Using Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) to Support Universal Design for Learning (UDL): A Case Study

Abstract

Research indicates that technology can play a vital role in supporting universal design for learning (UDL); however, little research currently exists to detail specific practices of educators in the field. This qualitative case study was designed to explore and describe the efforts to prepare and deliver instruction with a combined knowledge of technology-content-and-pedagogy (TPACK) to support UDL in an inclusive setting, at a Title 1 school. The justification for this study stemmed from the researcher’s passion to help practitioners in the field understand the strategies and materials utilized by an exemplary educator. It was this researcher’s intuition that an awareness of a unique practice may help broaden the research base for both UDL and TPACK, and possibly impact both policy and practice. The purposefully selected participant was an experienced general education teacher at a Title 1 school in central Oahu, a part of the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HDOE). Data were collected across the duration of an entire, official HDOE instructional quarter, and included a series of observations followed by in-depth interviews, and the analyses of materials and instructional resources that were designed and utilized to support instruction. The data were coded and analyzed to address the specific research questions of this study. The analysis and interpretation of the findings were organized with respect to the frameworks of this particular study: TPACK and UDL. This research revealed that a teacher’s TPACK provides important support in preparing for and delivering UDL-based instruction and expands the range of strategies and materials available for the teacher to use. Recommendations included the ongoing integration of 21st century technologies and TPACK in the delivery of professional development for educators related to UDL. Additionally there is a call for administrative policies that support the ongoing development of TPACK for practitioners in the field, as well as broadening opportunities for research that examine the connections between TPACK and UDL.