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☀️ What if THE conversation at #SXSWEDU2026, one of the country`s biggest education conferences, was all about centering learners by design? It can be... with your help!
SXSW uses a community voting process called PanelPicker to help determine which sessions and speakers will be invited to present during the four-day conference.
Voting is an easy, two-step process:
1️⃣ Click the link in our bio and sign in or sign up for PanelPicker
2️⃣ Vote for Learner-Centered Collaborative`s four sessions by clicking the heart next to the session titles
Once logged in, voting takes seconds! Thanks for your support, and we hope to see you there in March!
For the past three years, we’ve had the privilege of partnering with @bonsallunified School District to bring their learner-centered vision to life.
Heather Golly, Ed.D., shared thoughtful reflections on how working with the LCC team has helped evolve her district—and we’re grateful for the opportunity to walk alongside Bonsall educators on this journey.
💡 The most powerful AI tools aren’t the ones doing the work for learners. They’re the ones helping them think, create, and grow.
We have three powerful new resources to help you design engaging, relevant, and future-ready learning experiences this school year.
1️⃣ AI Case Studies: Real-world examples of how educators are using AI to create learner-centered classrooms. See what’s possible and spark your own ideas.
2️⃣ Durable Skills Learning Experience Accelerator App: Plan lessons and projects that intentionally develop the skills learners need to thrive—like problem solving, collaboration, and adaptability.
3️⃣ AI as My Teaching Assistant: A firsthand account from an educator who’s embraced AI to personalize learning and give timely, meaningful feedback.
Access them at the link in our bio!
🧮 There`s a better way to teach math that creates space for every learner and recognizes that all students bring valuable perspectives to mathematical conversations.
Allie Wong, LCC Director of Strategic Partnerships & former math teacher writes:
"There’s a common myth that learner-centered practices don’t fit in math classrooms—that math is about speed, memorization, and getting the `right answer` at all costs. When we shift our mindset, we realize that math is about empowering students to explore mathematical concepts, build their own strategies, and understand the `why` behind the numbers."
Read the full blog at the link in our bio.
Research that brings about collaboration in trust to benefit learners is a key component of our work at LCC. This work is especially critical now, as we are living at the “edge of chaos:" a phrase coined by chaos theory physicist Norman Packar.
So what can we do to mitigate the negative effects of a time of such rapid change?
We can choose to evolve. Devin Vodicka offers some suggestions on how to do so:
1️⃣ Identify short-term metrics of progress.
2️⃣ Use feedback loops.
3️⃣ Run small tests of change.
4️⃣ Celebrate visible wins.
His newest Catalyst blog goes much more in depth on these strategies for success. Read it at the link in our bio.
💡 Let’s talk Durable Skills. These are the essential skills that are high in demand in our ever evolving job market that build character, grit, and people skills. Some examples:
Leadership | Character | Collaboration | Communication | Creativity | Critical Thinking
We want to help you incorporate these skills into your classroom the prepare your learners for the world beyond the classroom. So, we partnered with America Succeeds to launch the Durable Skills Learning Accelerator App.
This free and easy to use tool will help you:
⭐️ Identify the right durable skills to pair with units and projects you are already planning
⭐️ Define success criteria for the durable skills at your grade level
⭐️ Plan ways to teach the skill, have learners practice the skill and demonstrate the skill with ideas for how to provide feedback
⭐️ Embed learner-centered strategies into your daily practice to support learners in developing durable skills
Get some practice using it so you’re ready when the school year starts up at the link in our bio.
Our research partnerships aren’t just strategic. They’re based in the our belief in that relationships are fundamental to building what’s possible for learners.
We collaborated with our friends at AERDF on this blog that explore how collaborative innovation hubs are bringing together school systems, nonprofits, researchers, and community leaders to build something bigger than any one district can do alone. These hubs, rooted in relationships, shared values, and learner-centered purpose, are emerging as powerful engines of sustainable change.
🧭 Read it at the link in our bio.
🚀 Real Classrooms. Real AI. Real Shifts.
In this new tool, we explore how Escondido Union School District and Lamont Elementary School District are using AI programs including Playlab AI and Inkwire to:
✔️ Personalize learning
✔️ Expand access and belonging
✔️ Support educators` daily practice
🔍 Access the case studies at the link in our bio!
️⚡️ New Free Tool for Educators! ⚡️
Looking to bring durable skills like collaboration, communication, and problem-solving into your classroom?
The Durable Skills Learning Experience Accelerator (LEA) App was built for you. Developed by Learner-Centered Collaborative and America Succeeds, this AI-powered tool helps you integrate durable skills into your lessons, units, and projects with ease.
With just a few prompts, the tool helps you:
⭐ Identify the most relevant durable skills for what you’re already teaching
⭐ Define clear success criteria by grade level
⭐ Plan opportunities for learners to practice, demonstrate, and reflect
⭐ Embed learner-centered strategies to support real-world skill development
Get started at the link in our bio!
