Our Programs
Teachers professional development programs
We offer a diverse range of professional development programs designed to strengthen teachers’ capacity to innovate and lead change in their educational contexts. Our programs vary in length and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of institutions or teams.
All learning experiences are delivered either in situ or fully online, combining synchronous and asynchronous activities to ensure flexibility and accessibility. Programs are available in Spanish and English.
Whether you are looking to redesign your curriculum, integrate active learning strategies, or adopt creative pedagogies, our training portfolio supports educators in building the skills, mindset, and tools needed for 21st-century teaching.
Our current offerings include:
Description:
In recent years, educational research has increasingly emphasized the importance of viewing teachers as designers of learning. This perspective empowers educators to bridge theory and practice, take informed pedagogical decisions, and actively shape learning environments that respond to the evolving needs of students and society.
This course introduces the concept of “design for learning”—the process by which teachers and education professionals intentionally plan, structure, and create learning experiences. These designs can range from individual activities to entire curricula. By developing a designer’s mindset, teachers become agents of change, capable of innovating with purpose and confidence.
The program blends theoretical insights with hands-on practice. During the first part of the course, participants explore foundational concepts and examine real-world examples. In the second half, participants collaborate in teams to apply structured design processes to two types of challenges: an open educational problem and a concrete course-based scenario.
Key Topics Covered:
- Foundations of Design for Learning: theoretical principles and current research
- Characteristics of teachers as designers: mindset, roles, and practices
- Introduction to Action Learning as a shift toward design-based practice
- The Reflective Teacher Model: integrating reflection, learning, and change
- Structured Design Processes: step-by-step methods and tools for creating learning experiences
Duration in hours:
32 hours distributed in 8 weeks
Description:
Higher education plays a vital role not only in preparing the workforce of tomorrow but in shaping societies rooted in critical thinking, equity, and innovation. This module explores how emerging societal and technological transformations—often described as Industry 4.0—are reshaping the mission and practices of higher education.
Participants will examine global reports that outline the competencies needed for 21st-century societies, and explore learning approaches that support their development. Through readings, discussions, and reflective exercises, educators are encouraged to envision the kind of institution, culture, and pedagogical strategies needed to meet future challenges.
The module invites participants to critically explore Education 4.0 as both a concept and a guiding framework, and to reflect on how design can serve as a tool for educational transformation.
Guiding Question:
How do social transformations and Industry 4.0 influence how we design for learning in higher education?
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the module, participants will be able to:
- Identify and describe three key global reports on 21st-century competencies
- Provide examples of learning approaches that support future-ready skills
- Explain the concept of Education 4.0 and its relevance for teaching and learning
- Discuss the current challenges faced by higher education institutions
- Reflect on the potential of design thinking as a mindset and method in education
Key Topics Covered:
- Global trends shaping higher education
- The concept and implications of Education 4.0
- Competency frameworks for future societies
- Innovative pedagogies for 21st-century skills
- Introduction to design for learning within the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Duration in hours:
20 hours distributed in 5 weeks
Description:
Shifting toward student-centered learning requires the intentional design of technologies, physical spaces, and learning activities that actively engage students in the construction of knowledge. This course introduces educators to powerful design tools—adapted from user experience and participatory design fields—that help tailor educational experiences to learners’ needs, preferences, and contexts.
Participants will be introduced to key methods such as Personas, Empathy Maps, and Learner Experience Maps—tools originally used in technology and service design that have been effectively adapted to educational settings. Through guided activities, participants will apply these tools to better understand their learners and design more relevant, engaging, and inclusive learning environments.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the principles of participatory design and learning experience design
- Apply user-centered tools to gain deeper insights into student needs and motivations
- Create Student-Personas, Empathy Maps, and Learner Experience Maps to support the design of student-centered learning experiences
- Use insights from these tools to improve course design, teaching strategies, and learning environments
Key Topics Covered:
- Foundations of participatory design and learning experience design
- Introduction to user-centered tools in education
- Practical application of:
- Student Empathy Map
- Student-Persona
- Learner Experience Map
Duration in hours:
24 hours, distributed in 6 weeks
Description:
Designing effective learning experiences can be approached in two main ways: through expert-driven methods or participatory methodologies. While expert approaches rely on specialists designing for users based on their own knowledge and theory, participatory approaches emphasize co-creation—designing with or even by users. In the context of education, participatory design is a powerful tool to better understand learners, their contexts, and their needs, fostering more relevant, inclusive, and engaging learning experiences.
