Universal Design for Instruction and Learning: A Pilot Study of Faculty Instructional Methods and Attitudes Related to Students with Disabilities in Higher Education.

Universal design in the education setting is a framework of instruction that aims to be inclusive of different learners to reduce barriers for all students, including those with disabilities. We used the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL focuses on the learner) and Universal Design for Instruction (UDI focuses on instruction) as the basis for this study. The purposes of this study were to determine if faculty were incorporating UDI/UDL into their instruction, and their attitudes toward students with disabilities, as these could be barriers to learning. The study revealed that some faculty were incorporating principles of UDI/UDL into their instruction, the variety of methods used varied, and faculty attitudes still create barriers to an This Article (Subscription-only) is brought to you by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Exceptionality Education International by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact jspecht@uwo.ca. Recommended Citation Black, R. D., Weinberg, L. A., & Brodwin, M. G. (2014) Universal Design for Instruction and Learning: A Pilot Study of Faculty Instructional Methods and Attitudes Related to Students with Disabilities in Higher Education. Exceptionality Education International, 24, 48-64. Retrieved from http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei/vol24/iss1/5 equitable educational environment for students with disabilities. More education and training is needed in working with students with disabilities and adapting teaching methods for these students using UDI/UDL. ISSN 1918-5227 Pages 4864 Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/eei Exceptionality Education International 2014, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 48–64 ISSN 1918-5227 48 Universal Design for Instruction and Learning: A Pilot Study of Faculty Instructional Methods and Attitudes Related to Students with Disabilities in Higher Education R. David Black, Lois A. Weinberg, & Martin G. Brodwin California State University Los Angeles