Developing Inclusive Practices in the Basic Cycle of Health Sciences Careers for Students with and without Visual Disabilities

Abstract

Basic sciences are essential in the education of future health professionals, as they foster critical thinking. However, they often appear disconnected from everyday life, which can lead to student demotivation. This article presents an educational innovation in the learning of organic chemistry, grounded in the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, and implemented with students both with and without visual impairments. The intervention involved the redesign of instructional materials for teaching organic nomenclature, incorporating raised tactile markers at each vertex of skeletal structures to represent carbon atoms, with the aim of facilitating their identification and counting. Carbon atoms counting errors were reduced from 50.0% to 12.5% in the group that used the redesigned material. Students reported that the material was helpful and contributed to a reduction in the number of errors made when counting carbon atoms. The redesigned educational resource supported the learning of the entire group and was highly valued across the board regardless of visual impairment status, becoming a transferable tool for other topics, disciplines, or courses.