Come design the curriculum that every young person deserves.
DESIGNERS
IN
RESIDENCE
OPEN CALL: Superstar curriculum designers!
Join us this summer to create next-generation learning experiences that advance equity and democratize learning for all.
How do we begin?
By wiping the slate clean.
This summer, our reDesign team will convene 250 discipline experts – educators, industry professionals, designers, researchers, and academics – to engage in a deep design process to revamp the K-12 Disciplinary Content Map. They’ll redefine the most important, relevant, and preparatory disciplinary content for young people in the K-12 education system.
Here’s where you come in.
To bring the new Content Map to life, we need superstar curriculum designers to create dynamic, multidisciplinary projects for 12-20 year olds. To be clear, this is not a typical design exercise. We want you to break the mold. To think outside of outdated scope and sequence constraints. To address equity and justice issues. To create the curriculum that every young person deserves.
Check out the K-12 Content Mapping Design Studio too.
Also launching Summer 2021.
Answer our call for “Designer-in-Residence”
reDesign’s inaugural Designers-in-Residence program invites exceptional 7th-12th grade curriculum designers to join us in reclaiming the curriculum.
Together, we’ll create next-generation student projects that build key competencies, develop critical consciousness, and sustain and celebrate the cultures and communities that our learners belong to.
And in the process, we will contribute to the growing movement committed to creating transformative learner-centered communities – the places where meaningful, positive, joyful learning happens for all young people.
Why are we launching this program?
We’re glad you asked.
The reality is that relevant, inclusive, engaging resources are available to very few students. There are huge inequities in who gets access to high quality and empowering curriculum. This needs to be rectified in order to live into the promise of democracy.
Over the course of this year we will collaborate to create over 100 adaptable, responsive projects that develop critical consciousness alongside key competencies, tapping into the values, culture, and wisdom of local communities. The best of these will be affordably available in a newly launched digital marketplace. And this is just the beginning.
So you see, your design expertise is essential to this vision.
Through our Designers-in-Residence program, we want to honor and collaborate with the growing network of educators committed to providing all young people with learning experiences that help prepare them to create meaningful, economically sustainable lives within their chosen, vibrant communities.
Program Essentials
- What: Curriculum Designers-in-Residence program
- Size of cohort: 50 Designers
-
Expertise:
- Project design for 7th-12th graders
- Deep experiences with one or more of our initial 25 Content Areas
- When:
- Launch: June 11-12
- Summer Session: July 11-August 4th
- Collaboration: Monthly Design Sessions through the 21-22 School Year
- Where: Virtual
- Format: A combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning and design sessions
- Compensation: Stipend for full participation in the launch and Summer Sessions: $6,000
Application Timeline
- March 23: Application period opens
- April 30: Application deadline
- April 16 – May 10: Rolling notification of selected participants. Apply early to get notified early!
Applications received by:
April 2: Notified by April 16
April 16: Notified by April 30
April 30: Notified by May 10
Is this for you?
Designers-in-Residence hail from a variety of environments and professional backgrounds. The defining characteristic is that they have a drive to create learning experiences that students appreciate because they are meaningful, relevant, and agentic.
Still not sure? Then consider whether any of the following is your MO.
- Your pedagogical approach is informed by the learning sciences, competency- and project-based learning, and culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogies.
- You love to exchange ideas, tools, gems of wisdom with a community of designers. And when curriculum design is mentioned, your colleagues instantly think of you (and maybe even volunteer you).
- You are incessantly designing learning experiences in your head – inspired by your news feeds, encounters with interesting people, and visits to new places – that connect learning to civic and global issues.
- You are willing to step outside the lines in order to help young people learn deeply and build meaningful skills.
Informational Webinars: What do you want to know?
Learn more about both of our 2021 summer co.Lab opportunities – the Designers-in-Residence Program and the K-12 Content Map Design Studio. We have one final information session coming up:
- March 29, 2021: 7-8 PM ET
- April 2, 2021: 4-5 PM ET
- April 14, 2021: 1-2 PM ET
Bring your questions, ideas, and friends!
FAQs
What’s a Designer-in-Residence?
Have you heard the term Artist-in-Residence?
Our Designers-in-Residence is similar, but for curriculum designers. And like artists-in-residence, this cohort will stand out in how they approach their craft, not just in learning design expertise, but in the creative, inclusive, bold ways they share their curiosity and questions of the world with young people.
As a Resident, you’ll join a community of fellow designers to engage in deep learning and conversations about project design, and collaborate on the creation of engaging, relevant, and high-quality projects for learners. And because the residency program is virtual, you can join us on our web-based platform from the comfort of your own work space.
Who should participate?
Designers-in-Residence hail from a variety of environments and professional backgrounds.
The defining characteristic is that they have a drive to create learning experiences that students appreciate because they are meaningful, relevant, and agentic.
