An incubator for educators

Play: The Iterative Space Residency

Most professional development in education happens to teachers. Iterative Space started from the opposite premise: treat educators as true professionals, put them next to other people doing ambitious work, and get out of the way. Good ideas would follow.

What it was

Iterative Space was a summer residency run out of a 3,500-square-foot design space in North Denver. Educators applied with an idea, a project or just a spark, then spent five to six weeks building it alongside a cohort of about 15 other educators doing the same.

Residents received a stipend of up to $5,000 for their time. Iterative Space took no ownership of, or rights to, anything they produced. The only firm expectation was to share: insights, discoveries and process, so other educators could learn from them. We defined "educator" broadly, as anyone holding supportive space for learning and helping others grow, whether or not they worked in a classroom.

Between residencies the space stayed open to educators, schools and nonprofits for gatherings, design sprints and retreats. Embark used it for its adult learning programs.

My role

I led Great Work through the creation of Iterative Space alongside Embark. Of the initiatives from that period, it's one I'm proudest of and talk about least.

Why it matters

The field talks constantly about teacher burnout and retention, and mostly answers with more training. Iterative Space tested a different answer: time, money, peers and trust. Education Reimagined's Designed to Thrive report later pointed to it as a model of professional development that treats educators as learners with agency. Years later, a former resident brought it up unprompted on the Getting Smart podcast.