Using UDL to Teach Data Ethics in Media Planning: A Flexible Assignment Model

This teaching insight describes an assignment in a media planning course redesigned using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to teach data ethics. To foster engagement, the assignment offers students flexible choices in content and submission formats to analyze the ethical use of consumer data in targeted advertising. Outcomes from six semesters show that 25% of students chose non-traditional formats or a challenge option. Student reflections suggest assignment choices contributed to perceptions of learning about and engagement with advertising ethics, and real-world examples made ethics seem more relevant to their future professional lives. This flexible, transferrable assignment provides a practical method for equipping future advertising professionals to grapple with complex ethical dilemmas, a critical component of modern advertising education. It also illustrates how advertising educators can easily incorporate elements of inclusive assignment design, not only as a pedagogical choice, but as an ethical practice.