Other qualities:
- You believe that as educators we have an obligation to actively contribute to social justice initiatives fighting oppressive systems, policies, beliefs and practices.
- When curriculum design is mentioned, your colleagues instantly think of you (and maybe even volunteer you).
- Your pedagogical approach is informed by the learning sciences, competency- and project-based learning, and culturally relevant/sustaining pedagogies.
- You love to exchange ideas, tools, gems of wisdom with a community of designers.
- You are constantly designing lessons/projects in your head—as you hear the latest news, visit other countries, meet interesting people. You believe in connecting learning to global and civic issues.
- You are willing to step outside the lines in order to help young people learn deeply and build meaningful and relevant skills.
What qualifications do I need?
We are looking for designers with as many of the following skills and values as possible.
Skills
- A deep awareness and understanding of institutional, structural, and cultural manifestations of racism and bias and their impact on minoritized communities generally, and specifically within the education system
- Ability to present to, listen to, collaborate and engage with racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse communities
- Experience developing student-facing learning experiences and projects for 7th-12th grade learners
- Experience scaffolding learning so that young people have the support they need to analyze, evaluate, create, and synthesize as they work on projects
- Experience with creating projects that are designed to develop learners’ connection to their own community and the communities of their peers; key competencies; critical consciousness
- Knowledge of personalized and blended learning models and human-centered design methodologies (e.g., design thinking)
- Deep knowledge of one or more of our initial 25 content disciplines
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Proficient in Google Apps for Education, Canva, and other relevant design tools
Values
- Values that align to those reflected in reDesign’s six Community Expectations
- A deeply strengths-based approach to working with individuals of all social and cultural identities and socioeconomic backgrounds
- A commitment to, and experience with, incorporating the perspectives of multiple communities, including communities of color, in the consideration of impacts and outcomes of learner centered communities
- A commitment to examining and disrupting personal biases and patterns of behavior/communication that undermine reDesign’s commitment to inclusivity, antiracism, and cultivation of an affirming culture of care, trust, and connection
- A learner’s mindset with an openness to feedback, new frameworks for teaching and learning, new curriculum prototypes, and new approaches to scaffolding
How are Designers-in-Residence compensated?
reDesign is committed to reimagining what professional “teacher-work” is. We know that all too often you are required to pay for your own professional learning. At the same time, some of you are working 2nd and 3rd jobs to help make ends meet. The reDesign’s Designer-in-Residency Program models a different vision for learning and compensation.
- Stipend for participation in the Summer Session: $6,000
- 50-50 revenue-sharing on all high-quality projects that become part of the marketplace. This holds true for projects created during the Residency, and in the years beyond.
- Opportunity to receive up to 2 Graduate Credits from Southern New Hampshire University, paid for by reDesign.
What is the expectation for completed curriculum designs?
Can you create more than two designs?
What is the time commitment?
reDesign is committed to creating programs and initiatives that take into account the full, complex lives of the women who make up the majority of the education profession. We believe that if we design a schedule that works for women–as caretakers of children and elders, holders of 2nd jobs, family organizers, and household managers—we will have designed something that works for all educators.
Here are the main pieces of the schedule to give you an idea of the pace and cadence of this program.
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June 11-12 Friday (6/11) 6-9pm ET & Saturday (6/12) 1-4pm ET
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Event: Designers-in-Residence Launch Weekend |
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June 28 Monday, 6-9pm ET
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Event: Keynote |
| June 12-13 (10-15 hrs) | Learning time: Intensive, self-directed, asynchronous learning |
| July 1 Thursday, 6-9pm ET | Event: K-12 Content Map Showcase |
| July 14 – August 4 (Baseline time commitment: 20 hrs/week) |
Learning & design time: A blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning and design sessions
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| Sept 11, 2021 – May 8, 2022 |
Learning & design time: Collaborative Design Studios – monthly 3-hour design sessions held the first week of each month
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Can the projects I create be used in my school/district? Can I use my school's template?
What technology will I need to participate?
Technical requirements:
The reDesign CoLab is committed to equity and access. Please let us know if you do not have access to the required technical resources. If you are selected, the CoLab will troubleshoot the technical requirements issue with you to ensure your active participation.
Computer
- Desktop, laptop, Chromebook, or Surface PRO 4 or newer, are ideal. (We do not recommend iOS or Android tablets)
- Speakers (either external or internal) or headphones/earbuds
- Webcam (either external or internal)
Internet Connection
- Regular access to an internet connection – broadband wired or wireless
- 3Mbps/3Mbps (upload/download) – Not sure? Check here.
Operating Systems
- Mac OS 10.10 or newer, Windows 10 or newer, and Chrome OS Browsers
- Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge are recommended.
Software
More questions?
Come to one of our information sessions!
