Flexing Your Creative Confidence for School Redesign
Flex Your Creative Confidence “What if I don’t have a creative bone in my body?” an educator asked during a recent staff meeting I was invited to attend. “I hear creativity,” she said, “and, I just shut down.” Her brave admission resonated with many in the room. As an innovation leader, I've encountered this belief before – that creativity is a rare gift for a select few. Yet, at that moment, I saw an opportunity to shift the narrative. Not everyone sees or feels confident (yet!) in their creative contributions. By voicing her doubts, she had already taken the ...
Updates from a Flourishing Research Collaborative
Learner Centered Collaborative (LCC) and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently hosted a second Research Partnership convening—this time focused on relational trust, belonging, and flourishing in educational ecosystems. The unique partnership, which applies research in practice to ensure findings translate seamlessly in the field, is also committed to timely dissemination of information along the way to accelerate change. The insights shared below surfaced at the Jan 26, 2024 gathering which included various educational partners from across the Southern California region: Vista Unified, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Escondido, Poway, Bonsall, and High Tech High. Building Momentum Together During the ...
Animalia: An Authentic Learning Project
During the Countdown to Winter Break 2023, Liz Perry shared three examples of projects that engaged authentic audiences for her 10th grade learners. Readers provided their input on which project they wanted to know more about and Animalia: Morals, Ethics & The Animal World, was your, the readers’, top vote. An Authentic Learning Project Throughout this project learners honed their academic skills - regularly engaging in seminars, reading, writing, history, philosophy, and the creation of visual art to deepen their understanding of moral and ethical theories. We read non-fiction texts on moral philosophy and examined them in both historical ...
Empowering Educators As Designers
By Liz Perry and Sarah Mathews Liz Perry is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Learner-Centered Collaborative and former Director of Instructional Innovation at San Diego Unified School District Sarah Mathews is the Program Manager of Cross-Content Literacy at San Diego Unified School District. Educators As Curriculum Designers & Decision Makers As an educational leader seeking to create the conditions for learner-centered experiences in your classroom, school, or district, what role do curricular resources play? In schools and districts across the country some educators are asked to replicate the scope and sequence of, sometimes to the daily ...
A Learner-Centered Research Triad Launches in Southern California
In July of 2023, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Learner-Centered Collaborative (LCC) announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership that would unite researchers, practitioners from LCC, and regional districts in advancing learner-centered practices. Among the key objectives of this partnership is to share knowledge and resources and disseminate findings to ensure broader impact of the research initiative. In the spirit of sharing and keeping the larger learner-centered community informed, Liz Perry shares insights and reflections from the first research and practice team convening. The Kick-off Convening The initial research and practice convening was held in November ...
