THE CEA FORUM - Summer/Fall 2013 - Universal Design in First-Year Composition - Why Do We Need It, How Can We Do It?

Oct 15, 2026

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The essay examines how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can support independent student identity and universal success in first-year composition. It frames first-year writing classrooms as challenging environments where diverse learning styles, language skills, disabilities, and personal circumstances shape access and participation. After defining UDL and contrasting it with “retrofit” approaches, the author analyzes integration strategies in FYC courses and considers complications instructors face, arguing UDL fosters an inclusive classroom that increases students’ chances to succeed and learn effectively.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time42 min

AccessFree to download

Defining Universal Design; UDL in Composition Research

UDL origins and classroom accessibility

Retrofit vs UDL: visibility and participation

Flexible strategies for learning and demonstration

Integrating UDL in First-Year Composition

Course integration approaches

Instructor implementation complications

Inclusive outcomes and student success

THE CEA FORUM Summer/Fall 2013 Universal Design in First-Year Composition – Why Do We Need It, How Can We Do It? Danielle Nielsen Murray State University Ensuring that all students can access information, demonstrate mastery, and feel comfortable in the classroom is important, yet first-year composition (FYC) faculty may find reaching the diverse populations in their classrooms daunting. Learning styles, comfort levels with writing and English language skills, disabilities, and family responsibilities impact all students, leaving us to wonder how best to facilitate student success. Though students in all classrooms are affected by these concerns, those enrolled in first-year writing classrooms are new to the postsecondary school setting, returning to school after a leave of absence, or having taken developmental English courses. These additional identity markers can make the FYC classroom a more difficult pedagogical environment. In the composition classroom, traditional and nontraditional first-year students alike must determine how to navigate the university and develop their own academic identity. Melanie Kill explains the importance of considering one’s classroom identity, especially for first-year students: Whether or not identity issues are addressed explicitly in a first-year writing classroom, they are nevertheless in play. The fact of the matter is that for most, if not all, students, familiar ways of reading, writing, and thinking are challenged to some degree as they first encounter the particular academic reading, writing and thinking practices of college classrooms. (216) THE CEA FORUM Summer/Fall 2013 Composition classrooms are often one of the first spaces where student “reading, writing, and thinking practices” are interrogated by teachers and peers alike. Student learning styles and skills are brought to the fore during classroom discussions, peer review sessions, and individual conferences with instructors. In every activity, students consider who they are in the classroom, on the page, and on the screen. Stephanie Kerschbaum reminds us that when we read others’work and respond to it (both familiar experiences in FYC), we necessarily grapple with identity: “To read and respond to others involves making sense of the locations individuals occupy in relation to others, and doing such work requires ways of asking and answering questions about how people are different from one another and what those differences mean”(623). The personal growth that happens in the composition classroom as students consider their own identities in relation to self and others can position students for success in other classes and the workforce, but if students can neither access the information nor participate fully, the possibility for growthis stunted. This essay takes up the question of fostering independent student identities and universal student success by exploring Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the first-year composition classroom. To do so, I first define Universal Design for Learning and then attend briefly to contemporary English studies research on UDL. I analyze different ways I integrate it in my FYC course; then, I discuss some of the complications instructors may encounter trying to implement these strategies. I argue that though UDL cannot ensure universal student success, the THE CEA FORUM Summer/Fall 2013 pedagogical practice fosters an inclusive classroom that makes it more likely that higher numbers of students will not only succeed, but also learn in ways that best suit them.1 Defining Universal Design; UDL in Composition Research Universal Design for Learning is not new, though it has largely been ignored outside of education and instructional design programs. In the 1990s, the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) used Universal Design’s framework, which attended to architecture and engineering, to develop a similar concept for classrooms. The Center’s goal was to

FAQs

Why does the essay connect universal success to first-year composition classrooms?

It argues that students in FYC may struggle with access and participation due to varied learning styles, writing comfort, English proficiency, disabilities, and family responsibilities. Identity pressures also make the classroom a more difficult pedagogical environment.

What is the relationship between “retrofit” and Universal Design for Learning?

The essay cites retrofit as required additions that make an object more usable while keeping those who need access invisible. In contrast, UDL lets students re-map how they learn, making each student visible in the learning process.

How does the author say UDL supports learning and demonstrating mastery?

UDL teachers apply flexible strategies that allow students to learn, demonstrate competency, and become interested in learning in different ways. The essay gives examples such as proving understanding through writing stories or filming silent movies.

Oct 15, 2026

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