Devin Vodicka

4 Practical Tips for Creating Coherence Within Your District

In any educational setting, clarity of vision, a well-understood mission, and a core set of operational values can fundamentally transform how initiatives are executed and objectives are met. I have come to understand this deeply through my experiences as an educational leader. The privilege of working with school and district leaders from a diversity of local and regional contexts has afforded me and the Learner-Centered Collaborative team to take note of similar opportunities and challenges faced from one community to the next. One of those challenges is forming coherence between a district’s superintendent, their core leadership team, building principals, ...

By |July 9th, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on 4 Practical Tips for Creating Coherence Within Your District

Education Change Management: The Power of a Guiding Coalition

When I was a superintendent overseeing the implementation of learner-centered education across 30 schools, one of our biggest challenges wasn't just the adoption of new practices—it was fundamentally transforming how we supported change. While I was Initially resistant to adding more meetings to our already busy schedules, I could no longer deprioritize calls from staff that our existing structures weren't cut out for the profound changes we were trying to make. What we hoped could be accomplished in a few weeks was taking multiple months because we didn’t have the time and space to get aligned, learn from each ...

By |June 3rd, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Education Change Management: The Power of a Guiding Coalition

The Transformative Power of Surveys for Learner-Centered Improvements

In our continuous journey towards creating more learner-centered environments, Learner-Centered Collaborative has embarked on a pioneering effort to harness the insights of those who matter most in education: learners. By developing and deploying comprehensive learner surveys, we've aimed to capture a multi-faceted view of student learning outcomes and experiences. Here's a glimpse into what we did, what we learned, and the promising path ahead. A Closer Look at Student Learning Outcomes Our initial endeavor involved crafting a 27-question student learning outcome self-assessment, focusing on three critical areas: Agency, Collaboration, and Problem-Solving. Administered to 5,586 students across grades 4 through 12 ...

By |May 14th, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on The Transformative Power of Surveys for Learner-Centered Improvements

Beyond Conventional Metrics: Telling a New Story Through Tiers of Data

School and district leaders are custodians of a future that demands diversity in our measures of success, mirroring our dedication to whole-learner outcomes and the unique visions that drive our schools and districts. Unfortunately, the school-centered system has narrowed the definition of success in such a way that innovative ideas struggle to get off the ground because we tend to evaluate success based on conventional metrics such as test scores. Over the past few months, Katie Martin and I have written about why we need to broaden our perspective on what success looks like in our schools and districts. ...

By |May 7th, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on Beyond Conventional Metrics: Telling a New Story Through Tiers of Data

Going Beyond Assumptions: The Journey to Policies that Enable Learner-Centered Transformation

Reflecting on my journey as Superintendent of Vista Unified School District, I learned the power of auditing and engaging in a collaborative process to update district policies. As critical as it is to establish a learner-centered Framework for the Future—vision, mission, values, goals, learning model, and accountability structure—all of it sits on shaky ground if the enabling policies are not there to support it. Online Course: Learner-Centered Leadership Book Study Many systemic behaviors I saw in Vista, and now see in districts across the country, are perpetuated by an assumption that some policy somewhere says “this” is what we ...

By |April 2nd, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |Comments Off on Going Beyond Assumptions: The Journey to Policies that Enable Learner-Centered Transformation

3 Optimistic Predictions for the Future of Learner-Centered Education

  As we look towards 2024 and beyond, I foresee several exciting developments in learner-centered education. At Learner-Centered Collaborative our focus remains steadfast on advancing learner-centered education. We envision a future where education systems are dynamically aligned with the needs and aspirations of each learner. The potential for transformative impact is immense, and our ongoing initiatives and collaborations will continue to pave the way for this change. In the coming year, we plan to deepen our research, expand our network of partners, and enhance our programs to reach more educators and learners. We're exploring new frontiers aimed at fostering environments ...

By |January 8th, 2024|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |Comments Off on 3 Optimistic Predictions for the Future of Learner-Centered Education

Navigating Our Future: The Revised Big Questions Shaping Our Research Partnership with UCSD

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the need for research and practices that are robust and reflective of contemporary challenges is imperative. Recognizing this need, Learner-Centered Collaborative, in partnership with UC San Diego, has embarked on a journey to foster innovation and advance knowledge in the field of education through collaborative research projects, shared resources, and joint initiatives. The collaboration between LCC and UCSD will leverage the expertise and resources of both organizations to drive impactful research outcomes to influence improvements for learners and for the field of education.   In October 2023, a consortium of educational leaders, teachers, and researchers ...

