Universal Design

Faculty members use grant to improve math teaching skills, curriculum design and access to learning.

From the Spring 2025 issue of Sacred Heart University Magazine

Math courses often pose the greatest barrier to degree completion and can impede progress in all sorts of majors.

A National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, awarded to a collaboration between three Sacred Heart educators, calls for adjustments in faculty teaching methodologies and course structures to improve college students’ access to learning in introductory mathematics courses.

The researchers have focused on bringing together UDL (Universal Design for Learning) Guidelines with research-based practices in math education into a novel approach for improving college math courses. The UDL Guidelines are developed by CAST, a global leader in the inclusive education movement.

The NSF grant provided close to $300,000. Associate Professor Elliott Bertrand is the principal investigator (PI); Jennifer Phaiah, associate teaching professor at SHU’s Griswold location, and Lindsay Keazer, associate professor of teacher education at SHU’s Farrington College of Education & Human Development, are co-PIs.

As K–12 mathematics scores across the United States continue dropping amid lingering fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic—exacerbated by a teacher shortage, standardized teaching requirements and changing federal support—the team realized that more creative approaches were required. The program targets instructors of three introductory mathematics courses: college algebra, precalculus and calculus.

The concept of universal design started in architecture to install structures, such as curb cuts, to ensure access for all. The movement later expanded to education to improve the design of learning environments to accommodate those with disabilities and to address learner variabilities. But as Bertrand explains, UDL is not a checklist. Through extensive research, measurement and analysis, the guidelines offer faculty options to better help students succeed.

The team’s goal was to examine how introductory math courses could be redesigned to reduce barriers and improve learner success. Improved teaching techniques, the team hopes, will result in improved undergraduate math scores and help increase opportunities for developing future STEM-focused professionals.

Three SHU math faculty members participated in a first-year pilot, testing out the application of the UDL Guidelines to college math courses and working collaboratively with Bertrand, Keazer and Phaiah to review and share feedback. This faculty cohort grew to nine by the second year, reaching more than 800 students by the project’s end. The program included monthly team meetings in the fall semesters and two-day summer workshops in the second and third years. The project facilitators conducted classroom visits twice a year, followed by one-on-one meetings with faculty members. They also collaborate with UDL experts and statisticians and work with an external evaluator.

According to Keazer, as they progressed, faculty participants began to understand more about what UDL means for math teaching.

“Two kinds of learning happened,” she stresses. “Participants already practicing UDL-aligned skills started to do those things even more intentionally and share those strategies. And they began moving from teacher-centered to more student-centered teaching, which initially was beyond some people’s comfort zones. As early adopters and experimenters tried something new and were successful, they shared it at group meetings, which motivated more people to try it.”

The results, according to Bertrand, have been encouraging—participating faculty, all volunteers, say they appreciate the opportunity to expand their skillsets and to learn alongside peers. The qualitative feedback includes new recognition of barriers to learning, as well as ways faculty have reduced lecture time, expanded collaborative learning experiences and created a more welcoming environment.

“I believe the key takeaway for everyone involved was an increased understanding of UDL strategies to better support students,” Phaiah says. “We not only gained more insight into implementing UDL but also honed our skills in facilitating professional learning sessions and workshops. Continuing this learning, whether individually or collectively, is crucial for enhancing students’ learning experiences.”

Bertrand agrees.

“The challenges facing students and math faculty aren’t just SHU issues— colleges across the country are dealing with similar problems,” he says. “It’s essential for educators to convey the value of mathematics in everyday life, reduce stigmas surrounding mathematical ability and impart critical thinking skills.”

The next steps, he adds, will include disseminating research findings and seeking expanded grant funding to scale up the work.

“We realize math isn’t always the most popular subject with many students,” Bertrand says, “but it’s vital learning. And projects like these, using evidence-based practices such as the UDL Guidelines, are valuable in cultivating a climate of continued instructional improvement.”