Joe Publications

Publication on Universal Design for Learning in Chemistry

We have a new article in the Journal of Chemical Education! A challenge promoting Universal Design for Learning among chemistry colleagues is that case studies and examples of implementation mostly come from humanities or other fields; direct application can be harder to see. We have put together UDL guides and templates for a chemistry audience, which we hope will make using this powerful framework itself more accessible and relevant to our discipline.

Some highlights include:

  • Step-by-step guide on upgrading chemistry lecture notes to be more accessible (format, structure, use of colour)
  • Discussion of a range of accessibility-checkers and tools
  • Case study of changes made for a set of organic chemistry notes to score 100% on Ally accessibility-checker
  • Workflow for developing high-quality alt-text for chemistry teaching with aid of AI tools
  • Insights from staff interviews during a recent rollout of UDL Digital Badge training

Thanks to UCD Access and Lifelong Learning (ALL) for support and feedback in this project, and all the other co-authors, particularly Fun Man Fung for directing our various different efforts towards this manuscript (educational technology, different sub-fields of chemistry and T&L culture discussions). More to come in the future!