By Professor Radka Newton1 and Jean Mutton 2
1 Lancaster University, UK
2 Consultant, Go Process Design Ltd, Derby, UK
Cite as: Newton, R. 1 and Mutton, J. (2025), "Doing not talking: Insights from Designing and Running two Collaborative EDUJAMs", International Journal of Management and Applied Research, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 25-44. https://doi.org/10.18646/2056.121.25-003 | Download PDF
Abstract
This reflective article explores the design, implementation, and impact of EDUJAM, a fast-paced, collaborative learning event inspired by design thinking and service design principles. EDUJAM brought together educators, students, and professionals to co-create innovative solutions for the future of education through experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration. By integrating key characteristics of empathy-driven design, co-creation, inclusive collaboration, and a human-centred mindset, EDUJAM fostered an inclusive and psychologically safe environment where participants could experiment, take creative risks, and engage in meaningful problem-solving. The events’ structure blended intentional facilitation with flexibility, ensuring deep learning while maintaining a sense of spontaneity and improvisation. Reflecting on both the online and in-person EDUJAMs, we highlight the transformative potential of design jams as professional learning experiences in education. Our experience underscores the value of alternative, hands-on approaches to learning that empower participants to challenge traditional education models and drive innovation. EDUJAM serves as an example of how collaborative, immersive experiences can foster meaningful change in educational practices.
1. Introduction
In this reflective paper, we respond to the call to explore the design, implementation, and impact of jams in education and beyond. We reflect on our experiences organising two experimental EDUJAM events—one entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic and another held in person at the V&A Dundee. Our aim is to explore the value of these short, high-intensity learning experiences by examining whether the jam format could provide a meaningful continuous professional development (CPD) for educators.
We frame the EDUJAM as a capstone initiative of a community of practice (COP), Service Design in Education (SDinED) community, established in 2019 as a group united by a shared vision to transform the student learning journey and reimagine the education experience for everyone involved: students, staff, and other stakeholders.
Through this reflection, we share insights into the successes, challenges, and outcomes of EDUJAM. We explore how the jam format fosters creativity, problem-solving, and engagement of participants of all ages and backgrounds joined by the common passion for education. Ultimately, we hope to ignite further interest in developing design as a capability in education and inspire others to harness the power of jams for transformative learning experiences.
Our belief that design, namely human-centred design, is an essential capability for educators, no matter what role or position within the sector, is based on our extensive collation of the evidence of human-centred design practices introduced by professional staff in libraries, business improvement units, student experience teams and curriculum design transformation projects (Newton et al., 2024). This has been recently endorsed by direct recognition of human-centred design as a desirable skill in Higher Education (HE) that enhances the learning and working environment, making institutions more engaging and accessible for students, staff, and stakeholders alike (McVitty, 2024).
Our reflections build on the stimulating debate by Nerantzi et al. (2023) that has explicitly addressed the challenges of adopting design thinking in education, namely in HE, due to the focus on thinking over doing with structured discussions and moderated meetings forming the backbone of decision-making. We also reflect on the other challenges related to the need to develop open, non-judgemental spaces where conflicting ideas can coexist and evolve and shift above individual achievement over to collective contribution (Nerantzi et al., 2023). Elsbach and Stigliani (2018) describe the traditional managerial approach in contrast with design mindset, which resonates with our experience in HE. They note that while managers focus on efficiency, hierarchies, and quantitative data, designers embrace flexibility, cross-functional collaboration, qualitative insights, and experimentation. Unlike managers, who often avoid failure, designers see it as a valuable learning opportunity and embrace exploratory thinking to conclusion and solution-driven paradigm.
Our reflections confirm the need for a structured and scaffolded approach (Dyer and Deacon, 2023) with a combination of rapid experimentation, learning by doing fosters learning, creativity, and collaboration with more traditional knowledge acquisition through structured expert talks.
2. Experiential learning for educators
Several studies specifically address the development of critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication skills—collectively known as the "4Cs"—among university educators. These studies often explore how educators can cultivate these competencies within themselves and their students (Thornhill-Miller et al., 2023; Saroyan, 2022). Tang et al. (2020) highlights how design jams can serve as effective platforms for developing the 4Cs through experiential learning and creative problem-solving activities.
