ChemDive – a classroom planning tool for infusing Universal Design for Learning

Abstract

The increasing diversity in todays’ classroom environment is a general challenge for modern societies and requires also for future chemistry teachers specific professional training. For that reason, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is part of our university’s master program. It is designed as a framework for an approach which also serves to make chemistry lessons more accessible. However, while implementing the UDL in the specific planning of chemistry lessons problems might often occur. Therefore, based on the UDL and on established approaches to lesson planning in chemistry education we have developed the planning tool ChemDive (Chemistry for Diversity) with different functions, allowing teachers to practice the effective planning of more accessible lessons. ChemDive is taught as part of a master’s degree seminar in preparation for a semester-long practical phase at school. We carried out the evaluation in chemistry teachers’ training in addition to the development of the tool. The study is designed as an intervention study with repeated measures at the beginning and the end of the seminar. Initial results of the quantitative evaluation (during the seminar; pre-post) of lesson planning show that students implement significantly more UDL elements after being taught the planning tool than they do without.