Publications + Resources
The Lab proactively identifies gaps in the education-to-work ecosystem that require next generation solutions. We put together partners, funders and institutions to tackle the path from problem definition through solution finding to adoption and evaluation.
We hope you find these tools and resources helpful in your efforts to redesign education.
Publications + Briefs
- Publication
Rural Revival: BRIDGES Rural College Transformation Insights
This November 2023 Design Insights Brief spotlights the transformation that five rural community colleges experienced as they listened deeply and designed for learners in the furthest reaches of their service areas.Read More - Publication
Empowered by Experience: How AI Can Generate LERs at Scale for the Current Workforce
This October 2023 Experience You Phase 1 Demonstration Report overviews the promising start to scaling creation and adoption of LERs so employers can find the talent they need, and individuals can find the opportunities they…Read More - Publication
Transforming into a Competency-based Education (CBE) Institution: 12 Lessons from Prince George’s Community College
Prince George’s Community College in Maryland co-designed four CBE micro-pathways – called Pathways to Employment – with Education Design Lab. This brief features lessons learned from the learner journey, from enrollment to completion.Read More - Publication
Design Insights: Early Lessons in Validating Skills and Lived Experiences
The September 2023 publication from Education Design Lab's XCredit project shares insights that are applicable to a broad spectrum of skills-based initiatives.Read More - Publication
Accelerating Pathways: Early Process Insights from Designers in Residence 2.0
The Designers in Residence 2.0 project's first brief offers three insights into the design choices for the planning process and how program success will be evaluated.Read More - Publication
Designing Next-Generation Skills Assessments: A Multi-Stakeholder, Iterative Approach
Our interactive publication highlights both the people and the process behind the XCredit skills assessments.Read More - Publication
Transforming Community Colleges: 5 Design Questions to Shape the Future of Learning
Read More - PublicationTool
A New Role for Higher Education: An Actionable Framework to Drive Regional Ecosystem Alignment
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Skills Visibility: Why and How a Skills-Based Economy can be More Equitable
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BRIDGES Rural Design Insights Part 2: Designing + Piloting a New Approach to Economic Agility in Rural Communities
Design Insights: An Education Design Lab publication series.Read More - Publication
Design Insights Brief: Community College Growth Engine Micro-pathways: A Gateway to Community College Transformation
Design Insights: An Education Design Lab publication series.Read More - Publication
Design Insights: Single Moms Success Design Challenge
Design Insights: An Education Design Lab publication series.Read More - Publication
Innovation Snapshots: Ideas in Action
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BRIDGES Rural Design Insights, Part 1: Understanding the Potential of Rural Community College Learners
Design Insights: An Education Design Lab publication series.Read More - Publication
Design Insights: Early Impact from UNCF’s Career Pathways Initiative
Read More - Publication
“Walk in My Shoes”: An Actionable Learner Engagement Framework to Foster Growth, Belonging, and Agency
Read More - Publication
The Learner Revolution: How Colleges Can Thrive in a New Skills and Competencies Marketplace
Read More - Publication
Seamless Transfer Pathways: Student-Centered Solutions to Improve Transfer Success
Read More - Publication
Tee Up the Skills: Year One Summary
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The Ed Tech Revolution is About to Become the Learner Revolution (2014)
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Resources, Guides, and How-tos
- Resource
Employer Engagement Guidebook for the Design + Delivery of Micro-pathways
Read More - Resource
How-to: Journey Mapping the Resume
Through #TeeUpTheSkills, we set out to find answers to the question everyone in digital badging is trying to figure out: do badges have market value for employers? Can digital badges level the playing field for…Read More - Resource
Future Proof: An Upskilling Primer
As part of our “Future Proof” series, we’re covering the future of work landscape and the tools, pathways, and trends for designing educational programs that equip learners for an evolving workforce—past issues covered skills mapping…Read More - Resource
Resources During COVID-19: Supporting Single Mother Learners + Other High-need Students
COVID-19 has thrown communities across the whole world into chaos and uncertainty. As colleges and universities nationwide grapple with this unfolding reality, we want to highlight resources that may help respond to the heightened needs…Read More - Resource
Engaging Learners Online in COVID-19: An Actionable Framework
A year ago, the Lab had just released The Learner Revolution, a whitepaper sharing learnings from five years of work with 125+ institutions on how higher ed leaders must position their institutions to improve learner…Read More
The Future of Learn-to-Work Explained
View Story
View StoryHow to Map Your Curriculum to 21st Century Skills
We find skills and curriculum mapping fascinating, and after our dive into the basics of skills mapping and a conversation with an excited group of…
View StoryThe Future of Learning will be Built on Skills Maps
Skills mapping is coming into focus as the holy grail for translating employer needs to learner pathways. It was a hot topic at the SXSW…
View StoryDesigning for the Open Digital Credential Marketplace
participants share out user needs from the perspective of employers, learners, and learning providers Can you imagine the day when your degree will be based…
View StoryFuture Proof: An Upskilling Primer
Retail workers at Goodwill San Antonio. As part of our “Future Proof” series, we’re covering the future of work landscape and the tools, pathways,…
View StorySix “College Hacking” Trends to Watch in 2020
By Kathleen deLaski and Tara Lifland When we first predicted the “Learner Revolution” in 2014, we talked about it as a trend that might take…
Digging into Our Process + Tools
- View Story
View StoryTwo Pathways, One Purpose
The first cohort for Skills Booster—every participant in the cohort successfully earned the Lab’s 21st Century Skills Resilience Micro-credential. Over the past 15 months,…
View StoryHow to Get it Done: A 2-Day Sprint to Redesign an HBCU’s Curriculum
Faculty from Florida Memorial University moved from big problems facing their students and their university to tangible solutions in two days’ time. Increased financial…
View Story4 Ways to Design a Better Workshop: Notes from the Lab
Featured Image: The Lab team posing during Home Week with our favorite design tool ever...Post Its! At the Lab, we take great care in designing…
View StoryA New College Model? Design it with Students.
Local high school students in Tucson, Arizona, participate in the early stages of program design for the new Catholic University model. When I got…
View StoryAdults Students Co-Design A Hospitality Bootcamp
Students weigh in on aspects of hospitality ‘bootcamp’ most enticing to them through a dot voting exercise In Washington DC, the fastest growing industry…
View StoryDesigning for Motivations and Barriers: Preparing learners for “what they don’t know they don’t know”
Participants from Goodwill SA, Palo Alto College, and Alamo Colleges Online select design criteria In our human-centered design work, we’re often faced with the conundrum…