By |December 13th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on Navigating Our Future: The Revised Big Questions Shaping Our Research Partnership with UCSD

Scorecards: How Might We Measure What Matters In Schools?

Identifying strengths and possible Scorecard metrics with Hawaii Public Charter School Commission. There are many good reasons to have ways to determine if a school or school system is effective. For one, our schools are preparing our young people to be productive contributing citizens and (hopefully) thriving adults, so best to measure efficacy before it is too late. In addition, schools drive a culture of ongoing improvement; there are significant implications for attracting and retaining students, families, and staff; and, policy makers often use determinations to make decisions regarding funding and resource allocations. The problem is that ...

By |October 3rd, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , , |Comments Off on Scorecards: How Might We Measure What Matters In Schools?

5 Tips for Implementing Learner Profiles

As school leaders, one of our most critical tasks is to balance coherence and flexibility in our educational institutions. Coherence refers to a unified vision and shared understanding among stakeholders, while flexibility allows for adaptability and responsiveness to individual student needs. A valuable tool for achieving this balance is the implementation of a learner profile, also known as a portrait of a graduate. This blog post explores the benefits of using learner profiles and offers practical advice for school leaders on how to effectively incorporate them into their educational systems.   The Power of Learner Profiles A learner profile is ...

By |April 20th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on 5 Tips for Implementing Learner Profiles

How to Get Started Developing a Learner Profile

Learning communities across the country are asking an important question right now: what does success look like for our learners? Educational leaders are recognizing that clarity of desired outcomes is an important element in promoting coherence and connectedness. As a result, there is an increasing interest in the development of learner profiles that define an aspirational vision for learners in a visual, easily-communicated manner. In brief, the learner profile establishes the whole-child outcomes and it provides a catalyst to transform systems, processes, and structures necessary to support students in developing and demonstrating the outcomes. How is a learner profile different ...

By |April 7th, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on How to Get Started Developing a Learner Profile

The Power of Networks

  Learning is social. We are all learners and adults need social learning experiences as well. We know that relational trust is foundational for meaningful growth and change in learning communities and that communities with strong connections and social capital are more likely to be effective.  Unfortunately, the prevailing Industrial model of education promotes isolation through specialization. Our assembly models have led us to organize into “self-contained” classrooms and schools that operate with limited interaction with one another. Many teachers have never seen their neighbors down the hall in action and many principals have never seen the schools down the ...

By |March 2nd, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , |Comments Off on The Power of Networks
  • Catalyst Newsletter

Catalyst Collection

Catalyst is a monthly newsletter from Devin Vodicka featuring learner-centered insights and resources for educators, leadership teams, and change-makers. In each edition of Catalyst, Devin shares insights, learnings, and resources about the learner-centered education movement. Browse this collection to read past editions of Catalyst and explore what you missed! Join the conversation! Get the latest newsletter and new editions of Catalyst delivered directly your inbox. Sign up here. July 2024: Creating Coherence Within Your District June 2024: Accelerating the Pace of Change May 2024: Telling a New Story Through Tiers of Data April 2024: Policies that Enable Learner-Centered Transformation March ...

By |January 31st, 2023|Categories: Blog|Tags: , |Comments Off on Catalyst Collection

Rethinking College and Career Readiness in a Hybrid World

The shift to more flexible, hybrid models in both college and career is happening at the same time as our education system is reverting back to a rigid, seat-time based system that was designed for a different era. Explore how we can best prepare students to be flexible, self-directed learners and contributors to society.

By |August 24th, 2022|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , , , |Comments Off on Rethinking College and Career Readiness in a Hybrid World
  • 4 Elements of Trust

The Four Elements of Trust

Research reveals that there are four elements of relational trust: consistency, compassion, competence, and communication. The balance of these four elements leads to relational trust. Every leader has to determine their own mix to develop the trust that is key for success in a community of change.

By |May 25th, 2022|Categories: Blog|Tags: , , |Comments Off on The Four Elements of Trust
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