“How might we design a high-impact global learning training for rural PA educators?”
This was the question that the Consortium was tasked with as a design partner in collaboration with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.
The Consortium joined with the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh (WACP) in May as professional development consultants to co-design and pilot a new training program for rural educators within Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Debbie Pixton and Aaron Altemus, two members of the Consortium’s human-centered design training team, used elements of design thinking to develop a program that would meet the unique needs of rural teachers, counselors, and administrators while ensuring that the new learning opportunity aligned with the constraints and expectations of the grant held by WACP.
Beginning in June of 2024, they interviewed educators from 15 rural school districts spread across Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland counties; through those conversations, they learned how global learning and future readiness–two intertwined concepts–were being thought about and taught. Clear patterns emerged quickly:
- Students need opportunities to think about and explore opportunities and communities beyond their own school and neighborhood.
- There is a sense that the world is changing rapidly, and global issues have a local impact, whether students know it or not.
- Global learning presents a challenge in many schools because the topic is often poorly defined, lacks instructional resources, and may even face community opposition.
Synthesizing the interviews, the Consortium’s design team then developed three personas for a program audience to ensure that any final program would account for the major interests and motivations of the educators in the region. Working with WACP, several prototypes were created, refined, and ultimately, the Global Learning for a Local Workforce pilot program launched in September, with teams from five schools in the IU1 footprint (Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties).
Reviews for the program were overwhelmingly positive:
“It opened my eyes to the importance of preparing our students for life outside of our small town.”
Another educator reflected, “I’m encouraged that global learning is a concern and that there are initiatives to help our students experience life outside their communities.”
While a final evaluation of the pilot and recommendations for sustainability are still in progress, the use of design thinking to design and iterate on a program based on identified needs is a process that can be used over and over again to ensure that professional development is relevant and builds towards long-term impact for educators and students.
