We are an interdisciplinary, multicultural group of faculty at the University of Washington that seeks to enhance learning and community well-being through design. Drawing on faculty from the university's professional, social science, and humanities programs, we strive to engage in transformational partnerships with K-12 schools, industry, and neighborhood organizations. We are especially interested in partnerships that utilize the need for constructing new physical facilities as a catalyst for organizational change. Our overarching goal is to utilize participative design processes to create democratic learning communities--in the university and in K-12 schools--while also sparking theory-building and policy-making nationally on this topic. Through collaborative teaching, research, and service, we aspire to bring about systemic change in schools, especially those serving students with limited access and untapped talents.

Our Values

We believe that a rich understanding of sociocultural and environmental issues requires continual inquiry and inclusive dialogue. We believe that respectful relationships with nature and with each other can enhance the human spirit, imagination, and intellect. We believe that engagement with cultural and esthetic artifacts are fundamental to intellectual, social, physical, spiritual, and emotional development. We believe that all individuals and communities have the ability--and responsibility--to formulate and realize their own environments. And we believe that joy is a vital component of learning and community-building.

Our Definitions

Environment	The linked sociocultural and physical context of human development
Education	The formal and informal learning that comprises all forms of human development
Design	The process of shaping human experience within sociocultural and physical contexts
Studies	The development and application of theory

Our Activities

We engage in

• Theory-building and reflection through critical knowledge-sharing within the group;
• Action-taking through collaborative teaching, research, and service; and
• Information dissemination within the local and global communities of practitioners, scholars, and policy makers.

Click here for: CEEDS Website