Collaboration has been highlighted in the Leadership Survey for Higher Education as an essential skill to develop for educators and a leadership priority alongside wellbeing, equality, diversity and inclusion (Johns and McVitty, 2023: 16). In 2024 Advance HE put a call out for projects developing the HE workforce of the future that would respond to a question posed as “What can we learn from design thinking?”, making an acknowledgment that collaboration in design thinking is distinct due to its emphasis on diversity, empathy, and iterative problem-solving. In design thinking approaches to collaboration, co-creation is central, allowing all participants to contribute ideas rather than following a top-down approach (Sanders and Stappers, 2008). The process is highly iterative, with rapid prototyping, testing, and refining to enhance solutions (Liedtka and Ogilvie, 2011). Radical collaboration thrives on psychological safety, encouraging open discussions and non-judgmental participation (Doorley et al., 2018). This inclusive mindset supports experimentation and risk-taking, leading to more innovative outcomes, yet is rarely applied in this form in education.
The OECD report (Saroyan, 2022) emphasises the importance of fostering creativity, critical thinking, and pedagogical skills in university educators through targeted professional learning. It highlights the need for systemic and individual growth supported by situated social practices that connect teaching, institutional policies, and resources. Key strategies include fostering communities of practice where experienced educators mentor peers and offer practical, immersive interventions focusing on course design, versatile teaching methods, and assessment techniques. Additionally, the integration of creativity and critical thinking into CPD helps align teaching approaches with learning outcomes, equipping educators to prepare students for uncertainty and complexity.
Lave and Wegner (1991) say that there are some communities of practice who all share the same knowledge, and they mention educators as one of them. We argue that design and its application to transformation of the education is not purely about learning the knowledge. In alignment with the 4Cs mentioned above, design is a practice that needs to be adapted to different contexts but the golden thread that remains is its hands-on materiality, something that cannot be taught but ought to be experienced.
The purpose of establishing EDUJAM was to test whether and how the principles and practices of design jams could be adapted to the professional development of university educators and other HE staff. Design jams are collaborative workshops that tackle complex challenges within 48 hours, using design thinking to foster creativity, play, and teamwork. By incorporating play, design jams create a dynamic environment that boosts critical thinking, innovation, and communication. The hands-on nature of activities such as role-playing, using visual techniques, and prototyping ensures experiential learning, enabling participants to apply transferable skills in practical contexts while fostering deeper engagement (Tang et al., 2020).
2.1 Service Design in Education Community of Practice
The Service Design in Education (SDinED) community was formed as an emerging COP due to the embryonic nature of design for transformative review in education. As practitioners working in further and higher education for many years, we knew that both sectors faced a need for constant improvement and enhancement of the felt student journey, but increased global competition, a dynamic economy, and an ever-changing landscape of employment, made it a priority that old ways of thinking would need to be shaken up in order to identify efficiencies and deliver value to students. We had seen how the portrayal of the student experience as a journey (from Prospect to Alumnus) could foster collaboration across an institution with the student voice heart and centre, looking not just inside, but outside the classroom too, with backstage operations as firmly in the limelight as front stage touch points (Baranova et al. 2011; Tjeldnes and Eilertsen in Newton et at., 2024: 132-144).
The community developed its core mission: Service Design in Education Network is a group of diverse individuals from all over the world with one aim and one passion; to change education for the better using human-centred design approaches.
The community kept building as word spread and we reached out through our networks, looking for people who were on the same path - to change education for the better. By October 2019 we had over 50 followers who were actively involved on a global and national level, putting forward their case studies/experiments, and sharing their own journeys into the application of design principles to the world of education, and we began to realise an increase in interest and demand from educators to adopt different ways of working. The network was now a living entity with iterations of what could be achieved alongside the constant need for research and verification - all with an open mind to what might add value to the education of the future.
Following on from the initial meet up in 2019 at the Service Design Academy (SDA), which is part of the Dundee and Angus College, the SDinED network team held two interactive workshops to explore our future as a community and co-design what an EDUJAM could look like. These events attracted over 200 participants: the network had come a long way, and was continuing to grow as word spread, but we were still finding our way and were somewhat unsure of what we needed to do, what our purpose was and how we could develop further.
Our short-term plan was to:
- Share — case studies, experiments and experiences to help educators start to build more design confidence, along the lines of ‘if we can do it, then so can you’.
- Grow — continue to meet up and support one another, spread the word and build content for sharing.
- Connect — with more educators, designers, policy makers and relevant stakeholders.
- Prototype — finding out what educators need and what they can relate to, as well as what can help them legitimise design in their institutions.
- Presence — raise awareness by attending and speaking at events and conferences.
