Application of Purposeful Course Design to Support Graduate Learners’ Professional Literacy Development in an Online Learning Environment

Difficulties engaging in professional literacy tasks including writing, applying research, and accessing online course content may not end at learners’ undergraduate coursework. Graduate-level learners may experience difficulties (i.e., barriers) in these areas, potentially negatively impacting course experiences and employment outcomes. Barriers often include limited background knowledge and/or experiences with professional literacy for employment-related and graduate course taking purposes. However, easy-to-implement, but powerful, strategies aligned to the course objectives reduce learners’ barriers to learning and enhance their learning experiences. Thus, this chapter describes the purposeful application of Universal Design for Learning in conjunction with Learning Experience Design to reduce barriers to learning.