Universal Design for Learning at University: Technologies, Blended Learning and Teaching Methods

The paper reports the first results of an experience of university teaching innovation in progress. It is based on multiple means of "Engagement", "Representation", and "Action & Expression" in the framework of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach. The action repeats, with some improvements, a previous university experience of Flipped Classroom in distance learning, and it has been proposed in dual mode to second year students enrolled in a course on "Teaching and Learning" of the bachelor's degree program in Education of the University of Bergamo, in Italy. The paper investigates the students' perception about: 1) the attractiveness of the proposal compared to more traditional approaches; 2) their own learning paths; 3) their motivation. A quantitative and qualitative survey detected the students' perception of the teaching methods for this course, with main focus on the use of active teaching aimed at breaking down learning barriers, in the UDL perspective. [This paper was published in: "Transforming our World through Universal Design for Human Development: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Universal Design (UD2022). Studies in Health Technology and Informatics," edited by Ilaria Garofolo et al., IOS Press, 2022, pp. 541-48.]