Impact Of Universal Design For Learning (UDL) Based Teaching Practices At Middle School Level On Students’ Reading Comprehension Skill

Abstract

Development of reading comprehension skill is regarded as an essential part of contemporary education. As a result, all modern education systems aim to enhance this skill among all students so that they can contribute positively to the economic and social development of their society. Unfortunately, prevalence of educational inequity results in achievement gaps in the acquisition of this integral skill. This skill must be taught through equitable teaching learning approaches. Given the need to examine the effectiveness of teaching methodologies in enhancing the learning outcomes of students while reducing inequities in classrooms, the researcher studied the impact of teaching practices based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) at middle school level on students’ reading comprehension skill. Through this, the researcher studied a teaching strategy to improve educational diversity, equity and inclusion and to provide practical teaching methods including sample lesson plans based on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to teachers, trainers, headteachers and parents so that they can transform their learning spaces to provide inclusive and equitable learning experiences resulting in enhanced reading comprehension skill of all students regardless of their learning abilities. This research utilized a quantitative research approach with non-equivalent control group design (quasi-experimental design) to explore the impact of teaching methods based on UDL. The research compared two similar groups wherein the experimental group contained 21 students while the control group consisted of 24 students. The intervention i.e. teaching through UDL principles was administered to the experimental group for a period of 4 weeks. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to analyse the data using the SPSS software. Results of the study revealed that there was statistically significant difference in the mean score of reading comprehension skill of the experimental group from pre-test to post-test. On the other hand, the mean score of reading comprehension skill of the control group were not significantly different from pre-test to post-test.