EvolveEd
A personalized, non-profit professional development platform for early-career teachers — replacing one-size-fits-all workshops with a diagnose, learn, apply-and-verify, certify loop built on learning science and accessibility by design.
The product, running
EvolveEd's high-fidelity prototype — the diagnostic, the personalized learning path, the Apply & Verify loop, and the portfolio. Built in Figma and published as a live site.
Beyond workshops: PD that fits the classroom
EvolveEd is a personalized professional development platform built for early-career school teachers (0–2 years) in Cambridge Public Schools. It was the final project for Harvard GSE’s T566: Learning Design for All, designed with a focus on learner variability, accessibility, equity, and multiple pathways into understanding.
The critique it starts from is simple: the dominant PD model is generic and one-size-fits-all. One-day workshops lack follow-up, PLCs can become another rigid requirement, and mentorships are inconsistent. Teachers need around 49 hours of sustained, targeted training to actually impact student performance — and generic workshops rarely get there. EvolveEd replaces that model with an individualized, continuous, equitable, and accessible pathway from skill identification to verified classroom application.
Designed for the teachers most platforms leave out
Built for early-career teachers in Cambridge Public Schools, with accessibility, equity, and learner variability as core constraints.
A formative evaluation reshaped the product — accessibility, equity, and relevance failure modes drove a redesign.
Free through district partnerships — co-designed with the districts it serves rather than sold to them.
My Role
Co-designed with Razi and Musa. My role: learning science architecture, accessibility design, competitive analysis, and journey-loop design.
One-size-fits-all PD is failing teachers
The typical workshop model does not address individual skill gaps, lacks follow-up, and leaves early-career teachers to burn out and leave — just when they are gaining experience.
Cambridge Public Schools, 2025 — a constant drain on district budgets and a disruption to student learning.
DESE, 2025The sustained PD needed to meaningfully impact student performance. Generic one-day workshops rarely get there.
Yoon et al., 2007Meet Sarah Chen
A 24-year-old first-year English teacher at Cambridge Public Schools. She is passionate and tech-savvy, but overwhelmed by diverse student needs, a massive workload, and PD workshops that are too generic to solve her everyday classroom challenges. She is not alone — early-career teachers (0–2 years) face the steepest learning curves and stand to gain the most from structured, individualized support.
From assessment to achievement
EvolveEd is built as a continuous cycle, not a one-off workshop: diagnose the gap, learn the skill, apply it in a real classroom, and earn a verified credential.
- 01
Diagnose
A three-part diagnostic — Likert self-assessment (adapted from Danielson's Framework for Teaching), qualitative supervisor input, and AI-powered situational judgment scenarios — pinpoints specific growth areas across 8 core competencies.
- 02
Learn
A curated library of 5–10 minute micro-learning modules follows clear learning tracks that build on each other for steady mastery, tailored to each teacher's diagnosed gaps and classroom context.
- 03
Apply & Verify
Teachers apply new skills directly in their classrooms with real students, submit a brief reflection, and notify their supervisor through the platform for verification — closing the transfer gap.
- 04
Certify
Supervisor-verified skill applications issue a formal micro-credential (via Credly) and add it to a permanent, verifiable digital portfolio that opens doors to advancement.
Grounded in learning science
Every feature is built on evidence-based pedagogical principles, not intuition. Four frameworks shape the diagnostic, the module design, and the application loop.
Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy)
Knowles, 1984Teachers get control over their learning via a personalized diagnostic that targets their real-world classroom challenges, tapping intrinsic motivation and professional expertise.
Situated Learning Theory
Lave & Wenger, 1991The Apply & Verify loop puts new skills into practice in authentic classroom contexts, bridging the gap between theory and impact through legitimate peripheral participation.
Cognitive Load Theory
Sweller, 19885–10 minute modules reduce extraneous cognitive load, prevent the burnout associated with lengthy PD sessions, and optimize knowledge retention through manageable chunks.
Generative Learning
Fiorella & Mayer, 2016Modules require constructive acts — summarizing a strategy in their own words or mapping a concept to their own context — to support durable knowledge acquisition.
