Integrating UDL and AI: a reflexive account of the Digital Maieutic Project team

This paper critically examines the application of reflexivity in the development and early implementation of the Digital Maieutic Project, an initiative that integrates Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles with artificial intelligence (AI) to create adaptive and inclusive educational environments. The key to this project is ‘Socrates’, an AI chatbot designed to embody dialogic learning through the Socratic method and to apply the UDL principles of multiple means of representation, engagement and action/ expression. The project team adopted a reflexive approach, drawing on Bell and Willmott’s (2020) model of constitutive, epistemic and disruptive reflexivity to navigate ethical considerations, power dynamics and interdisciplinary challenges.

Through reflective dialogue, the team addressed tensions inherent in integrating AI within UDL frameworks such as technological constraints in delivering multimodal content, ethical dilemmas regarding student autonomy and the need for cultural relevance in AI interactions. Early feedback shows that ‘Socrates’ fosters student engagement and improves administrative efficiency, yet critical questions remain about defining and measuring success in AI-mediated education. This paper contributes to the broader discourse on the sociomaterial dynamics of AI in higher education by positioning reflexivity as a critical framework for iterative learning and ethical accountability.