How to plan STEM lessons with Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can help make STEM content more accessible to all students. UDL is an evidence-based teaching practice that removes barriers to learning. Read on to learn more about UDL and how to use it in your STEM lesson plans.

What is UDL? 

UDL is a framework that helps ​​all learners to access and engage in learning. It’s about building flexibility into your lesson plans so they can be adjusted for every student’s strengths, interests, and needs. With UDL, you assume that barriers to learning are in the design of the environment, not in the student. Designing lessons without barriers will help students be successful in STEM. 

According to CAST, the organization that developed the UDL framework, there are three principles to consider when using a UDL approach: engagement, representation, and action and expression. It’s important to address all three principles when planning STEM lessons. Ask yourself questions like: 

• How can I give students multiple ways to engage with the lesson? 

• How can I present information in ways that reach all learners? 

• How can I give students options to show what they know? 

By planning with UDL in mind, you can help make science, technology, engineering, and mathematics less intimidating and more accessible to all students. 

How to use UDL before the STEM lesson

Before teaching your STEM lesson, plan how you’ll use UDL. That way, your lesson can be more responsive to your students’ needs. 

• Identify the lesson’s goals. Then anticipate the variability of your students. For example, some students may struggle with text-heavy content. Some students may feel uncomfortable presenting in front of the whole class.

• With that variability in mind, think of ways to reduce barriers to learning for each goal. Add those strategies to your plan. 

• Think about any misconceptions or questions students might have throughout the lesson. Plan how you’ll address them. 

• Schedule brain breaks and check-in times throughout the lesson. These breaks will give you a chance to assess your students and adjust your plans. 

• Gather the materials and check them for accessibility. For example, if you’re showing a video, make sure you can turn on closed captioning.

Planning ahead is a must with UDL. But it can take time. For more details on how to plan with UDL, check out this guide to UDL lesson planning.

How to use UDL during the STEM lesson

During the lesson, make sure your students know the learning goals and how they can show their understanding. Give them meaningful choices for showing that they’re meeting the goals. 

For example, you can give them options for communicating findings from a lab. Students might be able to present to a small group or to the whole class. And the form of the presentation can vary — from a poster to a written lab report. 

Remember to keep the three UDL principles in mind during every part of your STEM lessons. 

• Include options for engagement, such as choice boards to recruit interest. 

• Offer options for representation, such as graphic organizers to support students in recording data. 

• Finally, include options for action and expression, such as flexible ways to draw, record, write, or build during STEM activities. 

How to use UDL after the STEM lesson 

Just because a STEM lesson is over doesn’t mean learning stops. At the end of the lesson, collect feedback from students. What progress did they make? What supported their learning? Where did they get stuck? This feedback process will help students learn about themselves. And it’ll help you plan the next lessons. 

You can also ask students to co-create future lesson ideas. Planning investigations and determining the right questions to ask are key STEM skills. STEM isn’t just about “What is the answer?” It’s about “How do you find the answer?” Asking students to brainstorm ways to investigate STEM topics can increase future engagement.

Don’t forget to reflect on the lesson yourself. Ask yourself questions like:

• Was the goal meaningful and challenging? 

• Did the lesson design anticipate variability? 

• Were there flexible options available for engagement, representation, and action and expression that students could choose? 

• Could the lesson be redesigned to further reduce barriers? 

Using UDL helps you support all students in STEM. By planning for accessibility and learner variability, you’ll be more prepared to teach all of your students. 

More resources

Explore these resources to learn more about using UDL. 

• Check out this UDL guide for educators. 

• See an example of UDL in the classroom.

• Share this article about UDL with your students’ families.

• And learn more from our STEM resources.