Cognitivist epistemology and Universal Design for Learning: foundations and implications for accessible chemistry education

Abstract

This theoretical essay analyzes the relationships between cognitivist epistemology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the context of chemistry education, problematizing the limits and potential of these articulations. It starts from the conception of learning as an active and singular process, mediated by developing cognitive structures, according to Piaget (1976) and Ausubel (2003). However, it acknowledges that such foundations, when considered in isolation, offer limited support for curriculum planning in educational contexts marked by diversity. It argues that UDL acts as a pedagogical unfolding of cognitivism by converting cognitive variability, described epistemologically, into an organizing principle of the curriculum. From this convergence, we discuss how multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression broaden the possibilities of meaning-making in chemistry teaching. It is argued that the articulation between cognitivism and UDL (Universal Design for Learning) is not a mere theoretical juxtaposition, but a critical complementarity that challenges homogenizing pedagogical practices and provides a foundation for the construction of more accessible curricula.