Learning Design

This topic covers topics from school and system design to the science of learning.

Three students taking notes on clipboards while closely examining a wooden mechanical model at a STEM exhibit.

Learning Design

Why the Best STEM Lessons Start with Struggle

Guest Author

Mar 9, 2026

Productive struggle boosts STEM engagement—start with a challenge, normalize failure, and coach students through iteration.

Woman in navy blazer walking purposefully across open white space, casting a long shadow beside her

Leadership

The Cost of Innovation: Why True Transformation Requires A Season of Grief

Guest Author

Mar 3, 2026

Innovation in education requires grief work—letting go of old models and identity to lead real transformation.

Flower diagram showing "The CHOICE: Critically Human Skills" with Integrity, Compassion, and Agency at center, surrounded by six overlapping circles.

Learning Design

The CHOICE We Make: The Critically Human Skills That Define Our Future

Nate McClennen, Guest Author

Feb 5, 2026

Explore the CHOICE framework for critically human skills and redefine education to foster agency, compassion, and integrity in an AI-driven world.

Classroom ceiling tiles printed with a forest canopy photo, creating a nature-immersive learning environment

Learning Design

What If You Could Bring the Restorative Benefits of Nature Indoors?

Guest Author

Jan 30, 2026

By: Ernesto Rodriguez Imagine walking into a classroom where the ceiling stretches into a forest canopy—sunlight filtering through leaves, branches arching overhead, the entire room calm. Students relax. Teachers feel the space working with them. This is the everyday reality for schools implementing Nature In The Classroom, a biophilic…

Teacher guides diverse middle schoolers using LEGO bricks and tablets for hands-on multi-step problem solving activity

Leadership

Measuring What Matters and Doing it Well: Innovating Assessment in the AI Era

Mario Piacentini, Eric Tucker

Jan 28, 2026

Imagine a student finishing a test feeling more capable. To assess is, intrinsically, to teach and to learn. It is time to build the GPS our students deserve.

Strategic Direction workshop at Michigan ISD-Saginaw summit.

Leadership

How Can We Build Strategic Learning Organizations? The Power of ‘When’

Nate McClennen, Rebecca Midles

Nov 6, 2025

Learn how to become a strategic learning organization and align your educational initiatives for better outcomes.

Leadership

Trust & Transformation: Why Local Intermediaries Are the Key to Education’s Future

Rebecca Midles, Doannie Tran

Nov 5, 2025

Understand how education intermediaries connect communities to opportunities and drive localized systemic change effectively.

Learning Design

Charting a New Course for Education with Foresight

Tom Vander Ark, Mason Pashia

Oct 14, 2025

Exploring KnowledgeWorks' latest forecast with Katherine Prince—foresight strategies, AI, climate, and the evolving future of education.

Learning Design

Designing Learning Models that Put People First

Guest Author

Sep 22, 2025

Technology in education should enhance relationships and agency, not replace them. Teachers and meaningful connections drive deeper learning.

Bamboo and thatched open-air pavilion at Green School Bali, surrounded by tropical banana leaves and palm trees

Learning Design

Learning Conducive to Life: A Radical Approach at the Biomimicry for Regenerative Design Lab at Green Schools Bali

Guest Author

Jul 22, 2025

BiRD Lab at Green School Bali fosters systems change by learning from nature, using a 4S approach to create sustainable, regenerative designs.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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Learning Design