Who We Are

Community | Learning | Design was dreamed up in 2014 by two educators who knew that teaching and learning could be different, and who wanted to build a new way.

Sean Anderson has lived with his wife and two daughters in Dane County for the last four years. He has worked with young people in upstate New York, Philadelphia, Puebla (Mexico), Chicago, and Vermont before coming to Wisconsin. Between all these, he worked for many years in construction and manufacturing, giving him a perspective on the world of work that has profoundly impacted his teaching practice. He believes that our world will only be just and equitable when we all learn how to collaboratively problem-solve and express our democratic power as individuals, community members, and builders of society.

You can read more about his teaching work and find letters of recommendation on his portfolio HERE.
Michael McCabe comes from generations of educators, and he and his wife have devoted their lives to education. They live in Edgerton, WI where his wife is an art teacher at the local high school and all three of his daughters are in elementary school. Michael's focus on distributive leadership, building consensus, and disrupting the hegemony present within K12 education are all passions he brings to this work. When Michael came across student-directed project-based learning in a teacher-led environment, he was hooked on learning more about increasing student-voice and student-choice. He has experience co-designing and implementing a personalized learning program for a K-8 school, served as the principal at St. James School in Madison, Wisconsin, and has a public and a private school background. Michael enjoys working with learners and educators who are committed to engaging in active learning and committed to carrying on a free democracy guided by discourse.

To read more about his experience click HERE.

Publications

•“Participatory School Design To Enact and Create Democracy” article published in the journal Re-Imagining a 21st Century Democracy, published by the Swearer Center at Brown University and Generation Citizen, July 2018.

•“Participatory School Design for Participatory Democracy” workshop description published in the proceedings of Participatory Design Conference 2018.

Conference Presentations and Workshops

•Free Minds, Free People conference, Baltimore, July 2017. Workshop facilitated by Sean Anderson.

•EdCamp Madison, January 2018. Conversation on student-designed spaced convened by Michael McCabe.

•EduCon, Philadelphia, January 2018. Workshop facilitated by Sean and Michael.

•Innovations in Participatory Democracy conference, Phoenix, March 2018. Presentation by Sean.

•Participatory Design Conference, Hasselt and Genk, Belgium, August 2018. Workshop facilitated by Sean and Michael.