Seven teachers changed the product
A formative evaluation with 7 Cambridge-area teachers (0–2 to 5+ years experience) combined observed usability testing with a post-test survey. The core concept — personalized pathways and a digital portfolio — was highly valued, but three critical failure modes reshaped the design.
Found A screen-reader user called the prototype "impossible" (no alt-text); it was "very difficult" on mobile and unusable for deaf/hard-of-hearing users (no captions). Red/green indicators were a barrier for color-blindness.
Response Full accessibility audit: alt-text, keyboard navigation, captions, color-blind mode, dyslexia-friendly font, text-to-speech. Mobile-first responsive redesign.
Found A paywall for key features frustrated public-school teachers. Users with slow internet found video content slow to play.
Response Removed the paywall entirely — pivoted to a non-profit, district-partnership model so the platform is free for all teachers. Added a user-toggleable low-bandwidth mode.
Found Content examples felt "very corporate" and disconnected from what teaching in a diverse, urban classroom actually looks like.
Response Overhauled content to center on case studies reflecting real challenges — ELL, special education, and urban classroom contexts — making learning directly applicable.
A complete growth ecosystem, not a content library
Existing PD platforms are either expensive and weakly personalized (BetterLesson, $300–500/teacher) or diagnose problems without building the skills to solve them (TeachFX). EvolveEd combines four things no competitor integrates.
| Capability | EvolveEd | BetterLesson | TeachFX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personalized diagnosis | Multi-source (self · supervisor · AI) | Weak / generic | Classroom-talk only |
| Skill building | Micro-modules + tracks | Coaching library | None — diagnostic only |
| Verification & portfolio | Supervisor-confirmed credential | Not integrated | Not integrated |
| Accessibility by design | Mobile · low-bandwidth · a11y | Limited | Limited |
| Cost to teachers | Free (district partnership) | $300–500 / teacher | Subscription |
- Hyper-personalization: a multi-source diagnostic — self-assessment, supervisor feedback, and AI-driven situational judgment — builds a truly individualized skills map.
- Integrated verification & portfolio: supervisor-confirmed Apply & Verify tasks create a trusted, verifiable portfolio for career advancement (optional for teachers advancing without a supervisor).
- Accessibility & equity by design: mobile-first, low-bandwidth mode, screen-reader support, captions, color-blind mode, and dyslexia-friendly font — designed for the teachers most platforms leave out.
- Partnership-first model: free for all teachers through district partnerships, co-developed with the districts and teachers it serves rather than sold to them.
A partnership-first growth model
EvolveEd is not a vendor — it is a strategic partner. Growth is phased around evidence, with a non-profit funding model that keeps the platform free for teachers and districts.
- Phase 1
Pilot · Year 1
Launch with 50–100 early-career teachers in Cambridge Public Schools. Focus on data collection and feedback for product iteration. Secure initial non-profit funding.
Contingency: private schools and university education-program partnerships (Harvard, BU, BC) if public-school clearance is slow.
- Phase 2
Scale · Years 2–3
Expand to additional public districts (Somerville, Boston Public Schools) to build a larger evidence base. Present findings at MassCUE to attract neighboring urban districts.
- Phase 3
Sustain · Year 4+
Initial funding from private foundations (Gates, Ford, Chan Zuckerberg, Wallace). Long-term sustainability through federal grants — Dept. of Education Education Innovation and Research program.
The full project record
The final class presentation and the final project document, embedded below. The live prototype sits at the top of this page; the deck and the doc carry the reasoning, the research, and the formative evaluation.
Beyond Workshops: Empowering Teacher Growth
The class deck — the problem, the platform, the learning science, and the partnership ask to Cambridge Public Schools.
Open slides →Project Proposal: EvolveED
The full written deliverable — needs analysis, learning experience design, formative evaluation, competitor analysis, and scale plan.
Open document →Razi, Musa, and Logani
Built together for T566: Learning Design for All (Harvard GSE, Fall 2025), combining educational technology, learning science, and teacher development.