How We Design Learning
Sustained, systemic learning for thriving schools and human flourishing.
At NESA, learning design is a strategic, evolving process – rooted in research, shaped by community, and guided by our commitment to human-centered education and holistic student growth.
We plan in multi-year cycles in collaboration with our Professional Development Advisory Committee (PDAC), designing experiences that are coherent, layered, and transformative. Programs are intentionally curated so that delegates encounter an arc of meaning across keynotes, workshops, and webinars, deepening collective understanding over time.
Our Anchors
Ecologies of Flourishing
We view education as a living ecosystem, where learners, educators, and communities grow within interconnected ecologies of self, society, and the natural world.
Clarity of Vision
The NESA program is curated to create a coherent arc of meaning and connection across offerings, enabling shared vision, purpose, and practice across school communities.
Inclusion by Design
NESA champions an “everyone culture”, welcoming diverse voices and creating pathways of participation for schools of different sizes, resources, and stages of development.
Our Compass
Our vision and purpose are guided by global benchmarks that articulate shared aspirations for education and human flourishing.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – while also addressing climate change. Schools play an essential role in cultivating these values and responsibilities in young people.
OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030/2040
NESA’s work is oriented by the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030/2040, which articulates the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values learners need to thrive in the 21st century, with well-being as a central goal. These aspirations are captured in the OECD Learning Compass framework.
Our Lens
Our approach to learning design is informed by research-based frameworks and established thought leaders in education.
- Standards for Professional Learning
- Systems Thinking
- Evidence-Based Hope
- Theory U
- Deliberately Developmental Organizations
- Flow, Belonging, and Impact
- Adaptive Schools
- Coaching Culture
Standards for Professional Learning
Systems Thinking
Evidence-Based Hope
Theory U
Deliberately Developmental Organizations
Flow, Belonging, and Impact
Adaptive Schools
Coaching Culture
If we want learners who can thrive in turbulent, complex times, apply thinking to new situations, and change the world, we must reimagine learning: what’s important to be learned, how learning is fostered, where learning happens, and how we measure success. This means creating environments that challenge, provoke, stimulate, and celebrate learning. We call this new conceptualization of the learning process deep learning, and it must become the new purpose of education.
Michael Fullan, Joanne Quinn, Joanne McEachen Deep Learning: Engage the World Change the World
Leading from the Emerging Future
Professional learning at NESA is continually in transition, evolving in response to changing contexts and emerging school needs.
