Known for its incredibly rich insight and beautifully crafted tool, the Social and Emotional Learning Visual Design Guide is proving to be a transformative resource for everyone in the education community. Recognized as a finalist for the 2024 A4LE Kelley Tanner Innovation Award, we believe this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the meaningful impact that this tool will bring forth. The Social and Emotional Visual Design Guide is an innovation beacon for teachers, students, school administrators, and designers to support whole student and teacher health.
The VDG (Visual Design Guide) translates complex scientific findings into 18 practical design strategy cards geared towards bringing awareness to how the school environment can elevate the learning and teaching experience and promote positive outcomes for social and emotional well-being for both teachers and students. In addition to the evidence-based strategy cards, the VDG provides a deep dive into the evidence that supports the strategies, illustrations on teacher-student interactions to promote collaboration, connection and meaningful impact, and clear instruction on how to optimize the utility of the guide. The VDG can be utilized electronically or printed out as a physical copy.
At its very core, the 2024 A4LE Kelley Tanner Innovation Award advocates for community, equity, integrity, and an actionable vision of what’s possible, deeply rooted in research. The VDG is unique in that it shines a light on the student and teacher outcomes that are associated with various interior design strategies in a K-12 setting, this has never been done before and the evidence to support these strategies is often behind a paywall and therefore inaccessible. Accessibility and understanding were at the forefront when creating this tool.
Collaborative thinking amongst community, industry, academia, and design practice was also an instrumental contribution to the development of the VDG. Ever heard of the saying, “you can’t pour from an empty cup?” Teachers play a crucial role in learning spaces, it is pertinent that their perspectives are taken into consideration when it comes to making an impact within the education community. The VDG amplifies the voices of teachers by incorporating direct teacher insights within the evidence-based design strategy cards labeled as “From the Teacher’s Desk”. An undergraduate interior design studio course that focused on K-12 design was an additional community partner in advancing this endeavor. Students had the opportunity to utilize the VDG to learn how to connect theory to design. The result was that students were empowered to steer the local school district towards evaluating, re-conceptualizing and sharing new design guidelines with the design community. One of the students involved in the effort stated, “[The VDG] made me consider every detail that is necessary in making not just a classroom, but across an entire school system safer and more conducive to learning.”
These design strategy cards provide a real opportunity for teachers to alter their work environment, for administrators to advocate for and promote positive outcomes for students and teachers, and for designers to enhance their ability to bring forth meaningful impact within the education community.
As one of the leaders of this effort, Dr. Renae Mantooth is adamant about ensuring accessibility to this guide for those who are interested. If you or anyone you know of is interested in harnessing the power of this free VDG, please feel free to share.