2.2. Bringing the Jam Spirit to Education
It was a great feeling to have finally found our ‘tribe’ and, inspired by the Global Jams which some of the SDinED community members had attended and drawn inspiration from, we began to consider how we could bring that transformative energy to the world of education. We agreed that the whole ethos of the growing human-centred design movement, bringing fast-paced collaborative events for interdisciplinary problem-solving such as Design Jams and Hackathons, were what was needed to have a lasting impact on the world of education.
Staying true to the spirit and format of the Global Service Jams, we aimed to harness the power of a 48-hour sprint. Adam Lawrence, one of the founders of the Jam family, attributes the phrase that “Jams create innovators” to a fellow Jammer, capturing the transformative potential of these events. We wanted to explore how being exposed to the experience of intensive collaboration, with a focus on doing, not talking, could change the way folk approached the ‘wicked problems’ they encountered in their day-to-day work in education, be that in a teaching, administrative or other related role.
At the first meeting, we were delighted that staff from the V&A in Dundee had been onboard with our concepts and were keen to host the event in partnership with the SDA. The vision was to co-design a cooperative fun weekend filled with experimentation, innovation and prototyping. We wanted to know what might be achieved if the principles of service design, cooperation, co-creation and collaboration were brought to bear in the world of education.
Table 1 below provides an overview of the two EDUJAM events that we will reflect on in the next section.
| Mode of delivery | Online via Zoom | In person at the V&A Museum, Dundee |
| Dates | 11 – 13 September 2020 | 10 – 12 June 2022 |
| Number of participants | 60 | 36 |
| Fee | Free | £10 - £30 |
| Website | https://EDUJAM.co.uk | https://EDUJAM.co.uk/5/ |
| Social media | @EDUJAMUK | #SDinED #EDUJAMUK |
| Theme | Education Calling | Choice |
SDA, who was our key anchor partner, was established as a result of a jam, which provided us with additional drive and belief in the transformational power of jams. Before SDA was established, Dundee and Angus College had played a key role in launching Dundee’s first-ever GovJam in collaboration with design consultancy Open Change. Held in May 2017, the event brought together 80 participants from 23 organizations across healthcare, education, and culture, making it the largest Gov Jam globally that year (Service Design Academy, 2020).
The success of the GovJam inspired Dundee and Angus College to embed service design into its own transformation efforts. This led to the launch of the Service Design Academy and the Good to Great initiative, which engaged over 400 staff and students in shaping improvements across recruitment, retention, digital learning, and customer experience.
SDA’s story inspired our planning for our first EDUJAM, not really knowing who, if anyone, it would attract beyond our relatively small community. By sharing challenges and experiences, we collectively deepened our understanding of the systemic issues facing education and refined our vision for EDUJAM. The excitement and support from our network encouraged us to think bigger and bolder, envisioning EDUJAM not just as an event but as a movement for change.
SDinED formed an EDUJAM organising committee formed from five volunteers who shared expertise of Jam organisers and attendees. However, evolving the design jam principles to suit the education sector brought substantial learning for the organising group with a benefit of testing both modes of delivery, online and in-person. The next section will provide an opportunity to reflect on the benefits of a co-design approach, thoughts around scaffolding the jam activities, the importance of creating a non-judgmental space for experimentation and play, and the importance of collaboration that is not only multidisciplinary but also egalitarian and multigenerational.
3. Reflections
3.1. The EDUJAM co-design
As a community with a focus on evolving service design methods for education, we adopted this approach to designing the EDUJAM acknowledging that design practice had not been widely embedded in education. From our SDinED series of online engagement events we understood there was curiosity to learn more about design principles, which we confirmed through an event we ran with the Enterprise Educators UK and the Design Council attracting over 100 educators keen to find out more about the topic.
Taking a service design approach, we asked ourselves a series of ‘How Might We’ (HMW) questions to help us, as organisers, define and develop our priorities and tune into the needs of potential attendees. We wanted to make sure that the EDUJAM was driven by empathy and an understanding of the needs of the people we were trying to reach. The user research undertaken before the jams included a range of activities and other opportunities to contribute. We held a series of engagement events – online Drinks and Thinks events with invited speakers and space for the community to meet and exchange their narratives.
Underpinned by the ethos of co-design (McKercher, 2020), we started with an online participatory workshop Co-Designing EDUJAM (Service Design in Education, 2020) facilitated by a professional visualisation consultant, Andy de Vale, founder of WorkVisible Studios, who had a thorough understanding of design principles and empathy as a core driver for developing meaningful, genuine and safe environment with an ethos of ‘Leadership for Everyone’. With over forty online attendees, we addressed the following questions:
- What things in Education are ripe for disruption? How might an EDUJAM help with that?
