PhD Thesis Defense: Hia Ghosh, Designing for Learner Variability: Universal Design for Learning In Undergraduate Computer Science Education
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Speaker:
Abstract:
Grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Disability Justice, disability and neurodiversity scholarship, and Cognitive Load Theory, this dissertation examines how introductory computer science courses can be designed to better support learner variability. Expanding beyond an individual-accommodation model, the study conceptualizes access as emerging from interactions among learners, instructional materials, programming environments, assessments, pacing, participation expectations, classroom culture, and institutional structures.
Using a mixed-methods Participatory Action Research (PAR) design, the study unfolded across three semesters. A Spring 2025 pilot survey of students and faculty identified barriers in introductory computing and informed an initial UDL checklist. A Fall 2025 baseline analysis examined an existing CS2 course (Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming) using web accessibility and universal design criteria, identifying existing UDL-aligned practices and opportunities for increasing access. In Spring 2026, UDL-informed changes were implemented in CS2, including multiple representations of content, recorded and captioned instruction, scaffolded programming activities, flexible deadlines, revised assessment structures, and varied opportunities for practice and support. Mid-semester feedback informed revisions during implementation, while end-of-semester course evaluations and post-semester student and faculty interviews provided additional qualitative evidence.
Across these data sources, five themes emerged: students and faculty entered computer science through diverse pathways; students often required explicit bridges between conceptual understanding and executable code; flexibility promoted access when paired with structure, communication, and human connection; inclusive computing required broader definitions of belonging and success; and sustainable accessibility depended on institutional commitment rather than individual instructor labor alone.
This dissertation has three contributions: a UDL Toolkit for designing introductory computer science courses, a Framework for examining accessibility barriers in existing course structures, and a Teaching Toolkit for computer science faculty. These contributions do not claim to produce a CS2 curriculum that is inclusive for all learners. Instead, they offer one possible starting point for asking how UDL can be incorporated into a course in a specific context, how PAR can surface barriers and guide iterative curriculum design, and how course materials and learning environments can be prepared to support accessibility and compliance with ADA Title III requirements. Together, these contributions offer a participatory, system-level approach to moving from reactive accommodation toward proactive, evidence-informed course design in which learner variability is treated as a norm, not the exception.
Advisor:
Neena Thota