Three years ago, High School Teacher and Instructional Coach Shannon Roos faced an overwhelming challenge presented to her by her school`s administration: make sense of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and put together a lunch and learn session that we would present to our teachers.
That initial AI teacher training was very simple. Their goal was to ease teachers’ fears and help them identify when students use AI to "cheat."
Three years later, her understanding of AI has grown exponentially, and she has grown to embrace the use of AI in her classroom to support personalized learning and immediate, formative feedback for my students.
"I strongly believe that learning should be individualized and meaningful for learners, and when used purposefully, AI can help meet that goal," she says.
Here are Shannon`s top tips for teachers getting started with AI:
⚡️ Practice Rapid Iteration: Treat AI prompting like human-centered design—small tweaks can significantly improve results. Let learners interact with AI drafts, test limitations, and refine prompts in real time for better outcomes.
⚡️ Think of AI as a Teaching Assistant: Use AI not only to create materials, but also to support planning, differentiation, feedback, and small-group instruction. Tools like ChatGPT, CoPilot, and Diffit can help personalize learning in and out of the classroom.
⚡️ Teach Students About AI: Equip learners with AI literacy and decision-making skills to prepare them for a technologically advanced world. Classroom-ready resources from Common Sense Media, http://Code.org, and MIT can support teaching responsible and meaningful AI use.
⚡️ Check Your District Policy: Always ensure the ones you use are FERPA and COPPA compliant and aligned with local policies. Even trusted tools should be vetted for privacy and compliance.
Read her full blog for more about her experience and tons of tips at the link in bio.
Laguna Beach USD’s Unit Design isn’t your typical PD workshop. It’s a hands-on, high-impact learning experience where educators redesign real units to align with their learner profile—and ultimately reimagine the way classrooms operate.
Read the blog to see how this model fuels educator creativity and supports deeper, more connected learning for every learner. Link in bio.
Feeling unsure about AI in the classroom?
So was Shannon Roos, until curiosity, collaboration, and a few key tools transformed uncertainty into purpose. What began as a simple teacher training evolved into a deeper shift toward personalized, inquiry-driven learning.
If you`re wondering where to begin or how AI can support (not replace) meaningful learning, this blog offers an honest, helpful entry point.
📖 Read how one educator made AI approachable, intentional, and learner-centered at the link in our bio.
📖 What happens when local communities lead the way in reimagining education together?
We’re seeing real promise in regional innovation hubs: place-based partnerships where school systems, universities, nonprofits, and communities come together to co-create meaningful learning experiences for every learner.
This blog, co-authored by five education organizations, explores why these hubs are powerful incubators for change—big enough to influence systems, yet grounded enough to build trust, adapt to context, and align around shared values.
👉See link in bio.
🎉 We`re so proud to continue working with @alamogordopublicschools this year!
Building on their work from last year, in the 2025-2026 school year, LCC will help district leadership bring the Framework for the Future to life by facilitating:
— A Leadership Academy for school and district leaders
— Innovation Cohorts for classroom educators collaboration
— A virtual Leadership Community of Practice to build a national community of learner-centered district leaders
Thank you to Alamogordo leaders, educators, and learners for their commitment and dedication to their mission of fostering engagement, exploration, and discovery through exceptional educational experiences for all.
Want to make change in your district too? Let`s chat! See link in bio.
💡“We’ll pay you to redesign it.”
That was the invitation to educators in @lagunabeachusd —and the start of a shift in how professional learning is done.
Through Unit Design Professional Development, teachers are redesigning learning experiences around curiosity, community impact, and the LBUSD Learner Profile, with over 200 units already reimagined.
In this blog, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services at LBUSD, Chad Mabery, gives an in depth review of their new, innovative PD design.
This isn’t just PD. It’s a model for what happens when we see educators as designers and center the whole learner in every unit.
🔗 Read how LBUSD is evolving learning, one unit at a time: http://learnercentered.org/blog/how-unit-design-pd-brings-our-learner-profile-to-life
⚡️️BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! For school and district leadership teams that are ready to build learner-centered ecosystems in their communities.
We`re hosting FREE one-of-a-kind professional learning webinars in partnership with Learning Policy Institute and education leaders.
Starting July 21, you and your team (we recommend 3-7 team members) will embark on one of two learning paths:
1. School Design for Learner-Centered Ecosystems
🕑 Mondays, 9:00–10:30am PT | July 21–August 11
✏️ By the end of this four-part series, your team will have:
A documented vision of redesign priorities
An inventory of assets and strengths
Identified next steps for its redesign journey
🌟 Register at link in bio!
2. Distributed Leadership for Transformational Change
🕑 Mondays, 11:00am–12:30pm PT | July 21–August 11
✏️ By the end of this four-part series, your team will have:
A documented vision of redesign priorities
A list of key contributors
Concrete next steps to activate distributed leadership
🌟 Register at link in bio!
Register for one of the two paths above (or both if you`re wanting a full deep dive!) and send the link to your team members!
Questions? Reach out to collaborate@learnercentered.org
We can`t wait to see you there!
