Rapid AI-Assisted Instructional Design: Using Agentic LLM Tools to Develop UDL-Aligned Curricula for Student Veterans and Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Background/Context: Creating instructional materials that authentically meet the needs of marginalized learner groups such as student veterans, multilingual adult learners, and first-generation doctoral students demands consistent application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles coupled with meaningful content expertise about those learners’ traits, access needs, and lived experiences. Faculty at teaching-intensive institutions face persistent constraints of time, knowledge, and course load that make systematic UDL implementation difficult. Objective: This practitioner-scholar case study examines whether HAIST-structured agentic LLM-assisted instructional design can produce UDL-aligned materials for student veterans and multilingual learners at a quality level and time frame realistic for under-resourced faculty. Methodology: Drawing from the Human-AI Symbiotic Theory (HAIST) and UDL guidelines, we document four AI-assisted cycles of instructional design at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Outcomes related to UDL alignment were measured using a rubric adapted from CAST Guidelines 2.2. Results: Across four materials, initial AI generation averaged 61.4% UDL alignment (SD = 8.7%); following iterative calibration, this rose to 84.2% (SD = 5.3%). The largest gains occurred in the Engagement category. Conclusions: These descriptive findings, interpreted as exploratory rather than inferential given the single-site case study design and n = 4 materials, suggest that HAIST-structured AI-assisted design has the potential to produce accessible materials for underserved learner populations in time frames feasible for working faculty. Learner outcome data were not collected in this study; future quasi-experimental work is needed to assess the effectiveness of these materials with target learner populations.

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