Collaborative research: innovative materials for promoting accessibility curriculum and teaching

The National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education awarded the Research Foundation of The City University of New York (doing business as RFCUNY - Brooklyn College) $339,688 on October 15, 2026, under the STEM Education program (CFDA 47.076) to develop and disseminate accessibility curriculum and instructional resources for undergraduate computing education.

The project will create empirically informed instructional materials, including updated accessibility games emphasizing universal design, lecture notes, and interactive assignments. The recipient will investigate how experiential learning opportunities motivate students to increase accessibility awareness and foster intentions to design accessible software. The work will also examine the challenges instructors and students face when teaching and learning accessibility in computing contexts, and establish a community of practice providing professional development, networking, guest speakers, and resource sharing for faculty teaching accessibility. Open educational materials will support broader adoption of these resources.

Performance occurs in Brooklyn, New York, through September 30, 2029. The award is a Project Grant under the Engaged Student Learning track (Level 2) within the NSF IUSE program, which supports research and development projects to improve undergraduate STEM education effectiveness.

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving accessibility education in undergraduate computing and building a community of practice to support instructors. As software increasingly shapes participation in education, employment, and healthcare, digital accessibility has become an important computing competency. This creates opportunities to further integrate accessibility concepts and practices into undergraduate computing curricula. This level 2 engaged student learning project seeks to advance accessibility education in undergraduate computing through research, evidence-based instructional innovation, and faculty support. IT plans to investigate how experiential learning opportunities can motivate students, increase accessibility awareness, and foster intentions to design accessible software in the future. Expected outcomes include empirically informed instructional resources, evidence-based guidance for teaching accessibility in undergraduate computing, and broader dissemination and adoption of these resources through a community of practice and open educational materials. The goals of this project are to (a) advance the understanding of the challenges that instructors face both before and after teaching about accessibility; (b) investigate the challenges that students face when learning about accessibility; (c) expand, improve, and rigorously evaluate a set of accessibility resources, including updated accessibility games with a stronger focus on universal design, along with lecture notes and interactive assignments; and (d) create supportive structures, professional development opportunities, and an online community of practice for instructors who teach accessibility that will provide guidance, networking opportunities, guest speakers, and resource sharing. The NSF iuse: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of stem education for all students. Through the engaged student learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.