Viewing lesson design through the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) requires using tools and strategies that reach all learners, including those with disabilities. However, creating a welcoming and effective experience for all students requires understanding the barriers they face and how to mitigate them. This resource examines teacher-inquiry tools and resources that you can use to identify your students’ strengths and needs, and use to identify and select strategies that mitigate learning barriers. It also explores employing empathetic processes to make classrooms more inclusive.

In this video, Mindy Johnson gives an overview of design thinking and UDL presented at the Inclusive Learning Network's 2017 Global Accessibility Awareness Day Online Mini Conference.

The authors combine the principles of Design Thinking and UDL in three prescriptive classroom projects within the realm of the "makerspace" movement, with implications for STEM and STEAM.   Students learn to make a stable product, use tools, consider the needs of another, solve challenges, overcome setbacks and sustain motivation. The projects also teach students to build on the ideas of others, vet sources, generate questions, deeply analyze topics, and think creatively and analytically, goals associated with Common Core State Standards.