EduDesign Learning Communities
About EduDesign
Educator Community • Justice Pedagogies • Teacher Retention
Unique Approach
EduDesign is a uniquely teacher-led and collective approach to professional learning that:
- Builds educator community
- Develops justice pedagogies
- Supports teacher retention
Teaching is complex and dynamic work in an ever-changing field with evolving student needs. Teachers need supported opportunities to grapple with the big challenges they face, in collaboration with trusted peers. This professional isolation is detrimental to serving students well and contributes to teacher attrition, with high costs for students and the state.
We know that in order for justice-focused teachers to stay in the game they need to:
- Feel effective for their students
- Continue learning and shaping their practice
- Feel connected to a community
- Feel heard and empowered
- See a future for themselves, including leadership opportunities
- Explicitly support BIPOC and social justice teachers to navigate systems
- Transform schools to support BIPOC and other minoritized students to thrive
With this in mind, EduDesign Teacher Learning Communities are:
- Opportunities to grapple with big ideas and to connect theory and practice
- Spaces with varied focus areas and opportunities for affinity groups
- Experiences that support educators to grow their justice work
- Designed & facilitated by teachers, for teachers
- Cohorts that center the curiosity, knowledge, and expertise of teachers
- Supported by staff and other UW College of Education resources
Impacts
EduDesign has had consistently positive results. In spring 2022, 93% of survey respondents reported feeling supported as a teacher. EduDesign is responsive to the needs and interests of each cohort and each participant gains different outcomes from the experience. 81% shared that it helped them feel recognized as a professional and supported the development of their professional network. 63% shared that EduDesign shifted their understanding of their students and 71% reported that the experience increased their confidence to try out new ideas with their students. We continue to build on the design of the project to better support teachers each year, and invite your help to grow this effort to support Washington’s teachers and students as a community partner, local educator, or donor.
Read more about EduDesign in this spotlight article from the College's 2023-24 Advancing for Educational Justice magazine.
Learn More
Each year we offer multiple EduDesign cohorts and each cohort has a particular area of focus supported by a set of guiding questions for the year. Learn more about our 2023-24 cohorts:
Summer Start Information Sheet
Fall Early Career Cohorts Information Sheet
Cohort topics, registration fees, and financial support for the 2024-25 school year will be made available this spring.
Contact
For more information about how to join a UW EduDesign Community or to request support to use the EduDesign model in your school or district email the ConnectEd Office for Professional & Community Learning at ConnectEd@uw.edu.
Support
EduDesign welcomes the financial support of individual and organizational donors in our community. Donations allow us to offer scholarships to more teachers seeking the support of this unique type of teacher community. Please donate today or contact us to learn more about our work and how you can be a part of it.