The UDL Lab is a WestEd service that applies the Universal Design for Learning framework to solve real-world challenges in education, human development, and beyond by encouraging flexible, supportive environments. Our collaborative model, UDL Jams, uses a jazz-inspired approach to cocreate and scale solutions for innovative, engaged learning.
How We Help
Through our UDL Lab service offering, our experts support your teams in cultivating a mindset in which inclusion is embedded in every aspect of design, planning, and leadership. Drawing on the UDL framework’s three principles—multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression—we help teams address real problems of practice through our collaborative “UDL Jam” model. Modeled after jazz jam sessions, Jams bring together educators, administrators, and other leaders to improvise, iterate, and cocreate solutions.
We guide teams through three core phases:
- Lean In—Explore a pressing challenge through collaborative inquiry.
- Learn UDL—Apply UDL principles to design strategies that work for everyone.
- Launch Solutions—Return to your context with actionable, inclusive strategies.
Sessions are facilitated by WestEd experts, tailored to partner needs, and supported by AI-driven design tools. Whether you’re improving instruction, building leadership capacity, or addressing systemic equity goals, the UDL Lab connects research, creativity, and practical application.
Service Delivery
- Services are delivered in ways that are tailored to client needs, including in-person, remote, hybrid, or asynchronous options.
Who Will Benefit
- Classroom teachers and specialists
- Site leaders and principals
- District administrators
- Professional learning teams
- Cross-sector organizations applying inclusive design
Ready to collaborate with us to design inclusive, innovative solutions through the UDL Lab?
Connect with a WestEd expert.
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Featured Experts
Jose Blackorby
Zachary Smith
Leticia R. Perez
Connecting Research With Practice
The UDL Lab builds on the Universal Design for Learning framework developed by CAST and supported by decades of learning sciences, accessibility, and neuroscience research. By starting with application, the Lab helps teams cultivate a “UDL Design Lens”—embedding inclusive design thinking into language, decision-making, and collaborative practice. Evidence shows that UDL-aligned environments improve learner engagement, reduce barriers, and enhance equity across settings.
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