- How do we persuade senior leaders in traditional education organisations that a design jam is going to add value to staff?
- How do we engage diverse audience – staff and students?
- How do we make the online space inclusive?
This participatory session has provided much needed insights into what educators viewed as challenges in current CPD opportunities summarised by a quote from an online participant below: “Lifeless people delivering lifeless content, no interaction, no fun.”
There were several other key messages which we took away and made sure were implemented in the design of the EDUJAM. They made it clear that they did not want to be passive participants:
“No more disinterested cynical participants in cliques.”
“No more pompous speakers who shoot down people’s questions”.
“Loads of jargon that nobody explains”.
Participants called for prioritising inclusivity, compassion, and awareness of all learners by providing opportunities for agency through choice and co-creation. They pointed out the need for regular check-ins ensured ongoing support, while information was structured into manageable chunks with clear, accessible instructions. Above all, they focused on making learning an active and engaging experience.
Understanding the needs of potential participants helped us focus on creating the right EDUJAM culture from the outset with a space where creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication could thrive. Reflecting on the key messages, we were struck by the dominance of experiences of passive learning. Saroyan (2022) concluded that academics are more likely to engage in professional learning when they recognise a gap in their knowledge and see value in addressing it. From our engagement with academics as well as professional services members of staff, there was more than a knowledge gap recognition with discussions targeted towards the how we will learn, not only what we will learn, something that Brown et al. (1989 in Saroyan, 2022) refer to as situated cognition, an active process of knowledge construction.
Reflecting on the actual portfolio of participants in both EDUJAMs, we conclude that we engaged those educators who had already been actively exploring innovative approaches in education. From our perspective, there may have been a handful who were brought along by a persuasive friend but in general our participants were already those with shifted mindset. As a newly established community, this feature was probably to be expected and even though the pioneering nature of the EDUJAMs meant that the events felt like close community events of people who speak the same language, they did have a global reach especially through the online version and further contributed to the community growth and evolution recognising a much-needed shift in professional development for educators being more experiential, practice-based and inclusive.
3.2. Scaffolded approach
Music jams are inherently spontaneous acts of improvisation, where musicians collaborate without prior preparation, however they are structured sessions with a pre-selected repertoire and with interaction as a key agent. In our case, the repertoire was a broad concept of education that anybody could relate to, with our core melody focused on the value of design in conscious attention to student and staff experience (Pinheiro, 2011).
The concept of a design jam stands in stark contrast to structured learning events or carefully curated conferences where academic and professional services staffs alike gain the most of their development. We recognised the need for scaffolding (Dyer and Deacon, 2023) related to possible apprehension of adopting improvisation techniques which we had previously experienced in design practice sessions we had run through our network at universities and other education organisations.
The EDUJAM organising team faced a key question: How might we design an education jam that is carefully structured and thoughtfully planned to ensure a meaningful participant experience and deep learning, while still maintaining a sense of spontaneity and improvisation?
Participants’ pre-jam needs are demonstrated in the quotes below:
"Flexible agenda – Pick n mix. Make your own bear (Jam)." (online session participant)
“Chunked up content and activity filled with games and movement-clear rules of engagement and encouraging presence”
“Variety of different sessions to meet different learning styles.”
“Use chunking of information with clear instructions available at all points to referback to. Making learning active!”
Participants called for a well-structured event with clear expectations, and accessible communication. They emphasised the importance of a flexible format, allowing individuals to tailor their own agenda, as reflected in the idea of a "pick and mix" approach to activities and sessions in order to appeal to those who needed more support in understanding how the methodology worked, whilst not turning off those who already had a background in, and experience of, applying design principles in the sector. Managing expectations was also highlighted, with calls for clear directions, welcoming engagement, and structured opening and closing rounds to maintain coherence. By balancing structure with flexibility, we sought to ensure that EDUJAM could accommodate diverse learning styles and create a more meaningful experience for all participants.
There is one key difference that we are keen to acknowledge in this reflection. Our service design mindset guided us towards providing a seamless online and in-person experience for participants which will bring value. Delivering an online event of this magnitude brought its own challenges. We created what we called a Human Connection Board in MIRO, which contained everything a jammer would need to take them through the weekend, and allow teams the necessary space for collaboration, but we were aware that some people would need support to use the platform whilst others would already be familiar with the structure and format.
