Engaging UDL & EDIA Principles for Teaching Social Research Methods Online


J Overholser, University of Calgary; Annette Tézli, University of Calgary

As educators, the radical transformation of teaching and learning we experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunities to re-envision both teaching and learning instead of returning the pre-pandemic status quo (Bartholomay 2022). Demand for higher education is also expected to increase and future teaching and learning must be evolving, innovative, and diversifying to meet the diverse needs of future students. With these understandings in mind, in fall 2023, the research team developed a fully online section of Soci313: Introductory Social Research Methods at the University of Calgary. In designing this course, we focused on two major goals; first, to create an engaging and effective online learning experience. From the pandemic we have learned more about the limitations of online teaching and learning including, the marginalization of certain student groups, stress, and lack of motivation (Adedoyin and Soykan 2023, Bartholomay 2022). Our second goal was to design a course that would effectively address these limitations. To achieve this, the course development was informed by the existing research around teaching online in general as well as teaching social research methods online in particular. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility (EDIA) principles were central to course development to ensure that the course would meet the learning needs of the largest number of students possible. Studies show that online courses designed with UDL and EDIA principles in mind can equalize access to education for diverse student populations (Coombs 2010, Dell et al. 2015). For example, the online section of Soci313 utilizes asynchronous components to provide flexibility for caregiving and working students as well as those who prefer to work during non-standard hours. Synchronous elements facilitate interaction between course participants and build a learning community characterized by collectivism and collaboration among course participants (Freire 2018, hooks 2010). The course critically examines various topics such as the limitations of Western scientific practices and showcases alternative ways of knowing, for example Indigenous methodologies (Adams et al. 2023). It also takes into account a variety of potential accessibility needs and accommodations such as different learning modalities, use of assistive technology, as well as flexibility and supports for our students’ mental health and wellbeing. Our research project aims to 1) assess the effectiveness of the online section of Soci313 in teaching social research methods, and 2) to evaluate the accessibility of learning materials and strategies. We explore these two areas with the students of the course through various modes including reflection pieces and focus groups. In doing so we seek to center the varied voices of our students and engage with them as active collaborators in the project. Our presentation will provide an overview of the core UDL and EDIA principles that informed our course design. In addition, we will discuss our assignment structure which was designed to foster student collaboration (Freire 2018) and encourage independent application of course materials to a new problem. Finally, we will present preliminary results from our empirical study, which generated qualitative data to assess the effectiveness of the course design in fostering collaborative learning and student engagement. 

This paper will be presented at the following session: