Collaborative Design

Project Manager: Claire LeBovidge (cleb@upenn.edu)

Collaborative design, or co-design, is marked by shared agency among teachers and researchers in shaping both the design process and its products. In this project, teachers participate in iterative cycles of design, enactment in the classroom, and revision. Together, we develop curricular materials that integrate complex systems thinking, phenomena-based learning, and engagement with disciplinary practices that underpin reliable scientific knowledge. These sustained partnerships (some of which are over a decade old) not only strengthen the relevance and usability of the curricular materials but also contribute to teachers' and researchers' professional learning. While shared decision-making can be time-intensive and requires navigating institutional constraints, our co-design work aims to produce practice- and research-informed curricula to support teachers and students. 

The products of this co-design work are available on our “Curricular Resources” page, which is currently under construction.