.  Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences , 1983 .

[67]  J. Tagg,et al.  From Teaching to Learning — A New Paradigm For Undergraduate Education , 1995 .

[68]  B. Bottge,et al.  A Comparison of Two Approaches for Teaching Complex, Authentic Mathematics Problems to Adolescents in Remedial Math Classes , 1993, Exceptional children.

[69]  Jenna W. Gravel,et al.  A Policy Reader in Universal Design for Learning. , 2009 .

[70]  David H. Rose,et al.  Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning , 2002 .