Give your staff a transformative learning experience around professional learning design & facilitation

The Design Lab is a workshop series that:

  • Draws upon research-informed practices, liberatory design, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

  • Gives participants the opportunity to take their projects through a rigorous, joyful, transformative experience

… all in a learning community that’s excited to remake what’s possible in adult learning. Get inspired to reimagine systems that best serve and affirm the needs of all learners.

  • TIME

    6, two-hour virtual sessions; 3 full-day in-person sessions; or a combination of in-person and virtual.

  • GROUP SIZE

    Ideal for teams, schools, districts, or education-facing organizations.

  • FORMAT

    Available both in-person, virtually, and hybrid. Self-paced course and public offerings coming soon!

About The Design Lab

This workshop series is designed as a “meta-lab.”

The “meta” part means we’ll be exploring this workshop through the lens of participants who are reflective about our own practices as designers and facilitators.

The “lab” part is the opportunity to design and lead your own professional learning.

Intended outcomes:

✔︎ REFLECT, ASSESS, and REDEFINE what makes professional development transformational

✔︎ CREATE conditions for adult learning that are centered in human dignity, adult learning principles, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), liberatory design

✔︎ DESIGN a professional development session, meeting, or equivalent content

✔︎ EXPLORE effective facilitation skills through reflection and practice

✔︎ IDENTIFY measures of impact and ENGAGE with feedback

✔︎ BE TRANSFORMED by a learning experience that inspires change

Learning Map

  • Session 1: Redefining Professional Development & Determining Your Professional Learning Purpose

  • Session 2: Design—Approaching Design with Intention

  • Session 3: Design—Digging Further into the Details

  • Session 4: Facilitation—Self-Knowledge & Facilitation Basics

  • Session 5: Facilitation—Addressing Sideways Situations

  • Session 6: Impact—Present, Assess, & Refine

Included in this package

  • Up to 2 hours of planning/logistics calls prior to the workshop.

  • Workshop preparation time (~2-3 hours of prep per one hour of workshop time)

  • Workshop presentation time that is flexible and adaptive

  • The opportunity for follow-up to transfer and implement workshop practices

Also included…

The Design Lab also comes with a beautiful, practical materials kit for each participant that includes:

  • a spiral-bound workbook with reproducibles you can use in your work

  • a design notebook for all your creative ideas and nuggets of wisdom

  • sticky notes for brainstorming and quick-thinking

featured project

Washington Education Association, Federal Way, WA

The Design Lab Virtual and in-person

Educators from all roles in pre-K through 12 participated in a six-session virtual series over a six-month timeframe and/or a three-day in-person series in August. One-third of participants engaged in this program two years in a row in order to deepen their knowledge and skills.

Group size: 60+

“Lori is phenomenal in not only leading this training but also modeling it as a strong and inclusive facilitator. I have been facilitating for over 8 years and she has introduced ideas and tools that I find to be so powerful.”

Dr. Tanisha B-F, Director of P-3/Elementary Success 
featured project

English Schools Foundation, Hong Kong

Senior leadership and central office members participated in a hybrid Design Lab series, beginning our work together virtually, and culminating the program in person at ESF central office in Hong Kong. After completing the six-month course, participants engaged in a two-day Design Sprint to design their professional learning and meeting structures for the following school year.

Group size: 20

“Lori brings a humanistic and impact-driven approach to learning, whether that is in the context of regular staff meetings, or designing PD programmes. In her Design Lab series, she constantly models for us possibilities and strategies in facilitation, which centers around learner engagement and mindset. I will definitely be carrying forward lots of new understandings and skills!”

Brenda y., primary years programme coordinator

What past participants have to say about The Design Lab

  • "This experience has been a bright spot to my year! It's helped me rally around a vision for the work and create a mindset that is productive and transformational. It's given me language to push back on ruts of our educational system. It's inspired me to continue working on my craft as an educator. It's given me hope for my work when the barriers sometimes feel daunting and overwhelming. "

    Hilary P., Regional Administrator for Teaching and Learning

  • "Lori's Design Lab series has completely changed my view of professional learning. I have utilized many of her tools and strategies as I planned for participants in my work. She uses transformational practices that allow me to transform my practice."

    Lindsay D., Professional Learning Coach

  • "I feel that I am really able to use what is applied here on even a very basic level. When I meet with teacher one on one now, I even use the agenda planning system and ask myself "why" am I discussing each topic and how. Very nice tool. The planning helps on the most basic level to the highest level while planning for the fall PD."

    Helen P., New Teacher Coach

  • "Lori's PDs are in sharp contrast to other PDs I've experienced over the years because of her attention to details and honoring of participants' needs. They are the model PDs I now strive to design myself!"

    Beth B., Instructional Coach

Interested in booking this workshop?

Fill out some info, and I’ll be in touch shortly!

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