Designing learning spaces
How space, participation, tools, and routines get set up so that the form of learning intended is the one the room makes easy — and what to spend on first when the budget will not cover the walls.
The form a principle has to take before anyone can use it.
A guide is the operable version of a domain — the same material, numbered, sourced, and short enough to keep open while you are building something. Each one exists because a position I can argue in a meeting is no use to the person who has to make something on Monday.
Home
What a guide is
A domain page on this site sets out what I have come to believe and what I would still argue about. That is the right form for a position and the wrong form for someone with a deadline. A guide converts the same material into a thing you can work from: numbered items, each stating what it claims and where the claim comes from, arranged so you can find the one you need without reading the rest.
Every guide holds to the same constraints. Each item names its source. Where the source is narrower than the advice usually made of it, the guide says so rather than passing the two off as the same kind of claim — a body of knowledge that cannot grade itself is a reading list with ambitions. Nothing is included because it is well known; several well-known things are absent, and a few are here to be corrected.
And each guide is one self-contained file that opens in a browser. It reads as a document and presents as a deck, so it can be handed on, projected, marked up, or argued with by someone I will never speak to. That last property is the whole point.
Why I make them
Research becomes a principle, a principle becomes a tool, and a tool becomes a changed practice. The last step is the one that fails, and I have written about why. But the step most often skipped is the middle one: a principle tells you what to optimise for and does not tell you what to do, and the work of making it operable is unglamorous enough that it usually goes undone. What gets circulated instead is the principle, on the assumption that conviction travels. It does not.
These guides are that middle step, done deliberately. Each takes a body of evidence I would otherwise only be able to gesture at and puts it in a form that survives being handed over — which means it has to be specific, findable, and honest about its own footings.
They are also a discipline on me. Writing sixty items down with a source attached to each is a reliable way of finding out which of your convictions have anything behind them. Not all of mine did.
Pathways
Find a path through the guides
The guides can be read individually, but some are more useful when encountered in sequence. These pathways provide starting points for different kinds of work.
Line 1 · 8 stops
Designer entering education
You can design a product. Learn what changes when its job is learning.
Start here if you understand digital design but want to understand what changes when the product is intended to support learning.
- How learning worksPedagogy: the approaches and the evidence (opens in a new tab)
- Learning-science foundationsPrinciples for designing learning materials (opens in a new tab)
- Discovery researchDiscovery research: interviews, observation and context (opens in a new tab)
- Interaction designUX foundations and design systems (opens in a new tab)
- AccessibilityInclusion, diversity and special educational needs (opens in a new tab)
- Designing learning activitiesInteractive learning experiences
- ExperimentationExperimentation and product analytics (opens in a new tab)
- Learning analyticsLearning analytics (opens in a new tab)
Line 2 · 7 stops
Educator entering product development
You know how learning works. Learn how products get made.
Start here if your expertise is teaching, curriculum, or pedagogy and you are beginning to work with digital product teams.
- Product managementDigital product management (opens in a new tab)
- Design thinkingDesign thinking, used honestly (opens in a new tab)
- User researchDiscovery research: interviews, observation and context (opens in a new tab)
- Interaction designUX foundations and design systems (opens in a new tab)
- Agile deliveryAgile and Scrum in practice (opens in a new tab)
- AnalyticsExperimentation and product analytics (opens in a new tab)
- Adoption and implementationAdoption and change in schools (opens in a new tab)
Line 3 · 8 stops
Product leader
You decide what gets built. Learn to know whether it worked.
Start here if you are accountable for what a learning product is for, and whether it is working.
- Product strategyDigital product management (opens in a new tab)
- Service designService design and systems thinking (opens in a new tab)
- Systems thinkingA toolkit for seeing situations differently
- ResearchEvaluative research: usability testing, surveys and UX metrics (opens in a new tab)
- ExperimentationExperimentation and product analytics (opens in a new tab)
- Data governanceData strategy and governance (opens in a new tab)
- AdoptionAdoption and change in schools (opens in a new tab)
- MeasurementBasic statistics for educational technologists (opens in a new tab)
Line 4 · 7 stops
School or system leader
You decide what a school adopts. Learn how it lands.
Start here if you decide what a school or system adopts, and have to live with how it lands.
