Equity of Voice Audit
Research shows that those doing most of the "talking" in the classroom are also doing most of the learning. Are all learner voices, verbal and non-verbal, being heard in your classroom? Not sure? Use this tool to audit equity of voice and identify areas of opportunity for further personalizing the learning experience for each learner by amplifying learner voice. Complete the form to access the tool:
Getting from School-Centered to Learner-Centered
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages Some say “schools are broken.” We say schools are doing exactly what they were designed to do 150 years ago–but the needs have drastically changed and it is time to build newer and better systems that support every learner to achieve their goals and engage in the world as their best selves. That's where learner-centered education comes in. What it means to be school-centered vs student-centered vs learner-centered School-centered education The prevailing model of school was designed to support the industrial era with a focus on efficiency, standardization, compliance, ...
Introducing the 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections Cohort: Changemakers Leading Educational Innovation Nationwide
August 14, 2023—San Francisco, CA—Learner-Centered Collaborative is thrilled to announce its 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections inaugural cohort, a pioneering group of school district teams built to improve the learner experience and advance learner-centered education in school communities across the country. This year’s cohort of 5 district teams so far hailing from 4 states—California, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Texas—has identified a shared cohort focus: moving beyond vision and planning to implementation of learner-centered practices and enabling conditions. The participating districts include: Alamogordo Public School (New Mexico) Ector County Independent School District (Texas) Lamont Elementary School District (California) National School District (California) ...
Groundbreaking Research Partnership to Advance Learner-Centered Education: Learner-Centered Collaborative and UC San Diego Join Forces
San Diego (CA), July 31, 2023—Learner-Centered Collaborative (LCC) and the Department of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are thrilled to announce a strategic partnership to establish a research collaboration that will drive innovative, learner-centered advancements in education. This partnership, which combines the academic rigor of UCSD with the practical experience of LCC, is poised to transform teaching practices and enhance learner outcomes. LCC is a leading organization dedicated to promoting learner-centered education and empowering educators to create inclusive and engaging learning environments. UCSD is a renowned research institution committed to academic excellence and innovation. Together, ...
Strategy: Support Learners in Understanding Themselves
Provide Voice and Choice: I design learning experiences that offer flexibility in process, product and/or pace. Personalized Learning Strategy: Support Learners in Understanding Themselves NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience In order for learners to make high-quality decisions about their learning, they need to develop a strong sense of self. Who am I? What are my strengths? How do I learn best? As educators, we can support this self-discovery through use of frameworks, tools, and time for self-reflection and exploration. If frameworks are leveraged, remember to message any ...
Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Provide Just-In-Time Assessment Feedback
Leverage Technology: I use technology to efficiently track progress, engage learners in different ways, and offer academic supports. Personalized Learning Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Provide Just-In-Time Assessment Feedback Quickly gather assessment data to use to personalize learning and provide students just in time feedback. Bright Spots Gain inspiration from authentic examples of this strategy shared by teachers who have used them with their learners. Creating your own Bright Spots? Let's get them out into the world! Share yours here. Google Forms This teacher uses a Google Form ...
Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Nurture Inclusion
Leverage Technology: I use technology to efficiently track progress, engage learners in different ways, and offer academic supports. Personalized Learning Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Nurture Inclusion Listen to students and include their voice in the classroom through more than just verbal discussions. This can include tools such as text-to-speech or speech-to-text software, interactive whiteboards, and online tools that allow students to engage in collaborative and reflective learning by creating text or video content. Bright Spots Gain inspiration from authentic examples of this strategy shared by teachers who have used them with their ...
Strategy: Use tech tools to personalize instruction
Leverage Technology: I use technology to efficiently track progress, engage learners in different ways, and offer academic supports. Personalized Learning Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Personalize Instruction Provide personalized instruction that meets each student where they are and gives you insight into how the lesson is going. When tech tools are leveraged to provide learning materials for students to work through at their own pace, the educator has time for teacher-student collaboration and 1:1/small group support. Strategies include flipping the classroom, making the live lesson interactive, or leveraging adaptive or AI tools to ensure ...
Strategy: Passion Projects
Design with not for: I co-create learning experiences with students based on their interests, strengths, and passions Personalized Learning Strategy: Passion Projects Empowering learners to develop the knowledge and skills of your course by exploring their interests is a powerful approach. It can increase student engagement and motivation, it can help students see the relevance and real-world application of what they are learning, and it can provide opportunities for students to develop and showcase their strengths and talents. Teachers can weave student interests into learning experiences by providing choice in assignments or projects, incorporating ...
