I am a Ph.D. student in Curriculum and Instruction focusing on Educational Technology at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) in the US. I have completed my Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Industrial Design at the same university in 2021. Also, I received my master’s in industrial design from Alzahra University (Iran) and my bachelor’s in industrial design from the University of Science and Technology (Iran).

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My passion is design for social justice and equity in education either in formal or informal settings and I want to explore, develop and adapt different tools and techniques toward this goal. Empathy and Storytelling are two areas that I found very effective that would let people get involved in the process and learn from it instead of focusing on the final outcome. Storytelling brings connections that would help me understand the real experiences and challenges of the world. I do believe that everyone and everything has a story, and it is my responsibility first as a human being, then as a designer and educator to observe and perceive those stories to be able to make an action.

 

As a designer and researcher, I focus on designing diverse and inclusive learning environments internationally through collaborative and human-centered approaches. To provide education for everyone considering their individual differences and their access to technology, I am is interested in exploring the use of gestures and multisensory techniques in education.

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Through my international work experience, I have been collaborating with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. I am currently a research assistant at SimSnap at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) focusing on collaborative learning in biology. I am also working with two foundations focusing on equity in education. First, I am the design lead and researcher at SwaTaleem Foundation (https://swataleem.org/), where we are aiming to improve the quality of education in residential schools in India. Second, I am a user experience design lead at SEED Foundation (https://seedfnd.org/), a Canadian nonprofit focused on creating equal and inclusive learning opportunities for Iranian kids.

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Read about me on SHOUTOUTLA Magazine:

https://shoutoutla.com/meet-shafagh-hadinezhad-designer-educational-researcher/