Expressing this with a service design terminology, the back-office processes and interactions were meticulously designed to the smallest detail such as recruiting and training our mentors and developing detailed handbooks with simplified yet explicit language and instructions: one designed specifically for the jammers and another for mentors, containing everything we hoped that they would need to know in order to fully participate across the whole event. They contained contact information; a section on ‘What Happens’; Timings; some Does and Don’ts, and also information on Safeguarding (see Appendix ‘The Mentors’ Handbook’).
Taking the structure of the Global Service Jams as our guide (Kuzmina et al., 2016), we began on the Friday evening with a ‘getting to know you/each other’ session, an exercise to form participants into teams, and spent some time going over the plan for the weekend. We produced tutorials on what is a design jam, developed by Adam Lawrence, how to use digital spaces and where to access help and support throughout the events (SDinED YouTube channel, 2019).
The back-office intentional design of the 48-hour journey enabled much needed space for improvisation and spontaneity where participants could thrive without any burden or worry about what happens next. The concept of structured improvisation applied to education is something that many participants took away from the EDUJAM, the ability to apply design to scaffolding the structure of learning without constraints related to specific content or pre-defined answers.
The learning occurred not only for the jammers but also for the mentors: “From carrying out the mentor role, I have reflected on how we implement sessions with our students and how to let the process flow from the people taking part without any input or bias from our side. To let the creative freedom flow and watch as great things happen in front of you.”
Design thinking application can be sometimes criticised for its reductionist approach of tools and methods application before the mindset shift (Rose and Jones in Newton et al. 2024: 86-101). Many of us in SDinED community started their own journey with a tool, something tangible they could practice with and our pre-engagement session also confirmed the expectation of practical tools and methods that participants could acquire and later practice independently (Kuzmina et al., 2016).
"Toolkit and takeaways to use and engage team with." (online session participant)
Educators highly value events that not only inspire them but also equip them with tangible strategies they can take back and implement in their institutions. Providing concrete tools, resources generously developed by SDA, and strategies that educators can immediately apply in their practice was seen as crucial to ensure a lasting impact. Interactive activities, like "show and tell," where participants bring an item that represents something personal about themselves, were mentioned to help create a more meaningful connection to the content. The EDUJAM also created a digital footprint in the shape of a Youtube channel (2019) that contains multiple recordings of sessions from the EDUJAMs.
“The good thing is that I increasingly started to implement the method of interviewing I learnt through EDUJAM into my project practicing. And I found that I tried to encourage people to tell their stories of experience, the more insights and their real emotional needs I can understand.” (In person EDUJAM participant)
3.3. Non-judgmental safe space
Encouraging experimentation, risk-taking, and the freedom to explore new approaches without fear of failure were agreed as essential for fostering a positive learning environment. Pre-jam engagement confirmed that EDUJAM should create a supportive space where educators feel empowered to test innovative ideas, embrace challenges, and learn through the process of trial and error. The quotes below give a clear signal of what educators expected from the EDUJAM format:
"Leave your ego at home :)"
“Variety of speakers with a strong emphasis on inclusive and kind tone.”
“Motivated Speakers - People who love what they’re delivering on and present it in equal measure of theory and practice base.”
“Flexible schedule, in tune with mood of room/take breaks or shake things up.”
“Change hearts and minds - Build a set of activities, breakouts, right variety to bring it alive to people. Can't just talk @ them.”
Tang et al. (2020) points out the need to create a supportive environment. We drew on the service design principles putting the user in the centre and guiding the service provider, in this case the EDUJAM organising committee, to ensure that the user understands clearly the expectations, does not need to have prior knowledge to engage with the service and needs to be able to complete the service from start to end (Downe, 2020). This framing pointed us to focus on the induction stages of the events with accessible and engaging activities that aimed at fostering psychological safety and openness, ensuring that participants felt comfortable sharing their experiences and perspectives.
In the online edition of EDUJAM, we introduced daily eased induction, designed to create a safe space for experimentation and to remove barriers that often arise in conference settings, where people may feel intimidated or fall into cliques. To set a welcoming tone, each day began with an optional online yoga session (SDinED YouTube channel, 2019) offering participants a gentle start before diving into the main activities.
A particularly memorable activity in the V&A venue was the life learning journey mapping exercise (Newton in Newton et al., 2024: 233- 235). Participants reflected on their personal learning histories, mapping key moments of formal and informal learning alongside associated emotions. This simple yet powerful exercise allowed individuals to connect with their own learning experiences and share them with others in a way that felt natural and free from judgment (Figure 3). The openness of this activity not only helped participants settle into the event but also set the tone for deep, honest conversations throughout the weekend.
