Kim Ducharme

As Director of Educational User Experience Design, Kim Ducharme heads up design strategy and user experience for the development of interactive learning environments and tools that expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.

She leverages design thinking to catalyze innovation at CAST, leading the creative process from brainstorming through prototyping to product launch. A lifelong learner, educator, and creative problem solver, Kim is committed to harnessing the power of design to tackle the educational challenges of our time.

Kim taught Interactive Information Design at Northeastern University, and founded SenseMedia.co, a design consultancy for user experience design, information design and data visualization.

Before joining CAST, Kim was with WGBH for 17 years, where she headed up the interactive design group and provided art direction and lead design on a variety of digital projects for major educational initiatives and national brands.

Current Projects

Center on Inclusive Software for Learning (CISL)

UDL Science Notebook: Building Teacher Skills

UDL Science Notebook: Student Efficacy Trial

Designing for Productive Struggle in Informal Science Learning

Multi-Gen STEM Makerspaces in Affordable Housing: Co-Designing a Model with the Community

Innovations in Science Map, Assessment, and Report Technologies (I-SMART)

Education

MEd, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
BFA, Art Center College of Design
BS, San Francisco State University

Selected Presentations & Publications

Ducharme, K., Hall, T., Gravel, J., & Robinson, K. (2019). Journeying to New Contexts: The Potential of Journey Mapping in Educational Research. Paper presentation at AERA. Toronto, ON.

Ducharme, K., Ganley, P., Kent, K., & Sell, C. (2018). Journey mapping in education: Using storytelling and visualization to empower all learners. Workshop at CAST UDL Symposium. Cambridge, MA.

Ducharme, K. (2018). Designing for emotional goals to optimize learning. Workshop for Emotion Development and Learning course. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA. 

Ducharme, K., Rappolt-Schlichtmann, G., & Goldowsky, B. (2018). Remedial middle school reading: Designing solutions to support self-determination. Paper presentation at AERA. New York, NY.

Ducharme, K., Gronneberg, J. (2017). Empowering underserved youth through an EdTech design challenge. Presentation at CAST UDL Symposium. Boston, MA.

Ducharme, K. (2017). Emotion by design: Motivation in “lighting a bulb” — Design thinking for educators. Workshop for Emotion Development and Learning course. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Ducharme, K., Blackorby, J., & Buehler, E. (2017). Makerspaces: Moving beyond accessibility with UDL. Workshop at SXSWedu. Austin, TX.

Ducharme, K. (2016). "Design Thinking for Educators — Emotion by Design.” Workshop at CAST UDL Symposium. Wakefield, MA.

Ducharme, K., & Hillaire, G. (2015). Design thinking for educators — Brainstorming learner engagement. Workshop at CAST UDL Symposium. Cambridge, MA

Ducharme, K., Hillaire, G., Vue, G., and Goldowsky, B. (2014 and 2015). Paper prototyping for visual learning analytics. Workshop at Learning Analytics Summer Institute. Cambridge, MA.

Ducharme, K., & Hillaire, G. (2015). Emotion by design: Motivation in “lighting a bulb” — Design thinking for educators. Workshop for Emotion Development and Learning course. Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Hillaire, G., Rappolt-Schlichtmann, G., & Ducharme, K. (2015). Prototyping visual learning analytics guided by educational theory. Journal of Learning Analytics, 3(3).

Ducharme, K. & Hillaire, G. (2013). 5 Lessons Learned About Data Visualization … From Middle-schoolers. Presentation at Data Visualization Summit. Boston, MA.