Lieke van Heumen

Disability and Human Development, College of Applied Health Sciences

Lieke van Heumen is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development (DHD) in the College of Applied Health Sciences. She teaches Disability in U.S. Society (DHD101) and Disability through the Life Course (DHD408), and mentors undergraduate and graduate students in DHD. Additionally, she teaches in the Graduate College Certificate Program in the Foundations of College Instruction. Her teaching strategies implement principles of Universal Design for Learning, and she nurtures disability culture and community in her classrooms. Dr. van Heumen’s teaching philosophy is centered by the belief that students learn best when they can be actively involved in their own learning process, engage in critical reflection, and act and interact in social contexts inside and outside of the classroom. Dr. van Heumen has published on her teaching innovations and has received several teaching awards including the 2017 AHS Excalibur Award for Teaching Excellence and the 2021-2022 Teaching Recognition Program Award at UIC. In fall 2020, she was featured as one of six extraordinary educators to get to know on campus by Bonfire, UIC’s only student-run newspaper.

Van Heumen is a 2022-23 Action Research Scholar.

Lieke van Heumen

Lieke van Heumen

Modality Preferences in a Large Enrollment Undergraduate Disability Studies Course Heading link

Abstract

Some, but not much research has been done on modality options and students’ modality preferences in large general education courses. General understanding of undergraduates’ modality choice is limited, and faculty and administrators are often unaware of the complexity of decisions students are making (O’Neill et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to find out what modality options are preferred by UIC students for the course DHD101. The research team consisted of the instructor of this course as well as two former DHD101 students as research assistants, Rose Flanigan and Tommy O’Donnell.

Eleven formerly enrolled students in DHD101 participated in the study. They completed a short demographic survey and participated in a one hour focus group interview on Zoom. Across the three conducted focus groups, students discussed various personal circumstances and preferences that guide their selection of courses with specific modalities such as the realities of commuting to campus, weather, work schedules and the desire to connect with faculty and fellow students. Additionally, students indicated a desire for a flexible course modality for DHD101 that does not require in person attendance but provides support for it for students who want to benefit from it.

Pre-pandemic DHD101 was offered as an in-person course with two 50 minute lectures and one 50 minute discussion section per week. In summer 2020 DHD101 was redesigned to be taught as an online asynchronous course. As students returned to campus in 2021 and 2022 DHD101 remained an asynchronous online course. Considering the long term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the undergraduate curriculum and the maturing of the curriculum overall, the department  is reviewing and determining long term modality options.  Considering the important place of DHD101 in the curriculum, I want to better understand how students could benefit from various modalities in this course, with modality implementation being aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UIC currently lists the following course modalities: 1) on campus, 2) online synchronous, 3) online asynchronous, 4) hybrid (blended), 5) synchronous distributed, and 6) off-campus experience.

It has been argued that making a combination of both in person and online (synchronous or asynchronous) instruction available (hybrid) is an example of universal design (Benson, 2021). In line with UDL, I believe flexible options will serve students most effectively, and therefore I am interested to consider and pursue HyFlex options, potentially in combination with synchronous distributed options. Beatty (2019) has outlined accessibility and implementation of UDL as one of four core values informing HyFlex courses. HyFlex learning is when students can choose their preferred balance of learning between in-person and online activities. One possibility for DHD101 includes an online lecture component with students selecting an online or in-person discussion section. Another option is to have alternating modalities across semesters, considering the course is offered every fall and spring semester. I would like to have data before I implement a new modality which may or may not resonate with students, as well as to practice student-centered curriculum development. I would like to know which modality options work best for students based on their learning needs, personal lives and individual circumstances and why, and how to best design and implement the course modality taking into account these variables.

The research question for this project was as follows: Based on their own perceived learning needs, what course modality options are preferred by various DHD101 students for this course, and why?

To answer this research question a mixed methods study was proposed, and this project includes the findings of the first phase of the study:

Phase 1: Focus groups with former DHD101 students (2023) 

Phase 2: Participatory design of modality options for DHD101 (2024)

Phase 3: Large survey with former DHD101 students (2024)

The three focus group recordings were transcribed verbatim. Student names were replaced with pseudonyms. The transcripts were uploaded to qualitative analysis software platform Taguette. The transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). During a period of 5 weeks two research team members independently coded each of the three transcripts and collaboratively created a code book. Both analysts maintained detailed analytic journals. The analysts met weekly to discuss codes, edit the code book and develop themes.

Students want to experience modalities that foster their engagement through effective learning; through opportunities to build relationships with peers, TAs and faculty; and through optimal access. Additionally, students hold perceptions of what they think specific course modalities are like for professors. Students’ modality preferences are influenced by the realities of their individual needs and preferences, commutes, schedules and types of classes. Overall, students are most interested in hybrid and distributed course modality options that are flexible to accommodate diverse student needs and preferences. Students indicated a desire for a flexible course modality for DHD101 that does not require in person attendance but provides support for it for students who want to benefit from it.

This work was presented at the CATE Seminar Series in September 2023. The project was also included in a guest lecture to PhD Students in Disability Studies in DHD592 in February 2023 and in a brown bag presentation in April 2023 for the Department of Disability and Human Development. A manuscript is currently being prepared describing the study and its findings.

This project enabled me to connect with other faculty on campus who are doing research on teaching, integrate research on teaching in my overall research agenda, mentor undergraduate and graduate students interested in teaching as research (including LASURI award recipient Rose Flanigan), and to teach in the Graduate College Certificate Program on the Foundations of College Instruction.

O’Neill, K., Lopes, N., Nesbit, J., Reinhardt, S., & Jayasundera, K. (2021). Modeling undergraduates’ selection of course modality: A large sample, multi-discipline study. The Internet and higher education, 48, 100776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100776

O’Neill, D. K., Reinhardt, S., & Jayasundera, K. (2022). What undergraduates say about choosing an online or in-person course: qualitative results from a large-sample, multi-discipline survey. Higher Education Research & Development, 41(4), 1199-1214. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2021.1896484

Peters, M. (2022). Caring Classrooms in Crisis: COVID-19, Interest Convergence, and Universal Design for Learning. Disability Studies Quarterly, 42(1).

Podlucká, D. (2020). Transformative anti-ableist pedagogy for social justice: Charting a critical agenda for inclusive education. Outlines. Critical Practice Studies, 21(1), 69-97.

Sowell, K.D., Saichaie, K., Bergman, J.J., & Applegate, E.A. (2019). High Enrollment and HyFlex: The Case for an Alternative Course Model. Journal on excellence in college teaching, 30, 5-28.