Lohmann and colleagues are a group of higher education instructors and instructional designers with backgrounds in teacher preparation and special education. The authors of the paper acknowledge that the Universal Design for Learning has been a concept widely considered for K-12 classrooms though limited in the research for higher education institutions. The authors implemented new strategies and intervention for online teacher programs within the UDL principles. The authors found the implementation of UDL in these online formats supported increasing student motivation, and ideally improved student learning outcomes. The authors identified UDL being successful in building rapport between instructor and students in an online learning environment, a challenging aspect of these environments.  

One of the major strengths of this study is the consideration of the authors and their relation to special education and higher education. They are able to speak from experience and add context to UDL ideas and principles and how they can be implemented in this format. The study was conducted in three phases: implementation, survey, and data analysis. The authors found that students felt more engaged with the instructor of the course, found an appreciation in the availability of their instructor, as well as positive outcomes for the instructors themselves. Another particular strength of this study relies in its’ open-ended nature and allowing students to relay their experience of the online experience when UDL principles were implemented. This allowed students to share their individual experience with the necessary context needed to understand the impact of these principles on students and instructors alike. 

As someone who has partaken in online learning environments, including teacher preparation programs, this study spoke to my individual experiences and interests. As highlighted in previous weeks, my interest in teacher preparation is an aspect of research I would like to take more focus in, especially through the use of technology. However, UDL guidelines and principles are often not considered in online environments, especially at higher levels of education. The results of this specific study speak to what many teacher preparation programs are lacking in, especially in online learning environments. It speaks to special education as well, particularly for students in higher education who are often forgotten. I find the teacher preparation is an aspect of research, especially in the avenue of technology and its implications on young teachers, that requires more investigation and is an avenue that can be a major part of the research I pursue moving forward. 

Sources
Lohmann, M. J., Boothe, K. A., Hathcote, A. R., & Turpin, A. (2018). Engaging graduate students in the online learning environment: A universal design for learning (UDL) approach to teacher preparation. Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, 20(2), n2.