7 Things To Know About Redesigned

7 things to know about reDesignED

Scenario

At this moment in history, the field of education is confronted with multiple simultaneous challenges: 1) how to navigate post-pandemic recovery and address the learning losses that have widened already long-standing achievement gaps, 2) how to counter the lack of engagement, motivation, absenteeism, and even drop-out rates by which students are letting us know that they are not finding school relevant and worth attending, 3) how to use emerging technologies as meaningful tools for learning, 4) how to foster enduring human-centered skills and dispositions so that all students can thrive and take advantage of what the future has to offer; 5) how to teach learners more than narrow disciplinary content to foster a mindset that is prepared to succeed in an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) modern world. Placing the above challenges in the context of a teaching workforce that is experiencing turnover, shortages and exhaustion from years of emergency remote teaching during the pandemic while at the same time asking teachers to address these simultaneous challenges presents the perfect storm.

01 | What is reDesignED?

reDesignED is the first independent, nonprofit education design research (EDR) lab in the Midwest of the United States dedicated to research-practice partnerships that address both enduring and emerging challenges in education. reDesignED partners with state education agencies, school districts, teachers, students, and communities to conduct education design research and to develop evidence-based strategies that address their pressing issues. Our EDR initiatives draw on scholarship aligned to the following mission categories:

  1. Educational leadership
  2. Equitable futures
  3. Learning design
  4. Relationship and wellbeing
  5. Skills for a changing world
  6. Sustainable futures
  7. Technology for learning 8)
  8. Ways of knowing.

When designing interventions, multiple areas of scholarship are usually enacted together in the final product. The desired outcome of reDesignED’s EDR initiatives are equitable, resilient, sustainable, future-oriented learning communities.

02 | What is Education Design Research?

Education Design Research (or EDR for short) is a socially-responsive science that changes the fundamental research question from “how can we identify the factors that contribute to an existing problem to how can we ameliorate the problem and design interventions that improve the conditions for learners directly?” The first guiding principle of EDR is “its focus on a persistent problem of practice from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives” (Russel, Jackson, Krumm & Frank, 2013). A second guiding principle is that EDR initiatives must be substantiated by existing theories and frameworks in order to articulate a direct relationship between the design intervention and the desired outcome. A third guiding principle is the highly collaborative and iterative nature of EDR which allows us to work directly with local education partners to arrive at solutions for contextualized problems while simultaneously advancing education research valuable for future contexts. Throughout EDR initiatives, our education partners become active collaborators in framing the problem, contributing to the design of evidence-based interventions, and making sense of data to address local needs.

03 | How does it work?

In any given project, reDesignED brings together education researchers, instructional designers, technology partners, educators, students and community members to iteratively design, develop, and test a design intervention until there is a discernible improvement. Because improved learning is the desired outcome, the design and development process traditionally begins and ends with learner input. It follows that reDesignED places learners at the center of their education initiatives. The goal is to work with local stakeholders to 1) collaboratively frame the problem to be solved, 2) fully assess needs and identify root causes, 3) design and develop innovative interventions grounded in evidence-based practice, 4) review early outcomes for what works for educators, families, and students, and 5) iterate until there is a discernible improvement to the problem. A second goal is to advance knowledge about the implementation to serve in like contexts. The benefits of this approach are multifold. From a research perspective, EDR is a promising approach for producing more relevant research, while simultaneously improving the use of research evidence in decision making. From a practice perspective, EDR engages researchers and practitioners to tackle problems of practice with direct benefits to learners.

04 | Why is EDR significant?

The significance of using education DESIGN research to address the current challenges in education is that DESIGN is at the center of addressing these challenges simultaneously. Teaching and learning in the 21st Century has become a design science. Why? Because, in order to teach learners the skills for a rapidly changing world along with traditional literacies requires a significant reDesign from the current state. It requires the design of learning experiences that are authentic, culturally-responsive, evidence-based, personalized, inclusive, holistic, and competency-based. Ideally, these challenges are considered and addressed together since authentic learning experiences connect them all. reDesignED supports teachers in becoming the designers of authentic learning experiences at the local level.

05 | What is our theory of change?

