Revised Constitution – January 2012

The Goals of the Society are to:

  • improve the design and development of educational tools and processes;
  • increase the impact of good design on educational practice;
  • build a design community that will forward these goals.

To these ends, ISDDE seeks to:

  • work with a simple constitution that will continue to develop with the activities of the Society;
  • maintain constructive informality as far as possible;
  • encourage local and national initiatives towards the same goals, and collaborate with others.

ISDDE Membership

(Revised April 2012)

ISDDE has two levels of membership: Members and Fellows. Both categories reflect an interest in spreading excellence in design and development in education from the designer, design group leader, or funder perspectives. Both Member and Fellow categories provide access to the annual conference. Only Fellows may run for office in the Executive, participate in elections for the Executive, and have an earlier registration window for the annual conference (which is kept to moderate size for community building). The defining characteristics of Members and Fellows are as follows:

Members

  1. Experience on a project for the design and development of educational products and/or processes for other people to use
  2. Design work connected to math or science (broadly construed)
  3. Interest in the idea of principled design and the development of a shared knowledge base for educational design
  4. Interest in quality and innovation in the objects being designed (curricular materials, assessments, teacher materials, or teacher development experiences)

Fellows

  1. Substantial experience on projects for the design and development of educational products and/or processes for other people to use (typically at least 3 projects)
  2. Design work connected to math or science (broadly construed)
  3. Interest in the idea of principled design and the development of a shared knowledge base for educational design
  4. Evidence of quality and innovation in the objects being designed (curricular materials, assessments, teacher materials, or teacher development experiences)
  5. Evidence of quality and innovation in educational design processes

Application Process

Membership in ISDDE is by application before July 1st each year, and is reviewed by the ISDDE Executive prior to the annual conference. To apply to be a Member or Fellow, submit by email to the Chair of the Executive ():

  • a paragraph that summarizes the ways in which the relevant criteria listed above are met
  • a CV

Governance

The Fellows form the ultimate governing body of the Society, electing (from 2008) members of the Executive, and deciding on changes to the Constitution.

From 2008, three new members of the Executive will be elected each year by the Fellows, serving for four years, and eligible for re-election. The new Executive will appoint Officers for the following year.

Starting in 2013/2014, a new system of officers and regular executive members has been introduced in an effort to combine continuity for long-term initiatives with opportunities for new members to join the executive.

The Executive

is responsible for running the Society and its activities. It consists of eight Officers, appointed by the Executive, and eight regular Executive members. The Officers’ roles are:

  • Executive Chair
  • Former Chair or Chair Elect (alternating)
  • Prize Subcomittee Chair
  • Recruitment Subcomittee Chair
  • Publications Subcomittee Chair (and Editor of Educational Designer)
  • Conference Chair
  • Communications & Promotion Chair
  • Secretary of the Society

From 2014, the Chair will be based on a 4-year cycle, with the appointee spending one year as Chair Elect, two years as Chair and one as Former Chair. The Conference Chair is appointed annually, with former and future conference chairs joining the Conference Subcomittee. Otherwise, officers are not required to stand for re-election unless they stand down from their positions having served more than four years on the Executive.

The eight regular Executive members are elected by the Fellows to serve a 4-year term. Typically, two new Executive members will be elected each year, depending on the appointment and resignation of officers.

The Executive may co-opt additional members or invite others to take part for planning specific activities.

Prof. Hugh Burkhardt has been appointed a lifetime, honorary member of the Executive in recognition of his central role in conceiving and founding the Society.

The current members of the Executive can be found at here.

Subscriptions

will be fixed from time to time by the Executive, as part of their overall responsibility for the Society. At the time of writing, there is no subscription.

The offices

of the Society are based at the Shell Centre, School of Education, University of Nottingham, NG8 1BB, UK. The Shell Centre will provide administrative support for the work of the Society unless and until the Executive decides on other arrangements.

ISDDE fulfils the conditions for a non-profit Society under UK law.