Looking at the themes that emerged, it was striking how informal, experience-based learning was often associated with joy and confidence, while rigid, performance-driven environments evoked frustration and anxiety. This insight reinforced the importance of designing learning experiences that prioritise agency, creativity, and emotional connection.
Interactive, hands-on activities were identified as essential for fostering creativity, enthusiasm, and active participation. Educators emphasised the need to move away from passive learning and embrace dynamic, engaging experiences that encourage deeper involvement and collaboration.
The pre-engagement quotes below clearly point to what educators perceived as key ingredients. The accessibility note was an important insight for us to acknowledge our own bias towards open creativity without fear of sketching and prepare activities that will enable participants to overcome the shadow belief that creativity equals being good at art, particularly sketching.
“Engaging passionate people delivering interactive mixed materials content, creating high energy and engagement.”
“Motivated and enthusiastic presenters”
“Pacy, fun, interesting, engaging facilitators that keep everyone in the moment”
“Accessible tasks - Show don't talk! Simple but inspiring, easy to replicate (Draw a sausage)”
To address the strong preference for dynamic facilitation that encourages participation through play and interactive learning, we included well-established design educators and service designers who were able to adapt their expertise to the novice audience and not only shared their insights but also brought an element of fun and playfulness, making engagement more accessible and lowering barriers to participation.
Activities such as an interactive ice-breaker online session run by Philippa Rose demonstrated how humour and creativity can enhance learning (SDinEDYouTube channel, 2019). Philippa paid special attention to human connection in an online space, skilfully bridging the physical and digital worlds. She encouraged participants to engage with the physicality of their environment by introducing objects from their homes—one memorable example was a Barbie blanket, which became a playful metaphor for having had a good night’s sleep. Addressing the challenges of making real connections online, Philippa urged participants to pay special attention to looking and listening, leaving their cameras on and using positive visual reinforcement such as thumbs up/high fives. To foster engagement and storytelling, Philippa introduced an induction MIRO board, inviting participants to share their childhood ambitions. She seamlessly navigated between the digital MIRO board and physical activities, encouraging attendees to draw self-portraits on sticky notes and then transfer them to the online space. Through these fun and simple exercises, she demonstrated how the physical and digital realms can interact to create a more immersive and engaging learning experience.
Visual communication was integrated as an ongoing thread with supportive fun activities facilitated by Andy de Vale who led the visual identify of both EDUJAMs. Visual thinking, using sketches, sticky notes, and storyboards, enhances communication and idea-sharing (Gray, Brown and Macanufo, 2010).Short and low risk sketching activities were incorporated into the schedule to allow participants build confidence. Aided by visual materials such as simple poster templates built with BIKABLO method (https://bikablo.com/), a visual thinking and facilitation technique that uses simple, structured drawing methods to help communicate ideas more effectively, participants were able to experiment with structured simplicity, using key shapes, colours, and lettering styles to create visually compelling summaries of discussions, processes, or complex concepts that they later evolved with physical material (Figure 4).
Participant feedback reinforced the importance of fun (Tang et al. 2020) and its lasting value, often unexplored in CPD for educators: “EDUJAM enforced my belief that Play is crucial at all stages of education.”
3.4. Inclusive collaboration beyond the community of practice
Creating an inclusive environment where all voices are valued, and no single perspective dominates were concluded as an essential feature for an equitable and engaging EDUJAM (Figure 5).
Participants highlighted the lack of diversity in many previous education events ridden with “loads of jargon that nobody explains”. They also noted that staff development opportunities at their own school or institution often felt homogeneous and failed to encourage diverse perspectives. They unanimously called for an authentic and welcoming space where educators, regardless of experience or background, feel comfortable contributing and sharing ideas. A successful EDUJAM should actively promote peer-to-peer learning, enabling educators to form relationships, collaborate on new ideas, and exchange best practices that can enrich their teaching and professional growth.
Our final reflection point is underpinned by the key values of design practice and relates to our shared values in the SDinED community - diversity, inclusion and collaboration. However, the EDUJAMs provide an opportunity for the COP to open and draw in the wider stakeholders and beneficiaries of the community’s immediate membership. Returning to our initial objective of modelling inclusive collaboration in EDUJAM to allow educators experience collaboration that does not depend on hierarchy of position and applies more ‘doing’ mode enabling interaction made more accessible using visual methods of communication.
