The Tangible Benefits of Disability and Accessibility Awareness in Evolutionary Biology College Courses Centered in Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Abstract

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one method for implementing inclusive education which can have tangible benefits for all learners, increasing educational accessibility. Further, UDL can be used as a vehicle to train majority non-disabled students in methods of inclusive education. We implemented an inclusive education pedagogical framework centered in UDL and tasked undergraduate evolutionary biology students with creating digital science media products throughout semester-long science communication projects. Our goal was to assess student perceptions of accessibility and disability, within the context of science products such as digital media. Student pre-post survey comparisons indicate an increase in ability to define accessibility, consider accessibility in science media, and advocate for access in science. Additionally, post-survey results suggest students experience a greater sense of classroom community, inclusion in science, and awareness of disability as diversity. We centered our study in Critical Disability Theory, and we draw on universal design literature and our lived experiences. Evolutionary biology courses inherit a long and troubling history of exclusion and othering through problematic science communication and debunked concepts of human categorization. As biology educators and education researchers we wish to enact change in our evolutionary biology college classrooms to center our pedagogy in social justice, challenging this history. We encourage future UDL implementation in evolutionary biology and other science courses, where future practitioners of science, medicine, engineering, and other fields can feel empowered by inclusive practices and community experience.