Improving Biology Understanding through a Universal Design for Learning Strategy

生物科学（61）这个项目的首要目的是确定使用互动，触觉和动态学习工具和学生掌握细胞生物学概念之间的关系。这些学习工具是一套细胞和细胞组件的模型，最初是在之前的NSF资助期间使用通用学习设计（UDL）方法在粘土中创建的。这些新的模型现在是在塑料更广泛的测试，和四个假设，学生的使用和教师的课堂实践正在测试。开发UDL单元模型的智力优势是公认的在许多层面上。 学生以互动和动态的方式使用UDL模型来模拟他们在实验室中看到的任何细胞类型;这些模型也是触觉的，提供了额外的学习途径，并促进了视障人士对细胞的学习。 当学生操纵UDL模型来创建准确的细胞类型示例时，他们通过模仿Kolb学习理论的四个阶段的步骤来取得进展;这应该使使用UDL模型时的学习比不使用时更好，更深入。在生物学导论课上使用UDL模型的初步定量数据表明，学习效果得到了改善。 这些数据并不完全公正，因为在研究中没有能力控制个别教师，但它确实表明使用UDL模型可能有助于掌握细胞生物学的概念。使用UDL模型的广泛影响是广泛的。学习细胞对学生来说是非常具有挑战性的，使用UDL方法学习可以使他们更容易理解这个概念。使用UDL细胞模型提供了一种互动的学习方法，减少了该主题对生物学入门学生来说很无聊的可能性，从而减少了他们在生物学课程和职业中的摩擦机会。虽然没有细胞模型可以完美地模拟真实的细胞，但UDL细胞模型提供的额外信息可以使更多的学习者更深入地理解细胞概念。随着未来的教师通过使用UDL细胞模型的生物课程取得进展，他们也可能更有可能在未来的教学中采用UDL方法。 这些模型计划大量生产，以供广泛的课堂使用。

Biological Sciences (61) The overarching purpose of this project is to determine relationships between the use of interactive, tactile, and dynamic learning tools and student mastery of concepts in cell biology. The learning tools are a set of models of cells and cell components that were initially created in clay using a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach during funding from a previous NSF grant. These new models are now made in plastic for more wide scale testing, and four hypotheses regarding student usage and instructor classroom practices are being tested.The intellectual merit of developing UDL cell models is recognizable at many levels. Students use the UDL models in interactive and dynamic ways to model any cell type they view in lab; the models are also tactile, providing an additional path to learning, and facilitating learning about cells for the visually impaired. As students manipulate the UDL models to create accurate examples of cell types, they progress through steps that mimic the four stages of Kolb's learning theory; this should enable better and deeper learning when using the UDL models than without. Improved learning is suggested by preliminary quantitative data on the use of the UDL models in an introductory biology class. This data is not entirely impartial, because there was no ability to control for individual teachers in the study, but it does indicate that use of the UDL models may prove beneficial in mastering concepts in cell biology. The broader impacts of the use of UDL models are extensive. Learning about cells can be very challenging for students, and using a UDL approach to learning could make this concept more accessible for them. Use of the UDL cell models provides an interactive method for learning, lessening the likelihood that the topic will prove boring to introductory biology students and thus decreasing their chances of attrition from biology courses and careers. Although no cell model can perfectly mimic a real cell, the additional information provided by the UDL cell models could make a deeper understanding of cell concepts available to more learners. As future teachers progress through biology courses where UDL cell models are used, they may also be more likely to incorporate UDL approaches in their future teaching. The models are planned to be made in large quantities to be available for widespread classroom use.