AVID Future Lab
Free Project-Based Lessons for Grades 9–12
Campaigns that raise awareness about social media and mental health
Design Thinking in Action.
Creative Confidence for Life.
In this free, 10-lesson project-based unit, students use design thinking to address the real-world challenge of social media’s impact on mental health, identity, and digital citizenship. Through multimedia projects such as campaigns, podcasts, and apps, students build critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity skills—producing portfolio-worthy work and the confidence to lead with purpose.
Unit Overview
AVID Future Lab empowers students to move beyond passive scrolling and take action on the issues that matter most to them—particularly the impact of social media on mental health, identity, and digital citizenship. Using design thinking, students build empathy, define real-world problems, ideate, prototype, and pitch solutions, transforming ideas into professional-grade projects that create tangible impact.
Flexible and tool-agnostic, the 10-lesson unit follows the 5E instructional model and aligns with AVID strategies and Common Core, NGSS, and ISTE standards. It can be implemented as a 4-week mini unit or a semester-long journey, giving students space to reflect, create, and connect their learning to real-world challenges. Across the process, learners develop critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, gaining the skills, confidence, and agency to become change makers inside and outside the classroom.
Getting started is simple: Frame the driving question, provide the resources, and let students lead the way.
The Challenge
Today’s students are more digitally connected and socially aware than ever. They’re questioning how social media affects mental health, identity, and relationships, but often lack the tools and opportunities to act on that awareness in meaningful ways. At the same time, many struggle to gain real-world creative experience or build portfolios that prepare them for future careers. AVID Future Lab bridges that gap, empowering students to turn insight into impact through hands-on, purpose-driven projects that promote well-being, foster connection, and spark positive change in their communities.
The Result: Real-World Skills for Creative Careers
AVID Future Lab provides students with hands-on experience in design thinking, storytelling, and digital creation using Adobe Express or other creative tools available in your classroom. Students can build a portfolio of meaningful work, gain creative confidence, and develop a strong foundation for success in today’s growing creative fields—from media and marketing to tech and design.
A Partnership for Creativity and Purpose
This project is made possible through the support of Adobe Express and ETS. However, AVID is tool-agnostic, and this 10-lesson unit can be completed with any design tool of your choice. Together, we’re helping students develop the confidence, creativity, and purpose to lead change in the classroom and beyond.
Student Outcomes and What's Included
What Students Create
What Teachers Get
Built for High School Classrooms
This program is ideal for:
ELA, digital media, social studies, or advisory
Interdisciplinary teaching teams
Teachers ready to elevate student voice and real-world relevance
Whether you're using a project-based model or traditional instruction, AVID Future Lab adapts to your goals and pacing.
Anchored in the 5E Model
Each lesson follows the 5E instructional model—Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate—to make implementation easy and effective. This flexible framework supports inquiry, reflection, and iteration from start to finish.
Beyond the Test: Skills That Stick
This unit doesn’t just cover content—it builds durable, future-ready skills students will carry into college, careers, and civic life. Throughout the project, students communicate with purpose, collaborate effectively, take on leadership roles, regulate their learning, reflect on their growth, and solve problems creatively. These skills are deeply embedded in every stage of the process, guided by the ETS Skills for the Future framework.
To dive deeper into how this work comes to life in the classroom, check out our featured article on K-12 Dive: “From Scrolling to Solving: How Design Thinking Can Help Students Tackle Mental Health in the Digital Age”. Explore how we’re using design thinking to empower students to navigate social media and mental health challenges, turning passive scrolling into purposeful, creative action.