Our theory of change is that informed, reflective collaboration with local stakeholders can overcome the significant research-practice gaps that exist and improve education outcomes. reDesignED frequently uses professional learning as part of its theory of change. As such, reDesignED designs professional learning opportunities grounded in the latest literature review of a topic. All reDesignED’s teacher professional learning offerings are aligned to Standards of Effective Practice and follow key practices for educator preparation which include 1) anchoring the content to be learned in the science of human development and learning, 2) integrating theory and practice, 3) providing opportunity for authentic application, 4) engaging in inquiry, design, and analysis; 5) providing coaching and expert support, 6) offering feedback and opportunities for reflection, 7) collaborating in a professional learning community (Darling-Hammond, Flook, Schachner, & Wojcikiewicz, 2022).

06 | What makes us unique?

What makes reDesignED unique is the full vertical integration between research and practice by combining scientific rigor with evidence-based design services. We engage education researchers in one of reDesignED’s mission categories in the following roles: Advisory board members are leading scholars in one or more of reDesignED’s mission categories: 1) Equitable futures, 2) Relationship and wellbeing, 3) Learning science, 4) Skills for a changing world, 5) Sustainable futures, 6) Technology for learning, 7) Ways of knowing, and guide reDesignED’s strategic direction in their area of scholarship. Research Fellows are experienced in Education Design Research (EDR) and provide a broad range of tailored services, including research and evaluation, literature reviews to guide professional learning, technical assistance, and policy guidance. Design Fellows support the design, development, and implementation of EDR initiatives with a range of design services and instructional design support grounded in evidence-based practice. Because teaching is a particularly complex profession with multiple goals that need to be addressed at the same time and that involves students who are diverse along many different dimensions (Darling- Hammond, 2020), reDesignED approaches teaching and learning in the 21st century as a design science. Our unique approach to professional development supports teachers in becoming the designers of sustainable, locally relevant solutions. We support teacher design teams with instructional design support to help them integrate what they have learned within their disciplinary contexts. This helps address local design constraints. It also produces local examples for other teachers to follow.

07 | What expertise do we provide?

Education Design Research (EDR)

The Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, Thomas C. Reeves, is an authority on EDR having published two books on the subject and having guided years of EDR initiatives himself and supported the EDR initiatives of numerous PhD students. The founder of reDesignED, Christiane Reilly, completed her own PhD dissertation in an EDR study focused on the power of authentic learning to foster future-facing skills. She holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction Learning Technologies and brings extensive experience in the design, development, and delivery of online learning experiences and teacher professional development. Research Fellows and Design Fellows assigned to any EDR initiative are versed in one or more education design research / improvement science methodology and/or in their area of expertise. Learning Sciences Research reDesignED provides both theoretical and practical expertise in the design, development, and delivery of powerful authentic learning experiences grounded in learning sciences research via its Board of Directors, Advisory Board members, Research Fellows, and Design Fellows.

Learning Outcomes Assessment

reDesignED provides expertise in learning outcomes assessment in both disciplinary learning outcomes as well as higher-order skills. Through the power of learning management systems, we gather learning outcomes data on the implementation of our EDR initiatives to advance local goals. Our expertise in learning outcomes assessment generates reliable data for our stakeholders, informs policy design and/or implementations while also advancing theoretical knowledge about learning.

Instructional Design

Our expertise in instructional design translates research into professional learning pathways that serve both local districts as well as remote learning communities through the power of multimodal delivery ranging from self-paced learning modules to short courses to embedded online learning communities. reDesignED additionally offers instructional design expertise ranging in the design, development, delivery, review, and accreditation of courses, programs and massive online courses to disseminate information more widely. Our board member, Brad Hokanson, is experienced in the design and delivery of massive online courses and their use for research purposes.

Teacher Professional Learning

reDesignED provides expertise in teacher professional learning in the following areas: 1) policy for changing professional teacher education 2) standards for teacher professional licensing and program accreditation, 2) the design and delivery of teacher professional learning opportunities, 4) the mapping and tracking of teacher competencies 5) the issuing of micro-credentials.

Multimodal delivery

reDesignED offers Design Services to help convert professional learning into the preferred mode of delivery (online, hybrid, classroom) and into the learning management system of choice (Canvas, D2L, Moodle) to accommodate school districts in their preferred learning style and delivery mode.

Our bottom line

Real-world problems require real-world solutions. As education scientists we possess abundant knowledge about what students need in order to thrive. This knowledge is not always making it into practice. We believe in the promise of education design research to improve education, and we push ourselves every day to deliver on that promise for the communities we serve. Our bottom-up approach brings together researchers, learning scientists, instructional designers, educators, students and community partners to collaboratively reimagine teaching and learning for a more equitable and sustainable future. Together we are working to move toward a society where everyone has the opportunity to realize their unique potential.