Implementing Universal Design to Support Neurodivergent Students in Undergraduate Introductory Computer Science Classes

Abstract

There has been an increase of both neurodivergent students and enrollment in Computer Science programs in higher education. These increases have brought attention to two separate challenges: neurodivergent college students struggle more compared to their neurotypical peers and many students struggle in introductory computer science courses. This study considers both of these realities by investigating the impact of using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to revise introductory computer science courses. In doing so, it seeks to understand if and how UDL strategies can support neurodivergent students, along with their neurotypical peers, in succeeding in historically challenging academic contexts.

This study focused on three questions: How can universal design for learning principles be implemented into an introductory programming course?, How does updating an introductory programming course to follow the universal design for learning framework affect the experience of students?, and What are the experiences of neurodivergent and neurotypical students after updating an introductory programming course to follow the universal design for learning framework?

This study was conducted over three semesters of introductory programming courses. The first semester served as a control for the study where no changes were made to the course. In the following semester, the course's lecture slides were updated to be more accessible following Universal Design for Learning principles. In the third and final semester, the course’s lecture slides were updated to be more accessible, and supplementary slides were created for the projects to help students understand what is being asked of them. To assess the interventions, student surveys, interviews, and grades were analyzed.

The findings serve as a demonstration of how to modify lecture slides and create programming project slides to apply universal design for learning principles and show the students had considerably better experiences and greater academic success in the course that applied universal design for learning principles. These benefits were recorded for both neurodivergent and neurotypical students, showing that universal design for learning principles benefits all students. The implications of these findings are considered and recommendations for improving introductory programming instruction are discussed. This work advances our understanding of how to help students comprehend foundational computer science concepts and develop the necessary computer science practices to excel in the field.