Deeper Learning 2026

Step into the year 2051. In this immersive Deep Dive, you’ll open a “Box from the Future” filled with strange ephemera—protest flyers, redacted curricula, AI classroom reviews—and work with peers to collaboratively imagine the story of how education might evolve over time. Drawing from the discipline of experience design, you will experience this participatory world- building process, but also design your own speculative artifacts and learning experiences. You’ll practice using world-building as a tool for deeper learning across disciplines, helping students critically analyze systems, see agency in the present, and connect learning to real-world issues. You’ll leave with adaptable strategies, artifact templates, and a prototype of your own, all ready to use with students in any subject.

This session is for teachers, instructional coaches, and school leaders who want a highly engaging, equity-focused practice rooted in the principles of experience design.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)  
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)  
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)  
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing  
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)  
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

What inherited structures does your school have in place? Are they serving the vision of your school or district?  Are your various structures competing with one another? “Form should follow function” is a valuable adage that can be taken one step further so that your forms are transformed to shape their functions in effective and positive ways. In this Deep Dive, you’ll assess your current structures to determine the ones that are serving you and the ones that you are serving. You’ll learn from examples of how schools and districts all over the world changed structures including master schedules, assessments, grading, lesson planning templates, staff meetings, and more, to transform their schools. You will leave with a plan for a structural change that you can implement at your own site.

Lunch is included in the deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

School and district leaders today are navigating constant change—staff turnover, shifting roles, and a multigenerational workforce. Sustaining high-quality Project Based Learning requires systems that support the work regardless of who comes and goes.  This session is for leaders who want to build durable PBL systems that create stability in changing environments. Participants will explore strategies for building shared vision, designing effective onboarding and just-in-time supports, and leveraging the strengths of the adults in their system. Participants will leave with concrete action steps and greater confidence to lead PBL through change.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

Experience Deeper Learning through the power of Project Based Learning & Design Thinking as we collaborate in groups to design & build models of sustainable habitats for living on another planet. This will be a fun and creative session aimed at teachers & administrators interested in experiencing best practices for designing & managing projects in the classroom and understanding how PBL and Design Thinking can create awesome, meaningful learning experiences in any context! This session has appeared at Deeper Learning before and is based on a project run by the facilitator multiple times at High Tech High with 11th graders. Our agenda includes a condensed version of the project (a "slice") as well as opportunities to take intentional pauses in order to step back and use our lens as educators to note and discuss the pedagogical practices undergirding the project while experiencing them in action.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

This full-day session invites educators and school leaders to collaboratively reimagine what equitable and future-ready schools can be in an age shaped by AI. Through dialogue and collaboration, we will disuss the possibilities and tensions of AI in education. We will also design individual action plans to bring back to your schools to make equitable use of AI in your schools. This session is ideal for teacher leaders, instructional coaches, and school or district leaders who are thinking strategically about how to engage teams and communities in shaping responsible and human-centered uses of AI.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

Negotiation is the process through which people come together to make sense of problems and build sustainable solutions. In that sense, we as educators are negotiating all day, every day. We are negotiating with students, colleagues, caregivers, community members, and political leaders. Some of our negotiations are formal - such as a contract negotiation. But most of our negotiations are informal, such as when we deliberate on how to address a pressing challenge or resolve a conflict within our school or community. In this session, we will explore foundational negotiation principles and strategies through experiential learning, giving us the opportunity to experience the Deeper Learning competencies firsthand. In doing so, we’ll pursue two main goals: 1) learn more about the theory and practice of negotiation, and 2) explore how to design and facilitate high-impact experiential learning experiences that are rich in the Deeper Learning competencies.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

How can we build momentum for change in a way that enables shared direction but doesn’t impose standardization? How can we get the boats rowing in the same direction but still foster innovation? In this session we will explore the complimentary ideas of coherence and emergence and how together they can accelerate transformation. Building coherence requires relentless focus and constant vigilance. Participants will first examine their vision, ensuring it is specific, clear and identify where elements of your vision already exist within your system. Then leaders will play The Coherence Game; an activity we have created to help system leaders see where in their own system they have strong coherence and where coherence needs to be built. Lastly, participants will connect their coherence work with the critical strategies that enable emergence to happen in their organization.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava

This Deep Dives experience includes visiting a local student at their internship to witness learning in action, while mentors reflect on the power of guidance and community experts share how they strengthen neighborhoods. Learners will engage directly with young people as they pursue passions, build mentor relationships, and take on impactful work. Participants will also explore a local organization doing meaningful community work. These authentic encounters highlight what’s possible when education extends beyond classroom walls. Afterward, participants engage in hands-on workshops to explore tools and strategies for building thriving real-world learning programs. They will leave not only inspired but also equipped with a practical plan to design infrastructure, systems, and supports that bring this vision to life in their own contexts.

Lunch is included in each deep dive.
LUNCH MENU
Greek Salad (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Cannelini Bean & Pasta Salad (Vegan)
Lemon Basmati Rice (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Mediterranean Spiced Chicken (Gluten-Free)
Tahini Dressing
Falafel (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Roasted Vegetables   Lemon Bars & Baklava