At EDUJAM, we integrated key characteristics of collaboration rooted in design thinking to create an inclusive and dynamic environment. An empathy-driven approach ensured participants deeply understood user needs through active listening and engagement (Brown, 2009; Doorley et al., 2018). This was reflected even in the type of tickets we offered for the in-person EDUJAM in V&A Dundee, that ranged from free tickets for students, discounted tickets for self-payers and open sponsorship from larger organisations. As an organising committee we will hold a fond memory of a family attending the in-person EDUJAM for their passion for education and desire to have a shared experience of designing the future of education together.
Co-creation was at the heart of our process, fostering collaboration where solutions emerged collectively rather than being dictated by a single authority (Sanders and Stappers, 2008). The team formation at the start of the jam was carefully thought through allowing participants to group by their affiliation of a specific focus arising from the initial mind mapping activity. Our open provocations Education Calling and Choice provided an initial stimulus for participants to reflect on:
- What did you think?
- What did you feel?
- What do you already know?
- What is missing?
Initial individual and quiet brainstorming with subsequent mentor-facilitated clustering developed into more concrete themes such as Outdoor learning, Using technology, redefining assessment, etc. These were labelled and displayed on the wall where participants affiliated their interest and formed teams.
Such team formation brought together students, teachers, design professionals and other participants into really diverse teams that in design jams are taken for granted and fully accepted as a way of working together, whilst very rare in any other form of education CPD format.
The principles of inclusive collaboration allowed EDUJAM to become a space where participants could innovate, experiment, and co-design meaningful solutions, as expressed in the quote noted from the pre-engagement event:
“Encourage people to be themselves”
Participants emphasised the value of building connections, networking with like-minded peers, and engaging in meaningful discussions. Many expressed excitements about meeting others who shared an interest in service design and innovative teaching practices.
4. Conclusion
The objective of establishing the EDUJAMs was to test whether and how the principles and practices of design jams could be adapted to the professional development of university educators and others. Reflecting on our experiences designing and running EDUJAM, it is evident that experiential, collaborative, and human-centred learning has immense potential for professional development in education. By integrating principles from design thinking—such as empathy, co-creation, radical collaboration, and a human-centred mindset—we created a space where educators, students, and service professionals could engage in meaningful, hands-on problem-solving.
Through both the online and in-person EDUJAMs, we explored how structured yet flexible learning environments could foster creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication—the essential “4Cs” of 21st-century education. The structured improvisation of the jam format allowed participants to break free from traditional hierarchical learning models and engage in peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, iterative experimentation, and non-judgmental dialogue.
A key takeaway was the importance of psychological safety and inclusive collaboration in creating a space where participants felt comfortable taking creative risks. By blending structured facilitation with opportunities for spontaneity, EDUJAM enabled deeper engagement and genuine professional growth. The impact extended beyond the event, as participants carried forward the tools, techniques, and mindsets gained into their own institutions and practices.
“I have begun to push myself out of my comfort zone to explore, empathize and enhance my surrounding and the people in it with me. I’ve acquired the skill to pay attention to more detailed aspects of the problem and put in the effort to resolve it with a new and non-conventional method than assuming and providing a generalized solution”(student participant).
Our experience with EDUJAM underscores the importance of alternative, experiential approaches to professional learning in higher education. When thoughtfully adapted, design jams can drive meaningful change by empowering educators and learners to actively reimagine the future of education through hands-on engagement, rather than passive discussion.
Through EDUJAM, the Service Design in Education Community of Practice highlighted the need for open and inclusive learning—a model that extends beyond peer-to-peer knowledge exchange within the COP itself. Instead, it fosters collaborative learning that reaches out to beneficiaries and wider stakeholders, creating opportunities to learn with and from those who shape and are shaped by educational practice.
As a result, EDUJAMs became more than just a space for COP members; they evolved into a dynamic environment where educators, students, and professionals from diverse backgrounds engaged in truly multidimensional, multigenerational, and interdisciplinary collaboration. By embracing plurality of voices and perspectives, participants gained new insights into education, challenging assumptions and broadening their understanding of learning as a shared, co-created experience.
5. References
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- Brown, T. (2009), Change by Design: How Design Thinking Creates New Alternatives for Business and Society, New York: Harper Business.
- Downe, L. (2020), 15 Principles of Good Service Design, NASWA Workforce Technology.
