Expand your capacity to navigate complex challenges in education, both inside and outside the classroom.
The Teaching & Learning Studio is a weeklong, in-person design workshop for educators. You’ll discover tools to leverage design and reimagine the way you work, whether you teach classes or run programs that work with faculty, staff, and students outside the classroom.
Key benefits
- 5-day immersive experience at the d.school (enjoy the restorative benefits of "escaping" your context for a week!)
- Connections and collaborations with other educators and administrators like you
- Benefit from personalized support from the teaching team and peer mentors
- Certificate to honor your learning in the program
- A new outlook, a powerful toolkit, and actionable steps to continue your learning journey
Hit the ground running when you return back to your campus.
Upon completion of the program, you will leave with a plan for using design tools to add value to your work. You might apply design to your own teaching, lead your students through this work, and/or engage colleagues in applying design in the context of a shared program, project or initiative.
Who should attend
- We accept educators from all disciplines and formats (online and in person)
- Higher education faculty (tenure-track, non-tenure track and adjunct/clinical faculty) from both 4- and 2-year post-secondary institutions
- Higher education administrators or leaders (those who serve students and/or faculty at their schools, including program directors and managers, deans, associate deans, provosts, etc) from both 4- and 2-year post-secondary institutions
- K12 educators and administrators
- Not sure if this workshop is right for you? Contact teaching team member Meenu Singh.
→ Ready to apply?
Dates & times
July 14-18, 2025
Daily workshop schedule:
- Monday: 1:00 - 7:00pm. Dinner is included.
- Tuesday - Friday: 9:00am - 4:30pm. Lunch is included. On Wednesday, there will be an optional happy hour until 6:00pm.
Cost
Tuition
- $5,000 per person
- Faculty and administrators from schools that have sponsored a cohort in the University Innovation Fellows program in 2020 or later: $4,000 per person
Scholarships
We offer a number of scholarships to Minority Serving Institutions (MSI). Each scholarship brings the registration cost to $1,000 per person. If your school is an MSI and you are applying for a scholarship, please note this in your application.
For K12 educators interested in a scholarship, please send us an email about your circumstances to our professional learning team with the subject line: TLS Scholarship.
Location
Experience how space can work as a learning lever! The workshop is held in our intentionally-built space at the d.school. Learn more about our space.
Hasso Plattner Institute of design (d.school) at Stanford University
550 Panama Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
Alumni testimonials
“My experience at TLS profoundly impacted my work as both an educator and artist. One of my lasting takeaways is that learning can be active, vulnerable, complex and supportive to groups of people with varied backgrounds within the scope of a shared experience.”
— Michelle Swinehart, Portland State University
“I have been so grounded in reality and solving problems practically that I was missing so many "other" options. Having been in finance and management for so many years, I have worked to make sure that the job was done in a neat and tidy way. TLS helped me to reimagine all of the ways I do things. I am no longer focused on just solving the problem but determining if we even have the correct problem, where the problem is coming from, will this cause additional problems in the future?”
—Anntoinette Barbour, University of Maryland
“The TLS experience opened my mind about how I can show up as an educator, community leader, and human being.” —
Crystal Scott-Tunstall, Grand Valley State University
“The diversity of staff, teachers, and colleagues was amazing. I was in a room full of adult learners seeking to expand design thinking for themselves and others…..I came to the d.school knowing that I would learn. I didn’t know that I would become more fully committed to this life process with each day. Most important for me was being surrounded by brilliant designers both in my colleagues and teachers, allowing great conversations and fun. What a gift this was/is.”
— Kayt Havens, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin
“As most engineering professors, I haven’t had much training on how to teach. Moreover, I haven’t had a lot of understanding how students actually learn. I thought everyone learned just like me. I thought I should teach just like I was taught. Wrong! After TLS, I always start with the learners: who they are, what is their prior knowledge. This is a foundation on which I can build a learning experience, using pedagogical levers and other tools introduced at the workshop.”
— Ilya Avdeev, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Learn more about the TLS experience in this YouTube video.
FAQ
What does the tuition include?
All instructional materials, lunches, and an abundance of coffee/tea and snacks. Plus life-time membership to a vibrant community of like-minded innovators and exclusive access to alumni events and opportunities.
Is this a residential program? Can I stay on Stanford campus?
You are responsible for arranging your own lodging. Upon acceptance we will share a list of options, including one on campus.
Is this program about design thinking or about improving your teaching?
Both! We will learn design by designing learning experiences. We will put design methods and mindsets to use and explore how we might use them to reimagine the learning experiences of our students.
Can I get a detailed curriculum?
In a traditional workshop you may get a full agenda in advance. This is not a traditional workshop. We have crafted an immersive experience for you, and you will get all the information you need at moments intentionally timed to make the most of it. That being said, if you need to know something specific, or if you are wondering if the program is a good fit for you given your interests and experiences, email teaching team member Meenu Singh at meenu@dschool.stanford.edu.
Is this a good fit for me if I already know design thinking?
In past workshops, we’ve had educators with previous experience practicing and/or teaching design/design thinking. In all cases they reported deriving value from their participation. We believe there are several reasons for the program’s enduring value. One is that the d.school methodology evolves and changes in how we teach design, and this workshop is an opportunity to experience some of our latest models and frameworks. If your experience with design thinking is rooted in the five hexagons process, you may want to read this. Also, designers never stop learning!
Can I apply with other colleagues from my university?
Yes! We see great results and impact when educators from the same institution go through the program together. This is true whether they work on a joint project, or they are from different departments/units (both cases present specific advantages, and one advantage that applies to both is having allies who have a common language and understanding around design).
Is this program only for educators who are teaching students directly? What if I’m an administrator interested in applying design to my work?
This program is is for both. In all past programs we’ve had not only educators who teach students in curricular and co-curricular courses, but also leaders and administrators at all levels -- from program managers, directors, department chairs, deans, and even university presidents. Some of them serve and work with students, while others work with faculty and/or other administrators.
Will I receive a certificate?
Upon the close of the program, you will receive a certificate to honor your learning in the program.