BlogWebinars
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…
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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…
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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…
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Changing how students learn, starts with changing how educators learn
As educators, we are socialized into the profession in various ways. These may include observations of our previous teachers (known as the apprenticeship of observation), our preparation programs, and especially our first on-the-job experiences. In short, our beliefs and expectations are shaped by our experiences including professional learning, which is why I often…
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Designing Units with Student Choice, Real-World Problem Solving, and Technology Integration
By: Vince Fabella, Math Teacher & Technology Lead at Laguna Beach Unified School District Student engagement and technology integration are crucial components of effective teaching and learning, helping to promote interactive, dynamic, and creative problem-solving approaches that empower learners. Although the use of educational technology has increased significantly in recent years, there may be…
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Reclaiming Joy at the End of the School Year
At VIDA middle school in Vista Unified School District, students in an English class give each other affirmations and gratitudes throughout the year. “Joy is the ultimate goal of teaching and learning, not test prep or graduation.” – Gholdy Muhammad, author, Unearthing Joy The end of the school year is in plain sight. Maybe…
BlogWebinars
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.
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4 Ways to Increase Inclusion and Engagement When Allocating Resources
If allocating resources is part of your job, keep these 4 learner-centered ways to increase inclusion and engagement in the process handy.
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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…
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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…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: Flex This Superpower- A Learner-Centered Approach to Engaging Stakeholders
Devin Vodicka and Marlon Styles, both learner-centered leaders and former Superintendents, share 8 superpowers for engaging stakeholders as empowered agents of change.
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Can AI Solve the Uniquely Human Challenges Facing Educators Today?
Author: Dr. Beth Holland, Partner, The Learning Accelerator Conversations in the education sector have converged in the past several weeks around three seemingly unrelated topics: pandemic recovery, educator shortages, and ChatGPT. Evidence suggests that schools continue to exist in a state of pandemic recovery, with students struggling academically and social-emotionally. At the same…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: 3 Learner-Centered Professional Learning Practices to Take Back to Your District
What’s happening behind the scenes of successful learner-centered schools and districts? Intentionally designed, collaborative efforts that prioritize people, community input, and a community’s unique culture and goals. School and district leaders will get an inside view of three unique, impactful practices our team leads with schools and districts putting learners at the center. These…
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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…
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4 Strategies for Listening to Students to Spark Change
When thinking about how school buildings have traditionally been constructed, how bell schedules have come to be, and how academic policies have historically been authored, images of adults come to mind. Grownups have been the decision makers. As we think about what school must be for learners today and into the future—a learner-centered experience…
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Building a Guiding Coalition for School Innovation
Monrovia Unified School District Guiding Coalition comprised of the superintendent, school & district leaders, educators, staff, students, parents, board members, and community members. “Invite everyone who cares to work on what’s possible.” – Margaret Wheatley As a former school leader, this concept was always front and center as we worked to innovate and…
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Scaling the Collaboration Pyramid
Students assemble a model wind turbine they constructed. Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages Collaboration is a top skill employers look for according to LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed, all job search tools that see thousands of job postings everyday. It’s not surprising then that in a review of over 50 school, district,…
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Framework for the Future: A Catalyst for Coherence and Collective Efficacy
At the core of learner-centered leadership is the ambition to empower all learners to know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves. Using Simon Sinek’s (2011) “Start With Why,“ Golden Circle Theory, the following paragraphs detail the “why”, as well as the “how” and “what”…