Educators as Designers: The Hidden Architecture of Learning
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 – The Curb Cut—Universal Design’s Time-Honored Analogy
Chapter 2 – Hostile Design’s Hidden Emotional Impact
Chapter 3 – Good Design Centers the Student’s Experience
Chapter 4 – Designing Choice to Maximize Student Agency and Growth
Chapter 5 – The Architecture of Belonging: Students as Co-Designers in the Classroom
Chapter 6 – Design Cycle, Part 1: Planning Innovation in Schools
Chapter 7 – Design Cycle, Part 2: From Planning to Action
Chapter 8 – The Design Cycle Brings Teaching Teams Together
Chapter 9 – Take Two Days to Plan Your School’s Next Two Years
Chapter 10 – Managing Change and Seeking Opportunity–Evaluating Digital Educational
Products Through a New Lens
Conclusion
Images from Educators Are Designers by Jim Gaona Ellis, published by Harvard Education Press, 2026
About the Author
Jim Gaona Ellis is an educator, consultant, and storyteller exploring the intersections of culture, belonging, and instructional design. He writes about education with an eye toward the unheralded moments that reveal the heart of exceptional teaching and learning. In his consulting, Jim works with teachers and students live in the classroom, along with talks, workshops and more. He is Mexican-American from Phoenix, Jim currently lives in Vienna, Austria with his family.