This course introduces educators and educational developers to participatory design as a process of inquiry, creativity, and collaboration. Participants will explore and apply participatory methodologies and tools that enable them to co-design courses, curricula, or learning programs in diverse formats—whether face-to-face, blended, or fully online. The focus is not on participatory design as a teaching strategy, but as a methodology to support thoughtful, user-informed learning design.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the principles and value of participatory design in educational contexts
- Differentiate between expert-driven and participatory approaches to learning design
- Apply participatory methods to gather insights about learners and learning environments
- Build a personalized toolkit of participatory methodologies for designing courses, programs, or curricula
- Facilitate inclusive design processes with a variety of stakeholders
Key Topics Covered:
- Introduction to participatory design and core design skills
- Elements of participatory design: spaces, processes, and tools
- The Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Pathway as a participatory approach
- The ABC Learning Design method
- The World Café as a collaborative dialogue method
Duration in hours:
32 hours distributed in 8 weeks
Description:
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a powerful pedagogical approach that fosters essential 21st-century skills such as creativity, innovation, critical thinking, and collaboration. However, for many educators, transitioning from traditional teaching methods to PBL can be a complex and challenging process.
This course invites teachers to embark on a professional learning journey where they critically reflect on their own practices and explore how to reshape teaching and learning through the PBL framework. Participants will engage with the theory and practice of PBL in an environment that promotes creative thinking and experimentation.
Through hands-on activities, peer collaboration, and guided exploration, participants will learn how to design meaningful problem-based learning experiences that empower students to navigate uncertainty, solve real-world problems, and become active participants in their learning.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Explain the theoretical foundations of Problem-Based Learning
- Discuss how learning occurs through the PBL process
- Formulate relevant and engaging problem statements
- Understand and reflect on the evolving roles of teachers and students in PBL
- Design a complete learning experience using the PBL methodology
- Provide and incorporate constructive peer feedback to improve learning designs
Key Topics Covered:
- 21st-century skills and the role of education
- Core principles and characteristics of PBL
- How problems generate learning
- Designing competencies-based learning through PBL
- Redefining teacher and student roles
- Experiencing the PBL process: from identifying a problem to developing a solution
Duration in hours:
36 hours distributed in 9 weeks
Description:
Learning from experience is a key element for performance improvement, learning and development. In the challenging global environment, the ability to change and create, acquire, and apply new knowledge has become critical to success. Professionals who make learning explicit and apply reflection will develop the ability to adapt, change, and improve. One of the pedagogical approaches to achieve these learning processes is experiential learning.
Experiential learning is attributed to David Kolb and is the development of the works of scholars Lewin, Piaget, and Dewey. Experiential learning considers that learning is done through the process of reflecting on experiences. This process involves a four-stage cycle that begins when an individual engages in an activity, reflects on his experience, derives meaning from the reflection, and finally puts newly acquired insight into action.
This “Understanding Experiential Learning” course is intended for academics who want to deepen their knowledge and practice of experiential learning. The program is based on the principles and practices of David Kolb’s experiential learning theory and Reg Revans’ action learning. Experiential learning is the central content of the program, while learning in action is the reflection and development methodology for teachers to investigate the impact that their teaching actions have on their students’ learning. This reflective process will enable teachers to make informed changes to improve student learning.
The program has a double objective, 1) that teachers come to understand experiential learning, to be applied as a pedagogical practice in their classes and 2) that teachers can use experiential learning as a professional development strategy
Topics
- Student-centered learning
- Active learning
- Action Learning
- Experiential learning
Participants will implement their own design of experiential learning.
Duration in hours:
28 hours, distributed in 8 weeks
Description:
Creative Thinking Learning Labs (CTLL) are immersive learning experiences designed to develop and accelerate creative thinking in response to real-world challenges. The Labs can be implemented either as a training initiative—where educators themselves become learners—or as a pedagogical approach, where teachers guide their students through a creative thinking process to co-develop solutions to complex societal problems.
At the heart of the Lab is the belief that creativity is not a talent but a skill that can be nurtured through intentional practice, structured environments, and meaningful challenges. CTLLs provide a portable, flexible, and accessible learning space where participants engage in collaborative problem-solving through hands-on tools and a structured creative process.
The Lab is composed of three interconnected elements:
- Tools– tested methods and resources to spark ideation and structure creative processes
- Space– an intentionally designed physical or virtual environment that encourages imagination, teamwork, and experimentation
- Process– a clear, evidence-based methodology that guides participants from identifying a problem to generating and presenting innovative solutions
Typically run as a five-day intensive training, participants work in interdisciplinary teams on real-life challenges posed by external partners or by their own institution. The Labs not only strengthen creativity but also foster critical thinking, collaboration, and solution-oriented mindsets.
Learning Goals:
By the end of the Lab experience, participants will be able to:
- Understand and apply a structured creative thinking process
- Use practical tools to foster creativity in themselves and others
- Design and facilitate learning environments that encourage innovation
- Tackle complex, real-world problems through creative collaboration
- Transfer Lab methods and tools to their own educational or professional context
Key Topics Covered:
- Creativity as a process and skill
- Structuring and facilitating creative thinking
- Tools and strategies to ideate, prototype, and test ideas
- Working with real-world challenges in education, industry, or society
Designing learning environments that foster innovation