What It Means to Center Learners By Design
What does learner-centered education have to do with design? A lot, actually. At the core, both design and learner-centered education are human-centered. Contrary to what one might think, they don’t require a blank canvas or a sleek modern building, but rather a story, assets to build upon, challenges to address, and a deep understanding about ourselves, each other, and our needs and aspirations. Similarly, design and learner-centered education are not free-for-alls, but rather an intentional focus on what matters most for those at the center of impact. When it comes to design and learner-centered education the ultimate test is: ...
When to Leverage AI
AI is here. With its arrival also comes a renewed tension often felt around technology: striking the balance of efficiency and valuable human interaction. This tool guides education practitioners and leaders to evaluate which tasks can best harness the power of AI, which are best left to be done by humans, and everything in between. Once you’ve determined which tasks would benefit from AI, this tool also contains additional resources to help find the right tool for the job. Complete the information below to access the tool:
Webinar Recording: Supercharge Learning: Unlocking the Learner-Centered Power of AI
Join host Marlon Styles and guests Sophia Mendoza (Los Angeles Unified School District) and Brittany Griffin as they discuss strategies for leveraging AI to supercharge learner-centered education. In this engaging webinar, they explore topics including: Creative ways educators are currently using AI like summarizing text and generating feedback Ideas for how school leaders, teachers, and students can enhance learning experiences with AI tools A live demonstration of how the AI tool Gamma can quickly generate educational resources An inside look at how LAUSD is laying the groundwork for responsible use of AI through professional development and digital citizenship Guidance on ...
Feedback Protocol
Here’s the scene: You provided really thoughtful comments on a completed assignment and your feedback was never even read! Say goodbye to spending hours on “dead-end” feedback. Reclaim the power of feedback with a flip in practice and timing that makes feedback an actionable part of the learning process that is aligned to learning goals and driven by the learner. Download our free feedback protocol tool to set your learners up for giving and receiving meaningful, actionable feedback from peers, teachers, and experts. Complete the information below to access the tool:
Leadership Forum: Reimagining the Learner Experience with Santa Ana Unified School District
Our Learner-Centered Leadership Forum series is an opportunity to gain timely, first-hand insights, examples, ideas, and lessons learned from learner-centered district leaders doing the work in the field with their teams, community, and learners. In this first event in the series in September 2023, Santa Ana Unified School District leaders, Superintendent Jerry Almendarez and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Perez, opened up about their transformative journey in reimagining the learner experience across their district. The urban/suburban public school district is the second largest in Orange County, CA serving 45,000 students from early childhood through high school. Hear about their big moves ...
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:
Strategy: Explore Identity with Learners
Inclusive & Equitable Learning Strategy: Explore Identities with Learners NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Cultivate a Sense of Belonging Course Exploring and sharing about our identity helps us become more aware of our own backgrounds and how they influence how we show up in the world. It also helps us get to know those in community with us to better create inclusive environments where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Identity is made up of many elements including social and personal identity. Social identities define the social groups that you belong to and can be ...
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
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 results as informative references, not absolute truths. Do not use personality tests to label, categorize, or define students. Rather, use ...
Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Provide Just-In-Time Assessment Feedback
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 for students to complete a 3-2-1 daily reflection. 3 things they learned, 2 things of interest, and 1 question. She uses their ...
Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Nurture Inclusion
Personalized Learning Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Nurture Inclusion NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course 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 learners. Creating your own Bright Spots? Let's get them ...
Strategy: Use tech tools to personalize instruction
Personalized Learning Strategy: Use Tech Tools to Personalize Instruction NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course 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 the content is tailored to each students’ needs. ...
Strategy: Passion Projects
Personalized Learning Strategy: Passion Projects NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course 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 student-selected materials or topics, using examples or case ...
Strategy: Create Learner Portraits
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 meet their needs. Bright Spots Gain inspiration from authentic examples of this strategy shared by teachers who have used ...
Strategy: Provide Choice Boards
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 personalization and learning based on interest. Bright Spots Gain inspiration from authentic examples of this strategy shared by teachers ...
Strategy: Create Playlists for Learners
Personalized Learning Strategy: Create Playlists for Learners NOTE: This strategy is part of the self-paced Customize the Learning Experience Course 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 “minimum pace,” a cadence that students should ...
