Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches

Diversity in age, background, circumstances, and abilities among post-secondary learners has become increasingly common in online nursing education. Thus, there is a need for educators to build an inclusive environment that is responsive to this variety, to optimize learner achievement.  Universal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ann Celestini, Agniewszka (Aga) Palalas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2024-12-01
Series:Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/16911
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832583228160999424
author Ann Celestini
Agniewszka (Aga) Palalas
author_facet Ann Celestini
Agniewszka (Aga) Palalas
author_sort Ann Celestini
collection DOAJ
description Diversity in age, background, circumstances, and abilities among post-secondary learners has become increasingly common in online nursing education. Thus, there is a need for educators to build an inclusive environment that is responsive to this variety, to optimize learner achievement.  Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers educators a theoretical framework to proactively design an inclusive online course curriculum that is responsive to varied learner populations and minimizes learning barriers encountered. A convergent mixed-methods descriptive case study was conducted of learners enrolled in a large first-year undergraduate nursing course in Canada, which was redesigned using UDL principles. The purpose of this case study was to answer the research question: How do learners’ rate and describe the effectiveness of instructional strategies used in supporting inclusivity of diverse learning preferences and needs in an online environment. Data was collected in 2020, from a cohort of 230 learners using a survey questionnaire (n=40) and focus group (n=7) by a hired research assistant, for the convergent mixed-methods analysis and resulting discussion. Survey respondents rated accessible course material, inclusive lecture strategies, accommodations, inclusive assessment, and classroom constructs of the survey tool, as being most inclusive of diverse needs. Focus group participants described assessment methods, instructor presence, and UDL based course design elements, as the preferred instructional strategies used in the curriculum, with group work and navigation issues being most problematic. A purposeful selection of synchronous and asynchronous UDL based instructional strategies by educators, which integrate multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression, offered an inclusive online environment for diverse learning needs.
format Article
id doaj-art-64f1eb6b2bd3473488f611ade3a338ae
institution Kabale University
issn 1918-2902
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
record_format Article
series Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
spelling doaj-art-64f1eb6b2bd3473488f611ade3a338ae2025-01-28T20:30:04ZengSociety for Teaching and Learning in Higher EducationCanadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning1918-29022024-12-0115310.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2024.3.16911Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning ApproachesAnn Celestini0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8902-0160Agniewszka (Aga) Palalas1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9408-1152Trent UniversityAthabasca University Diversity in age, background, circumstances, and abilities among post-secondary learners has become increasingly common in online nursing education. Thus, there is a need for educators to build an inclusive environment that is responsive to this variety, to optimize learner achievement.  Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers educators a theoretical framework to proactively design an inclusive online course curriculum that is responsive to varied learner populations and minimizes learning barriers encountered. A convergent mixed-methods descriptive case study was conducted of learners enrolled in a large first-year undergraduate nursing course in Canada, which was redesigned using UDL principles. The purpose of this case study was to answer the research question: How do learners’ rate and describe the effectiveness of instructional strategies used in supporting inclusivity of diverse learning preferences and needs in an online environment. Data was collected in 2020, from a cohort of 230 learners using a survey questionnaire (n=40) and focus group (n=7) by a hired research assistant, for the convergent mixed-methods analysis and resulting discussion. Survey respondents rated accessible course material, inclusive lecture strategies, accommodations, inclusive assessment, and classroom constructs of the survey tool, as being most inclusive of diverse needs. Focus group participants described assessment methods, instructor presence, and UDL based course design elements, as the preferred instructional strategies used in the curriculum, with group work and navigation issues being most problematic. A purposeful selection of synchronous and asynchronous UDL based instructional strategies by educators, which integrate multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression, offered an inclusive online environment for diverse learning needs. https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/16911Universal Design for Learningundergraduate learner perspectiveslarge first year nursing courseinclusive online postsecondary education
spellingShingle Ann Celestini
Agniewszka (Aga) Palalas
Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Universal Design for Learning
undergraduate learner perspectives
large first year nursing course
inclusive online postsecondary education
title Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
title_full Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
title_fullStr Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
title_full_unstemmed Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
title_short Inclusive Online Nursing Education: Learner Perceptions of Universal Design for Learning Approaches
title_sort inclusive online nursing education learner perceptions of universal design for learning approaches
topic Universal Design for Learning
undergraduate learner perspectives
large first year nursing course
inclusive online postsecondary education
url https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/cjsotl_rcacea/article/view/16911
work_keys_str_mv AT anncelestini inclusiveonlinenursingeducationlearnerperceptionsofuniversaldesignforlearningapproaches
AT agniewszkaagapalalas inclusiveonlinenursingeducationlearnerperceptionsofuniversaldesignforlearningapproaches