The syllabus as a tool to enhance teaching & learning in construction education

As the first item often distributed each semester, the syllabus sets expectations and requirements for the educational experience. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to syllabi design attempts to consider the ways students are engaged, how information is represented, and learning expressed. If syllabi could be built on an UDL framework, a potential for enhanced learning exists. This study examined 33 syllabi from schools of construction. Objectives of the study included determining most and least prevalent UDL elements in construction syllabi, UDL elements absent from construction syllabi, and determining to what degree construction syllabi correlate with elements of UDL that students deem most important. Two faculty members evaluated each of the 33 syllabi individually. Overall results indicated syllabi at almost every level of the considered UDL criteria. Areas of highest UDL inclusion were in “length”, “student resources”, and “course calendar”. Lowest scores were in areas related to assignment information. Areas of UDL important to students did not match the highest scoring areas of this study. Results suggest improvements could be made in syllabi that may better meet UDL criteria and better align with student syllabi preferences.