Color Universal Design for Educators: An Instructional Design Research Project

Abstract

Is it imperative that inclusive learning materials are created to ensure all students, whether in-person or in online learning environments, have access to a quality education. Creating visually inclusive learning materials for students with disabilities, in particular, students with colorblindness, will help with academic success. However, many educators are unaware of their students with colorblindness and few know how to create inclusive visual materials for them. Color Universal Design, a relatively new approach under the conceptual umbrella of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning, can help. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to create and evaluate the effectiveness of an online instructional module on Color Universal Design for post-secondary educators. This module aimed to increase awareness of students with colorblindness and teach Color Universal Design techniques. Disseminated to a sample population of post-secondary educators of the University of Hawai’i system, pre- and post-assessments were used to evaluate participants’ application mastery of the module’s content and to measure the overall instructional effectiveness. Color Universal Design can assist educators with steps to improve their visual materials, decrease learning barriers for their students with colorblindness, and enhance the experience of all their students.