Strategy: Create Learner Portraits
Provide Voice and Choice: I design learning experiences that offer flexibility in process, product and/or pace. Personalized Learning Strategy: Create Learner Portraits NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course Learners take stock of who they are - their strengths, interests, goals, & needs - and reflect on how, when, and where they learn best. They create a visual to represent themselves. A learner portrait can help learners become more self-aware, while teachers can use it to adjust learning experiences to leverage each student’s strengths and interests and better ...
Strategy: Provide Choice Boards
Provide Voice and Choice: I design learning experiences that offer flexibility in process, product and/or pace. Personalized Learning Strategy: Provide Choice Boards NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course Choice boards can take a variety of forms but they are essentially a list of options of learning activities for learners to select from. They can provide choices in what, how, with whom, where or when students learn. Many of them include “must dos” and “may do” options so learners are clear on expectations but also have room for ...
Strategy: Create Playlists for Learners
Provide voice and choice: I design learning experiences that offer flexibility in process, product and/or pace. Personalized Learning Strategy: Create Playlists for Learners A learning playlist is a sequence of learning experiences and resources designed for students to work through at their own pace in order to achieve the desired learning objectives. Playlists are inherently flexible; learners can work on a playlist for a few minutes, a class period, a day, a week, or even a full course. Most often, playlists scaffold learners from DOK Level 1 to Level 3-4. Often educators embed a ...
Strategy: Provide non-verbal options for participation
Promote Equity of Voice: I use protocols and methods to ensure all learner voices are heard. Personalized Learning Strategy: Provide Non-Verbal Options for Participation Not all learners are prepared to participate by speaking out loud. Technology can be used to provide polls or virtual chat spaces, such as polleverywhere, mentimeter, and padlet. If you want a low-tech way for students to non-verbally participate, have them write on post-it notes, use hand signals or write on whiteboards that they raise in the air. These opportunities provide ways for learners to engage in the thinking and ...
Strategy: Host Daily Whole-Class Meetings
Build Community with Learners: I build learners' ability to be in a community with others, especially those of different backgrounds, identities, and strengths. Inclusive & Equitable Learning Strategy:Host Daily Whole-Class Meetings This strategy is part of the self-paced Nurture a Meaningful Learning Community CourseWhole-class meetings, often referred to as morning meetings in elementary school, is a dedicated time for the whole class to come together and discuss a variety of topics that are not strictly academic. These can be morning meetings at the beginning of the day, closing circles at the end of the day, or ...
Strategy: Move On When Ready
Modify Path or Pace: I use quantitative and qualitative evidence to understand individual strengths and opportunities to co-design personalized learning paths with learners Competency-Based Learning Strategy: Move On When Ready Learners are empowered to progress through the learning experience based on their demonstration of the desired skills and knowledge. This can be as small and contained as learners working through the writing process at their own best pace based on formative checks, or as comprehensive as not moving on to the next unit until mastery of the prior learning objectives is demonstrated. For learners ...
Strategy: Data Trackers
Modify Path or Pace: I use quantitative and qualitative evidence to understand individual strengths and opportunities to co-design personalized learning paths with learners Competency-Based Learning Strategy: Data Trackers When learners track their own progress, assessment for learning (formative assessment) quickly becomes assessment as learning. Learners figure out where they are in their learning and how they learn best, which is powerful. Ideally, learners track their proficiency in specific skills, standards, or competencies - this can be done on paper or digitally. Be sure to create time and space for learners to both track and reflect on their ...
Strategy: Support Learner Self-Assessment
Assess formatively: I frequently use a variety of formative assessment methods, including self-assessment, to monitor progress and guide educators’ and learners’ next steps in the learning process. Competency-Based Learning Strategy: Support Learner Self-Assessment NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Use Assessment as a Tool for Learning CourseSelf-assessment is empowering learners to consider where they are in their own learning by intentionally creating transparency of the learning process and creating a safe space to make mistakes. Self-assessment is often supported by a rubric or other criteria for mastery. When learners know where they are ...
Webinar Recording: Revealing Our Secrets: Professional Learning that Makes an Impact
Katie Martin and Bryanna Hanson share what educators want in their professional learning experiences and where to find it.