- Learning sciencesPedagogy: the approaches and the evidence (opens in a new tab)
- Service designService design and systems thinking (opens in a new tab)
- Systems thinkingA toolkit for seeing situations differently
- Professional learningProfessional learning that changes practice (opens in a new tab)
- AdoptionAdoption and change in schools (opens in a new tab)
- Evidence of learningEvidence of learning
- Feedback loopsSupport and feedback loops (opens in a new tab)
Line 5 · 7 stops
Curriculum or resource developer
You write what teachers teach from. Learn to know it works.
Start here if you write the lessons, units, or national resources that teachers pick up and use — on paper, on a platform, or both.
- Designing learning materialsPrinciples for designing learning materials (opens in a new tab)
- How learning worksPedagogy: the approaches and the evidence (opens in a new tab)
- Formative assessmentFormative assessment and feedback (opens in a new tab)
- Accessibility and inclusionInclusion, diversity and special educational needs (opens in a new tab)
- PrototypingDesign methods II: sketching, prototyping and critique (opens in a new tab)
- Evaluative researchEvaluative research: usability testing, surveys and UX metrics (opens in a new tab)
- AI in learning productsAI in learning products (opens in a new tab)
Line 6 · 7 stops
Teacher-leader or coach
You change practice from inside. Learn how change holds.
Start here if you lead change inside one school — a department, a programme, or colleagues’ practice — without a product team behind you.
- Design thinkingDesign thinking, used honestly (opens in a new tab)
- Thinking tools for changeA toolkit for seeing situations differently
- Professional learningProfessional learning that changes practice (opens in a new tab)
- Adoption and changeAdoption and change in schools (opens in a new tab)
- Communicating changeCommunicating change to schools (opens in a new tab)
- Evidence of learningEvidence of learning
- Feedback loopsSupport and feedback loops (opens in a new tab)
The craft map
Educational technology as a craft
What forms of judgement does the work repeatedly require? Six regions of judgement, each linked to the guides that teach it.
Explore the craft mapA series of twenty-two
Craft guides for educational technologists
Twenty-two short, sourced guides to the practices behind learning products, for the people who fund, build and run them in schools. All twenty-two are written. The introduction sets out how the series is organised and where to start; the glossary is the quick way to look up a term and find where the guides use it.
Colour marks the stage of a product’s life
Strategy and value
Why build
Discovery and design
What to build
- 03Design thinking, used honestlyAre we solving the right problem? (opens in a new tab)38 terms in the guide's glossary
- 04Discovery research: interviews, observation and contextWhat do people actually do, and why? (opens in a new tab)47 terms in the guide's glossary
- 05Evaluative research: usability testing, surveys and UX metricsDoes what we made work for the people using it? (opens in a new tab)48 terms in the guide's glossary
- 06Design methods I: making sense of researchWhat did we learn, and what does it mean for the design? (opens in a new tab)49 terms in the guide's glossary
- 07Design methods II: sketching, prototyping and critiqueWhat is the cheapest way to find out if this idea works? (opens in a new tab)44 terms in the guide's glossary
- 08UX foundations and design systemsWhy do interfaces help or hinder? (opens in a new tab)47 terms in the guide's glossary
Delivery
How to build
- 09Agile and Scrum in practiceHow do we deliver value in small, safe steps? (opens in a new tab)51 terms in the guide's glossary
- 10Lean product developmentWhat is the smallest thing we can do to learn whether we are right? (opens in a new tab)48 terms in the guide's glossary
- 11Software development for non-engineersWhat is actually happening when engineers build? (opens in a new tab)46 terms in the guide's glossary
- 12DevOps and continuous deliveryHow do we release often without breaking a school day? (opens in a new tab)48 terms in the guide's glossary
- 13Experimentation and product analyticsDid this change do what we hoped? (opens in a new tab)45 terms in the guide's glossary
Governance, analytics and models
How to improve
- 14Data strategy and governanceWhat data do we need, and who is responsible for it? (opens in a new tab)50 terms in the guide's glossary
- 15Learning analyticsWhat can logs tell us about learning? (opens in a new tab)40 terms in the guide's glossary
- 16AI in learning productsWhere does AI help learning, and how do we know? (opens in a new tab)44 terms in the guide's glossary
- 17Privacy, security and ethicsWhat could go wrong with student data, and for whom?Soon
Evidence, change, communication and support
How to measure & scale
- 18Basic statistics for educational technologistsWhat can a number tell you, and how far should you trust it? (opens in a new tab)50 terms in the guide's glossary
- 19Adoption and change in schoolsWhy do good tools go unused? (opens in a new tab)48 terms in the guide's glossary
- 20Communicating change to schoolsDoes the right person know what changed, why, and what to do? (opens in a new tab)45 terms in the guide's glossary
- 21Professional learning that changes practiceWhat kind of training actually changes what teachers do? (opens in a new tab)47 terms in the guide's glossary
- 22Support and feedback loopsWhen something goes wrong, how fast do we hear and fix it? (opens in a new tab)49 terms in the guide's glossary
A series of twenty-four
Understanding the Context of Education
Twenty-four short, sourced primers on the professional knowledge of education, for anyone who works in or on it. All twenty-four are written. The introduction sets out how the series is organised and where to start; the glossary is the quick way to look up a term and find where the primers use it.
