Design Studios
Our Design Studios are topic-based entry points into the architecture of learning.
Each one can be experienced as a Spark, Design Lab, Cohort, or sustained Partnership.
Browse by the part of learning architecture you want to rethink.
Design Lens 01
TIME, SPACE & STRUCTURES
The school day is a design choice. Time, space, schedules, routines, and roles quietly shape what learners experience every day. Within this lens, we explore how to redesign the structures around learning so they create more access, flexibility, ownership, and possibility for every learner.
Beyond the Bell
Schedules teach, too.
How might we… redesign time and structures to expand what’s possible for learners?
Beyond the Bell helps school and district teams rethink schedules, courses and credits, staffing, technology, and flexible use of time so more learners have access to meaningful opportunities.
Vibrant Learning Structures
Every structure teaches something.
How might we… rethink classroom structures to create more flexible, responsive learning experiences?
Explore practical ways to redesign routines, groupings, learning experiences, and classroom structures so they create greater flexibility, learner ownership, and engagement.
Intervention by Design
Support should expand possibility.
How might we… make intervention a place where every learner experiences challenge, belonging, and possibility?
Redesign intervention systems that respond to learner needs while preserving access to rich learning, strong relationships, and meaningful opportunities.
Design Lens 02
CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION & LEARNING DESIGN
Curriculum is not the plan. It’s the potential. Instruction is not delivery. It’s the experience we design. Within this lens, we explore how to convert high-quality resources into learning experiences that are engaging, meaningful, and built for transfer.
Joyful Rigor
Joyful learning and rigor were never opposites.
How might we… design learning experiences where challenge, curiosity, and joy strengthen one another?
Explore how small design moves can make rigorous learning feel more meaningful, engaging, and worth the effort—helping students think deeply while staying connected to curiosity, purpose, and joy.
Vibrant Lesson Design
Small design decisions shape big learner experiences.
How might we… transform the way students experience learning through intentional lesson design?

Explore practical ways to redesign questions, routines, tasks, transitions, and instructional moves so everyday lessons become more engaging, learner-owned, and intellectually vibrant.
Vibrant HQIRs
Great curriculum deserves great learning experiences.
How might we… unlock the full potential of high-quality instructional resources through simple, powerful shifts?
Discover how HQIRs can become launchpads for vibrant learning—not scripts to simply deliver. Participants explore simple shifts that preserve the integrity of the resource while making learning more meaningful, learner-centered, and alive.
Not Your Grandma’s Unit Internalization
Great teaching begins by seeing the learning.
How might we… internalize units in ways that make learning clearer, more purposeful, and more responsive to students?

Go beyond pacing guides and scripts by helping educators deeply understand the learning—anticipating learner thinking, identifying key moments, and designing instruction with greater purpose and feasibility.
Communication: Beyond the Presentation
Presenting isn’t the same as communicating.
How might we… help learners develop the skills to communicate ideas with purpose, clarity, and confidence?
Redesign communication experiences so learners practice, strengthen, and apply the skills needed to speak, write, and present for authentic audiences, real purposes, and the kinds of communication they’ll use beyond school.
Not Your Grandma’s 5-Paragraph Essay
Writing is about communicating ideas—not filling a template.
How might we… design writing experiences that prioritize purpose, audience, and voice?
Reimagine writing experiences that prioritize purpose, audience, and voice—helping learners write to think, communicate, and create meaningful work.
Collaboration: Beyond Group Work
Putting students in groups isn’t the same as designing collaboration.
How might we… design collaboration that deepens thinking instead of dividing the work?
Design collaborative learning experiences that move beyond dividing the work—creating structures where learners think together, build on one another’s ideas, and strengthen understanding through meaningful collaboration.
Vibrant Learner Profiles
A Portrait of a Learner should live in classrooms—not just on posters.
How might we… turn our Portrait of a Learner into everyday learner experiences?
Translate your Portrait of a Learner into practical design moves that shape tasks, reflection, feedback, classroom culture, and student ownership—so the vision shows up in what learners actually do.
Design Lens 03
EVIDENCE, FEEDBACK & LEARNING DEMONSTRATIONS
Assessment is so much more than a test. It’s how we make thinking visible, guide next steps, and celebrate growth over time. Within this lens, we explore how to design systems that help learners show what they know—and what they can do with that knowledge.
Vibrant Performance Assessments
Knowing isn’t the same as showing.
How might we… design learning experiences where learners demonstrate understanding in authentic, meaningful, and transferable ways?

