Bright Spots Newsletter

Bright Spots is a weekly newsletter from Katie Martin featuring learner-centered inspiration and examples from the field. Each week, subscribers can expect to receive:

A bright spot. Change can be challenging, but it gets easier when we look to one another to see what’s working and what’s possible. Each week, Katie shares a proven practice or example from the field in an effort to make learner-centered practices both visible and actionable.
A resource roundup. Katie features a small selection of articles, blog posts, and other resources that have inspired her and pushed her thinking about learner-centered education, in the hopes that they do the same for you!

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Blog

What Learners Really Experience: Reflections from the LiftOff Design Sprint

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the LiftOff Design Sprint, where 75 leaders from education, technology, research, philanthropy, and civic sectors came together in Silicon Valley. Over three days, we worked in teams to rapidly prototype 10 innovative learning models designed to help young people build the habits, skills, and mindsets they…

Blog

If No One Was Telling Us What To Do, What Would We Build?

For decades, K-12 educational leaders have worked within a system and structure of someone else’s design. We’ve generally been operating with an “outside-in” policy model where Federal rules, funding, accountability systems, and compliance requirements have shaped what we do and how we think about what is possible. State Departments and local education agencies have…

Podcasts

Episode 48: Reimagining Education—Agency, Innovation, and the Future of Learning (with Mike Yates)

By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.Always load Youtube videos on this site.Load VideoListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTube Episode Summary: Mike Yates—educator, innovator, and leading voice in reimagining the future of learning—joins Katie Martin to share the experiences, convictions, and defining moments that have shaped his…

Podcasts

Episode 47: Centering Humanity in the Age of AI—Connection, Curiosity, and Courage (with Michelle Culver)

By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.Always load Youtube videos on this site.Load VideoListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTube Episode Summary: Michelle Culver, Founder of The Rithm Project and longtime educator, joins host Katie Martin to explore what it means to be deeply human in an era…

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Blog

This Regional Network is Putting Learner-Centered Practice in Motion

This reflection emerges from a collaborative effort between Learner-Centered Collaborative and the University of California, San Diego Department of Education Studies. I am especially grateful to Dr. Dave Trautman, Dr. Mimi Lockton, and Dr. Alan J. Daly, whose incredible vision, design, and facilitation played a central role in bringing this work to life. What…

Blog

Why School Systems Need Embedded R&D to Evolve

Across the country, we’re confronting a reality we can no longer ignore: our current education system isn’t meeting the needs of today’s learners—or the expectations of their families, communities, or future employers. Disengagement is rising. Teachers feel increasingly constrained by mandates that don’t reflect the day-to-day realities of their classrooms. And despite unprecedented effort,…

Blog

Design the Learning First. The Structures Will Follow

Ask most educators what the basic unit of learning is at a high school, and they’ll most likely say a course, subject, or period. Forty-five minutes with one teacher, one group of students, one set of standards to cover. We’ve organized schools around this container for so long that it no longer feels like…