UCLA

This dissertation analyzes a single cohort in a larger two-year general education teacher preparation program to determine what the program intended for participants to learn about students with disabilities (SWDs) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), their interpretation of that learning, and how they believe they incorporated this learning into their first year teaching. To understand this, I examined course syllabi from the teacher education program, lesson plans from participants’ student teaching experience, and interviews conducted during participants’ first year in their own classrooms. Participants included 15 of 29 cohort members in the secondary math and science teacher education program at a large urban university. Each agreed to the analysis of the lesson plans they created during their student teaching year and 10 participated in one-on-one interviews. Using qualitative methods, 18 course syllabi, 28 lesson plans, and 10 semi-structured interviews were analyzed.After completing the analysis, I found that the program spent very little time introducing participants to UDL or disability. Content analysis of course syllabi revealed mention of UDL in one course syllabus and less than 5% of readings or course materials addressed disability, based on review of available summaries and abstracts. Coding of lesson plans for UDL strategies showed emerging inclusion of strategies and techniques aligned with UDL. In the interviews, participants varied in how prepared they felt to work with SWDs, some felt they were as prepared as they could be while others stated they did not feel prepared. In a variety of ways, all participants stated that it was their responsibility to find the best ways to meet the needs of all of their students. Lesson plans reviewed in this dissertation showed the need for further study into how new teachers incorporate what they learn in their teacher education programs into their actual classrooms, especially around SWDs and UDL. Overall, this dissertation showed that the program could incorporate more learning about SWDs and UDL to better prepare general education teachers to meet the needs of all of their students.