From accommodation to design: Supporting neurodivergent nursing students through universal design for learning

Abstract

Background

Neurodivergent students are increasingly represented in nursing education. Accelerated nursing programs may intensify learning barriers for these students because of rapid pacing, high cognitive load, and reliance on traditional instructional approaches.

Aim

To evaluate the feasibility of a universal design for learning (UDL)-based faculty development intervention and its impact on faculty knowledge, comfort, and instructional practices related to inclusive teaching.

Methods

This evidence-based quality improvement initiative used Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to implement a UDL-based faculty development intervention in an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in the United States. Faculty completed pre and postintervention surveys assessing attitudes, knowledge, and comfort related to neurodiversity and inclusive teaching and participated in qualitative focus groups to explore their experiences and perceptions of implementation feasibility.

Results

Faculty reported increased knowledge of UDL and improved comfort implementing inclusive instructional strategies. Qualitative findings indicated greater use of multimodal content delivery, explicit scaffolding, clearer expectations, and flexible approaches for students to demonstrate learning. Attitudes toward neurodiversity remained stable, with reduced variability across subscales.

Conclusion

UDL-based faculty development is a feasible, low-burden strategy for supporting faculty implementation of inclusive instructional practices in accelerated nursing education.