Colour marks the part of the field
Part I
Purposes and foundations
- 01Aims of education: what schools are for“Education's job is to transmit content efficiently.” (opens in a new tab)27 terms in the primer's glossary
- 02A short history of schooling and its technologies“This technology will transform education.” (opens in a new tab)27 terms in the primer's glossary
- 03Learners: development, motivation and wellbeing“Learners are just younger users.” (opens in a new tab)31 terms in the primer's glossary
Part II
Teaching and learning
- 04Pedagogy: the approaches and the evidence“Pedagogy is a style choice between traditional and progressive.” (opens in a new tab)39 terms in the primer's glossary
- 05Teachers' work and professional knowledge“Teachers resist technology.” (opens in a new tab)31 terms in the primer's glossary
- 06Classroom realities: orchestration and differentiation“A good tool works the same in every classroom.” (opens in a new tab)26 terms in the primer's glossary
- 07Inclusion, diversity and special educational needs“Inclusion is an accessibility checklist.” (opens in a new tab)28 terms in the primer's glossary
Part III
Learning environments
Part IV
Curriculum and assessment
- 10Curriculum: intended, enacted and attained“The curriculum is the syllabus document.” (opens in a new tab)39 terms in the primer's glossary
- 11Curriculum development: design, review and enactment“A syllabus is written once, then implemented.” (opens in a new tab)30 terms in the primer's glossary
- 12Subject disciplines and their pedagogies“One design pattern fits every subject.” (opens in a new tab)37 terms in the primer's glossary
- 13Formative assessment and feedback“Formative assessment means frequent quizzes.” (opens in a new tab)34 terms in the primer's glossary
- 14Assessment systems: validity, reliability and high stakes“A score measures what the item says it measures.” (opens in a new tab)42 terms in the primer's glossary
Part V
Schools and systems
- 15How schools work: leadership, organisation and culture“A school decision is made by the principal.” (opens in a new tab)27 terms in the primer's glossary
- 16Beyond school: early years to lifelong learning“Edtech means school edtech.” (opens in a new tab)34 terms in the primer's glossary
- 17Education policy: making it and enacting it“Policy is announced, then implemented.” (opens in a new tab)34 terms in the primer's glossary
- 18Governance, funding and accountability“The system is one organisation with one owner.” (opens in a new tab)32 terms in the primer's glossary
- 19Equity and educational disadvantage“Access to devices closes gaps.” (opens in a new tab)24 terms in the primer's glossary
- 20Comparative education and international benchmarks“Copy the top-performing system.” (opens in a new tab)23 terms in the primer's glossary
Part VI
Evidence and change
- 21Reading education research“Evidence-based means a randomised trial says so.” (opens in a new tab)39 terms in the primer's glossary
- 22Programme evaluation“Evaluation is research done on a programme.” (opens in a new tab)30 terms in the primer's glossary
- 23Education reform: why change is slow and what scales“Good innovations spread on merit.” (opens in a new tab)35 terms in the primer's glossary
- 24Futures of education“The future of education is a technology forecast.” (opens in a new tab)30 terms in the primer's glossary
Beyond the series
Guides from the domains
One is written. The rest are listed because saying what is not finished yet is more useful than an index that only shows the finished thing.
Principles for designing learning materials
What to do with words, pictures, layout, and interaction so that a resource teaches rather than merely covers the ground. Drawn from the learning sciences, multimedia research, visual design, user experience, and inclusive design.
Open the guideUsing immersive media
When a headset earns its cost, what has to happen in the twenty minutes after it comes off, and the cheaper thing to try before committing to any of it.
Designing interactive experiences
Where the learner has to commit, what the system should say back and when, and how to tell careful reasoning from an efficient exploit.
Singapore