Universal Design in College Algebra: Customizing Learning Resources for Two Year Students with Learning Disabilities

The Landmark College Institute for Research and Training (LCIRT) was recently awarded an 18-month Demonstration, Enrichment, and Information Dissemination grant from the National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education grant program. This $99,924 award will be used to create universally-designed online algebra learning resources for use by students in developmental algebra courses, focused on improving access and usability for students with learning disabilities; create companion learning strategies to optimize the use of the online learning resources; train faculty at four two-year institutions to use the learning resources and strategies in developmental math courses; measure student outcomes and changes in faculty attitudes toward students with LD; and broadly disseminate the results.  Since mastering mathematical concepts is crucial to learning in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields, improving math instruction for students with LD is hypothesized to improve the achievement and confidence of those students.  Designing effective and usable tools to enhance STEM learning for students with disabilities has the potential to achieve widespread impact.

Materials for this program are available for review on an external test site:
Training Materials for Instructors
http://tricl.org/algebra/guide/

Algebra Learning Resources (proof-of-concept)
http://tricl.org/algebra/

Please note that these materials are currently under development, and do not necessarily represent the final product of this grant.

For more information, please contact the Principal Investigator:

Dr. Steve Fadden
Vice President for Research and Institute Operations
Telephone: (802) 387-1642
Email: stevefadden@landmark.edu