On 24 January, we celebrate the International Day of Education. The date was established by the United Nations to reinforce the role of education in promoting peace, development, and equality. This year’s theme, “The power of youth in co‑creating education,” highlights the importance of developing learning solutions together with students: as their future depends on high‑quality education programmes, it is essential to meet their real needs.
Co‑creation processes in education aim to ensure that the voice, expectations and perspectives of the final user are reflected in learning materials, with different players collaborating to develop better educational approaches.
But what are the steps when co‑creating with schools, students and teachers? And what benefits can it bring?
Dominique Lemmi, who leads the Competence of User Research at Sanoma Learning, explained how user experience research is organised at Sanoma Learning and why it matters to improve educational outcomes. Find out more below!
Our co-creation workflow
Everything starts with a great team: product leads, user experience researchers, and designers come together to frame the right problems to solve. They review what insights are already available and what the team would like to explore or test further, combining our pedagogical expertise with the knowledge of those who are in the classroom.
Researchers then move on to create the research plan, and internal steps are taken to review and align the approach. In the following step, participant recruitment starts, while designers begin preparing the design work.
After first piloting the study internally to check that everything works as expected, it is time for fieldwork with teachers and, in some cases, students. When in schools around Europe, our user research team uses a range of approaches to gather insights that inform our learning solutions: from observing classrooms and conducting in-depth interviews to diary studies, co-creation workshops, usability studies, and quantitative research.
Co‑creation also happens inside our organisation, with insights being shared internally with multidisciplinary teams that will translate teachers’ and students’ needs into blended materials and services. Cross‑market research collaborations have the potential to generate insights that highlight global patterns while also emphasising important local particularities between countries, such as curriculum differences and class diversity.
Our pupils in focus
Our work is based on user journeys for both teachers and students. While the focus of our current co‑creation process is on teachers, we are increasingly including pupils in the research loop. We have developed user journeys focused on primary and secondary students, who can be involved through classroom observations, in-depth interviews, product testing, and co-creation sessions, with activities adapted to encourage interaction.
This was the case with our AI Speech Coach, where students actively tested and interacted with the product. “They were asked how they felt about the experience, whether they found it useful, and which features could better support their learning”, explains Dominique. As end users, their feedback matters.
Co‑creation with students also helps reveal inequalities and ensure inclusiveness, with teachers helping to highlight accessibility needs. To ensure a positive impact on the learning journey of all students, accessibility is embedded in our design approach. From the beginning, our multidisciplinary teams work with guidelines and accessibility standards, and accessibility audits are run regularly to help maintain quality.
Learning from those who teach
From the perspective of our teachers, having the opportunity to co‑create educational products together with a publisher also adds great value to their everyday work.
“Taking part in the co‑creation of an educational product has great value because it gives me peace of mind and a sense of confidence. It makes me feel that what I am doing now in the classroom is better than what I was doing before, and that I am on the right path,” explains a teacher who recently participated in her first user research session.
For her, the co‑creation session allowed her to understand how an educational solution is created. While targeting the continuous development of learning solutions based on real classroom needs instead of assumptions, the collaborative research process makes them “easier to integrate into everyday teaching.”
“Participating gives me the feeling that my experience matters and that what I share can have a real impact. Everything I can contribute from my daily classroom practice also benefits me directly.”
When asked about her thoughts on co‑creation in education, another teacher highlights the value it brings on both a personal and professional level. “I feel like an active contributor to change and get motivated to keep learning. I can bring my real classroom experience into the process, with all its constraints, rhythms and complexities.”
In the context of emerging technologies in education, collaborative approaches can also positively impact outcomes. “The use of tools can be better aligned with my actual needs. I see technology as a pedagogical support, not as something imposed or disconnected from educational reality.” According to the teacher, the co‑creation approach brings “realism, usefulness and pedagogical coherence” to the final product. “It is designed from real classroom use, not just from theory.”
Co‑creating to shape the Future of Education
With the changes in the educational landscape, co‑creation becomes even more relevant to ensure high‑quality materials. According to Dominique, user-informed insights help teams move beyond generic solutions and build tools that genuinely meet real classroom expectations. “By staying in constant dialogue with teachers and learners, we combine our expertise with their lived experience. This is how we design products that are truly relevant and tailored to real needs. We are there for them, building with them, not just for them.”
Dominique also reflects on the use of new technologies, and how co‑creation initiatives can ensure that technologies serve learning, not the opposite.
“One excellent example is the AI. We constantly connecting with teachers and have also started working directly with students to collect their perspectives and experiences. This helps ensure that our products respond to real needs and challenges, rather than offering generic solutions”, says.
Listening to teachers and students ensures educational solutions are practical, safe and aligned with real learning challenges. In addition, reflecting ethical considerations from both groups helps shape responsible AI adoption.
Here to support teachers to help all students
At Sanoma Learning, we believe the best learning solutions are built not just for teachers and students, but with them. Developing new material or services requires research to ensure they serve our purpose of empowering teachers and students to reach their full potential through education. Our customer‑focused workflow combines a responsible approach to new technologies with pedagogically grounded methodologies to deliver solutions that improve learning outcomes.
Get to know more about our blended learning solutions:
https://www.sanomalearning.com/en/