Inclusive Excellence: Bringing Universal Design for Learning into Undergraduate Nursing Education

Postsecondary institutions within British Columbia are seeing an increase in the number of students with neurodiversity and/or learning disabilities. Programs ought to create learning environments where students with neurodiversity and/or learning disabilities are supported to achieve their highest capacity for learning. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching and learning that fosters inclusive environments that support all learners, including those with neurodiverse needs, to thrive and succeed.

This collaborative project draws on UDL’s three key principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression, to develop pre-lecture preparatory learning modules for three undergraduate nursing courses. Through this project we aim to:

1. increase the integration of UDL across UBC’s undergraduate nursing program;
2. build capacity for nursing faculty to develop skills and knowledge in UDL; and
3. build best practices standards of how UDL can be incorporated into health professions education beyond nursing.

Nassim Adhami, Lecturer / Assistant Professor of Teaching, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Angela Russolillo, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Trevor Goodyear, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Saima Hirani, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Scott Ramsay, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Manon Ranger, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Melanie Guindon, Lecturer, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Jennifer Auxier, Assistant Professor, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science
Elisabeth Bailey, Associate Professor of Teaching / Associate Director, Undergraduate Programs / UBC Universal Design for Learning Fellow, Faculty of Applied Science
Carla Ferreira, Associate Professor of Teaching / Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Programs / UBC Universal Design for Learning Fellow, Faculty of Applied Science
Melissa Li Sheung Ying, Director, Centre for Instructional Support / UBC Universal Design for Learning Fellow, Faculty of Applied Science
Sarah Knitter, Associate Director, Centre for Accessibility
Laura Bulk, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine
Iris Liang, BSN Student
Paulina Banak, BSN Student
LaRelle Mann, BSN Student
Michelle Cho, MSN Student
Caitlin Botkin, PhD Student, Nursing, Faculty of Applied Science