The purpose of the Immersive Design Studio is to plan culturally responsive learning experiences that have the potential for closing Equity gaps. Equity in education is the policy and practice directive to provide quality and effective learning opportunities so that background and identity are neither correlative nor predictive of student performance and/or achievement outcomes. The Design Studio is a space where we work at the intersections of Equity and pedagogy in order to practice planning habits so that we engage our students in rigorous and meaningful opportunities to learn. Culturally Responsive Education is the work that lives in the overlap of Equity and pedagogy. Planning for culturally responsive learning experiences is something more than an algorithmic endeavor; and the CRE mental model sources the big ideas and mental habits that regularly produce learning experiences for students that tap into their cultural fluencies so that they can find the traction and motivation for thinking rigorously. The CRE mental model with its six themes and five planning questions, has developed organically over many years in design spaces with teachers. Teachers have to make decisions about how to present, when to intervene, what is most relevant, and whom is centered in instruction. These teacher-moves are a function of an artful way of thinking about opportunities to learn. The Design Studio is the space where we gather to collate and enrich, to interrogate and to interpret... it's where we learn to navigate the necessary uncertainties in planning—much like the artist.

The Immersive Design Studio is open to all educators interested in the focus on teaching practices—planning, instruction, and reflection. Teachers and those who support instruction stand to benefit the most from the Design Studio. The goal of the Immersive Design studio is to energize classroom teachers with tools for artful thinking. The discussions and activities will most appeal to classroom teachers, coaches, and administrators with responsibilities for supporting instruction. All of the content is derived from two books, both by Adeyemi Stembridge, Culturally Responsive Education in the Classroom: An Equity Framework for Pedagogy (2020) and Brilliant Teaching: Using Culture and Artful Thinking to Close Equity Gaps (2023).

The Immersive Design Studio presents many opportunities to collaborate with other attendees, so it isn’t necessary to have a team to benefit richly from the experience. Participants will be teamed with others for the three-day experience so thought-partnerships will be abundant!

We’re excited to be hosted by the UNC Center for Urban Education in Denver at the Lowry Campus at 1059 Alton Way, Denver, CO 80230. There is ample, free, on-site parking. Continental breakfast will be served along with lunch every day. Breakfast will be available starting at 8:30am, and the daily activities will conclude by 4p. If you need overnight accommodations, we recommend the Renaissance Denver Central Park Hotel at 3801 Quebec St. Denver, CO 80207.

Though the Immersive Design Studio is a rich and lively experience for individual educators, it’s especially effective for supporting the work of teams. This is an event that will help to build any team’s common ground for designing learning experiences that work for kiddos. Grade-level teams, content-area teams, inter-disciplinary teams, and district-level teams with responsibilities for advocating for Equity can use the Design Studio to clarify team goals and find tools for creating fair and meaningful opportunities for students to learn.

The purpose of the Immersive Design Studio is to plan culturally responsive learning experiences that have the potential for closing Equity gaps. Equity in education is the policy and practice directive to provide quality and effective learning opportunities so that background and identity are neither correlative nor predictive of student performance and/or achievement outcomes. The Design Studio is a space where we work at the intersections of Equity and pedagogy in order to practice planning habits so that we engage our students in rigorous and meaningful opportunities to learn. Culturally Responsive Education is the work that lives in the overlap of Equity and pedagogy. Planning for culturally responsive learning experiences is something more than an algorithmic endeavor; and the CRE mental model sources the big ideas and mental habits that regularly produce learning experiences for students that tap into their cultural fluencies so that they can find the traction and motivation for thinking rigorously. The CRE mental model with its six themes and five planning questions, has developed organically over many years in design spaces with teachers. Teachers have to make decisions about how to present, when to intervene, what is most relevant, and whom is centered in instruction. These teacher-moves are a function of an artful way of thinking about opportunities to learn. The Design Studio is the space where we gather to collate and enrich, to interrogate and to interpret... it's where we learn to navigate the necessary uncertainties in planning—much like the artist.

To make the most of the Immersive Design Studio, participants should bring laptop or tablet devices to access the internet and the many materials which will be provided. It’s great if you bring content standards that you want to plan for and/or previous lesson plans. Most importantly, it’s important to bring an attitude of curiosity and enthusiasm for the craft of teaching.

The cost of the three-day Immersive Design Studio is $925 per person. You can pay with credit card or by invoice. Payment is accepted at dryemis.com.

Yes, of course! Every Immersive Design Studio covers the same core content, but each is a living entity which assumes a slightly different form every time. We aren’t interested in static programming. Every Immersive Design Studio takes on the personality of its participants so attending more than one session will reinforce the essential concepts but likely in a different way. So you are welcome to attend both the early summer and the late summer events in Denver; however, you will be required to purchase tickets for both events.