Explore how learners can demonstrate understanding in ways that are authentic, meaningful, and transferable to the real world.
Vibrant Assessment Systems
Every assessment system tells a story about what we value.
How might we… design assessment systems that better reflect the learning we hope to inspire?
Design assessment systems that align with your learning vision—creating coherence across classrooms, clarity for learners, and stronger evidence of what your community values most.
Not Your Grandma’s Assessment
Assessment should advance learning.
How might we… make assessment one of the most powerful moments for learning?
Move beyond testing toward assessment as a tool for feedback, reflection, and growth—fueling what’s next for every learner.
Local Accountability
Communities should help define what success looks like.
How might we… design accountability systems that reflect what matters most to the communities we serve?
Explore how local accountability systems can use meaningful evidence, learner demonstrations, and community-defined outcomes to support continuous improvement.
Design Lens 04
ADULT LEARNING & COACHING
Adult learning is not an add-on. It’s the engine. Coaching is not correction. It’s a pathway for growth. Within this lens, we explore how professional learning, coaching, leadership, and collaboration can help educators grow together—and translate that growth into stronger learner experiences.
Leading for Vibrant Learning
Classrooms can’t become more vibrant if the systems around them don’t.
How might we… redesign the systems that make vibrant learning possible?

Redesign the systems, structures, and leadership practices that make vibrant learning possible—so it becomes the expectation, not the exception.
Coaching for Vibrant Learning
How adults learn shapes how students learn.
How might we… design coaching systems that help every educator continue to grow?

Explore coaching models and practices that build trust, spark reflection, and support educators in designing powerful learning experiences.
Growing Educators
Every new teacher deserves a system designed for growth.
How might we… build systems where beginning teachers don’t just survive—but thrive?
Build systems that support new educators with meaningful mentorship, strong induction, and ongoing opportunities to thrive.
Not Your Grandma’s PLCs
Collaboration should change classrooms—not just calendars.
How might we… design PLCs that drive real learning instead of recurring meetings?
Reimagine PLCs as engines for shared inquiry, collective problem-solving, and more powerful learning experiences.
Design Lens 05
PEOPLE, ROLES & CULTURE
Culture is not a backdrop. It is a design choice. Roles are not just positions. They shape possibility. Within this lens, we explore how relationships, leadership, roles, and shared culture influence what people try, how they grow, and what learners experience every day.
Beyond Student Voice
Learners shouldn’t just be heard. They should help shape what happens next.
How might we… design roles where learners help shape learning, culture, and change?
Move beyond collecting input toward designing meaningful opportunities for students to influence decisions, lead alongside adults, and strengthen the communities they belong to.
Designed to Lead
Teacher leadership shouldn’t require leaving the classroom.
How might we… build teacher leadership from within the classroom?
Explore ways to build teacher leadership from within the classroom so expertise, influence, and innovation stay closest to learners.
Leading for Vibrant Learning
Leadership is not a role reserved for a few.
How might we… redesign the systems that make vibrant learning possible?
Redesign the systems, structures, and practices that leaders influence so vibrant learning becomes the expectation, not the exception.
Not Your Grandma’s PLCs
Collaboration should change culture—not just calendars.
How might we… design PLCs that build shared responsibility for stronger learner experiences?
Reimagine PLCs as engines for inquiry, innovation, and instructional improvement that impact teaching and learning.
Design Lens 06
COMMUNITY, FAMILIES & PATHWAYS
School is not the whole learning ecosystem. Families, communities, and pathways help shape what learning makes possible. Within this lens, we explore how schools partner beyond the building to design experiences, profiles, and systems that connect learning to life.
Designing Portraits with Learners
The Portrait of a Learner should be written with learners—not just about them.
How might we… help learners co-design the vision that shapes their education?
Design a Portrait of a Learner process that elevates student voice from the start—so learners help name the skills, experiences, and futures that matter most, and the final vision reflects the students it is meant to serve.
Governing for Vibrant Learning
Great governance designs the conditions for great learning.
How might we… better understand and strengthen the conditions that make vibrant learning possible?
Explore how governance decisions—from vision and policy to accountability and resource allocation—shape the learner experience. This studio helps boards ask better questions, make more intentional decisions, and lead with greater coherence.
Beyond the Building
Some of the richest learning happens beyond school walls.
How might we… transform communities into classrooms and classrooms into gateways to opportunity?
Reimagine how schools and communities partner so learning connects to real places, people, and possibilities.
Local Accountability
Communities should help define what success looks like.
How might we… create accountability systems that reflect what matters most to the communities we serve?
Design accountability systems rooted in local values and meaningful evidence—helping communities see, support, and improve what matters most.