- Dyer, S. and Deacon, K. (2023), "Discovery Grants for Education Innovation: Supporting the Adoption of People-Centred Design in HE One Step at a Time", International Journal of Management and Applied Research, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 231-244. https://doi.org/10.18646/2056.102.23-018
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- Kuzmina, K., Parker, C., Jun, G., Maguire, M., Mitchell, V., Moreno, M., and Porter, S. (2016), "An exploration of Service Design Jam and its ability to foster Social Enterprise", In: Lloyd, P. and Bohemia, E. (Eds.), Future Focused Thinking - DRS International Conference 2016, 27 - 30 June, Brighton, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.460
- Lave, J. and Wegner, E. (1991), Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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- Pinheiro, R. (2011), "The creative process in the context of jazz jam sessions", Journal of Music and Dance, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1-5.
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Appendix
EDUJAM 2020: Mentors’ Information Pack
Friday 11 – Sunday 13 September 2020 https://EDUJAM.co.uk/
‘Doing Not Talking’ 48 Hours to Change the Future of Education
Contact info:
Twitter: @EDUJAMUK #EDUJAMUK #SDinEd
Email: SDinEducation@gmail.com
this email will be monitored throughout the weekend, but if you need to get in touch quickly….
Phone numbers for the hosts.
We meet with one goal in mind: to create, prototype, and publish new services for Education in less than 48 hours.
Welcome, Mentor!
We’re so excited that you have agreed to be a mentor at this Education Jam – and thank you for your time and input in running and shaping the Jam. You are special people.
This information pack has some important information about the event. Please take a look, and let us know if you have any questions.
What Happens?
Based on a secret theme (to be revealed on Friday night), teams design innovative new service concepts for education. At the end of the Jam, on the Sunday, teams share the prototype of their service.
Participants will learn the processes and methods of service design by getting their hands dirty, trying new things, and learning by doing. You will be supporting their learning with your wisdom and guidance... and by letting them fail, fail faster, and fail smarter!
Everyone will leave with new friends, new connections, and renewed energy to go out and change the world of education with service design.
What is your Role?
As a team mentor, you will be attached to a particular team or teams to provide dedicated support throughout the weekend. Or you may be one of our specialist mentors – with a particular skill (eg persona development, journey mapping, user research, business model canvas, etc) which any team could tap into. This would be facilitated by the hosts by putting teams in touch with specialist mentors by
request.
Timings:
The full agenda is available on the EDUJAM website but in short:
Friday is the day for setting the scene: The Helsinki MiniJam (am), the virtual exhibition of people and data (pm) and then late pm/eve it’s the EDUJAM launch, the video secret reveal and mini workshops and talks.
Saturday is when teams are formed and there are expert workshops on user research, problem-framing and other activities to help teams develop their themes.
Sunday is when we move into development, proto-typing and testing with more expert workshops to guide us. At 4pm, teams will be invited to feed back to Jammers on their work over the weekend.
Some handy tips for you to help you help your Jammers:
- Watch out for possible (likely unintentional) plagiarism of materials (pictures, images, sounds etc). In addition to the ToolKit and other resources provided specifically for the Jam teams by the organisers, they should only be using the following:
- Don’t forget you have a great resource in your fellow Mentors. There will be dedicated Mentors’ Green Room where you can chill out and meet with other mentors. You are there to help each other. If you need advice, or even just a smile or a chat, there will always be someone there for you. The hosts will also be around 24/7 to help out if you need it. See first page for our contact information.
- Watch out for energy getting low. If things are running slowly in the team, this may be OK. It is a natural part of the creative process, but if you feel they need a boost, or they ask for one, find ways to inject some new approaches such as the Nudge cards to help move them on (you will be given a set of these).
- If anyone needs technical support with either Zoom or Miro, get in touch with the hosts and we can put you in touch with one of our digital champions.
Materials published under an appropriate “Creative Commons” license (there are several different licenses, so ask them to always check what license applies) Materials which they buy online, and where they can buy a license to use it (can be quite cheap)
Best of all, encourage them to use materials they make for themselves
SafeGuarding – Protection of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults - very important!
Don’t forget that we will have some under 18s and adults at risk may be taking part in the Jam. Young people and vulnerable adults should always be accompanied by a responsible adult when online but, for extra protection we will be adopting and adhering to Dundee and Angus College's Policy for the Protection of Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults.
Dundee and Angus College adopts the principles detailed in The Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Act 2014, The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 and The United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child (1989) where; the welfare of the child is paramount; every child is treated as an individual; every child has a positive sense of identity; and, every child is protected from abuse, neglect and/or exploitation.
The welfare of adults at risk is safeguarded by adherence to the three key protection acts; The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) 2007, Mental Health (Care & treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.
