Empathizing with Students with Disabilities (SWDs): A Design Thinking Perspective

Students with disabilities (SWDs) are among the most marginalized group of learners who may struggle to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to provide authentic solutions to real-life problems. As a result, policymakers and educators have recognized rethinking design for inclusiveness as a means to provide support for and meet the needs of such learner cohorts. This rethink has resulted in the adoption or adaption of the design-based learning (DBL) approach which seeks to improve the learning experience of SWDs through five iterative design thinking (DT) processes: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. It is important to note that  the prevailing literature has largely taken a generic look at the application of the DT processes in inclusive settings. This chapter thus critically focuses on the first process of DT (empathize) to facilitate deep engagement between designers and SWDs as a strategy for reducing instructional barriers and aiding the development of their problem-solving skills. The theoretical analysis of the literature concludes with a proposed model which highlights four key factors (environmental, classroom, teacher, and student factors) as enablers for instructors to demonstrate empathy in inclusive settings. Moving forward, we recommend a participatory design approach through the consideration of the four interrelated factors in the proposed model when constructing the educational process of SWDs. Also, a supportive and disability-friendly learning environment should be created for SWDs in terms of architectural and instructional design.