Pensando o Desenho Universal para Aprendizagem: curso de formação de professores do Ensino Médio das áreas de Ciências da Natureza e Matemática

Abstract

This study is linked to the Graduate Program in Special Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and focuses on a public high school located in São Gonçalo do Amarante, RN, Brazil. It highlights Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a pedagogical approach that can foster school inclusion. The main objective was to analyze how high school Science and Mathematics teachers from this school learned about UDL while participating in an in-service training program. Six teachers were invited to take part in the study. This research is characterized as a pedagogical intervention, involving the planning and implementation of innovations aimed at promoting advances in participants’ learning processes and evaluating the effects of these actions (Damiani, 2012; Engeström, 2011). The intervention consisted of eight formative sessions held between July 9, 2024, and December 3, 2024, followed by a reassessment meeting on May 20, 2025. The sessions took place biweekly during the teachers’ regular planning hours, on Tuesday mornings. Data were collected through audio recordings and photographic records and analyzed using Discursive Textual Analysis (Moraes, 2003). The training sought to promote discussions on UDL and on the participating teachers’ practices, aiming to make them accessible to all students. The course provided opportunities for study, reflection, and the development of pedagogical practices grounded in UDL principles, establishing a meaningful space for teacher professional development. As a product, the research generated a digital training notebook for teachers on Universal Design for Learning as a tool to support all students’ access to the curriculum. The findings indicate the need for continuous, critical, and context-sensitive dialogue with teachers about UDL, in order to strengthen inclusive and accessible pedagogical practices in school settings.