When we start with learners, we start from a place of possibility. With learners at the center, we define the desired outcomes, design meaningful learning experiences, and create the enabling conditions to bring our vision for learners to life. Our framework is designed to align with the world we live in and develop learners who will become engaged and productive citizens.
This model guides our work at Learner-Centered Collaborative and serves as a blueprint for all our partners as they build out their unique learning models.
Whole-Learner Outcomes
The system is centered on attending to the social, emotional, cognitive, and mental health needs of learners.
Agency
Learners set goals, initiate action, and persist through challenges by pursuing interests, building on strengths, and working purposefully to develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions critical for a changing world.
Collaboration
By building empathy, respect, understanding and connection with communities near and far, learners express comfort working with people similar to and different from themselves, can be relied upon, and engage productively with all.
Real-world problem solving
Respectfully expressing curiosity about the past, present, and future, learners plan, apply skills and knowledge, and reflect often to carry out individual and collective action to solve problems that matter to them and their world.
Learning Experiences
The experiences that are co-designed and facilitated with learners to ensure they can demonstrate mastery of desired learner outcomes.
Competency-Based
Learning is driven by evidence-based instruction, assessment, and feedback cycles based on progress toward desired knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
When learning is Competency-Based, educators:
Modify path, pace, or product
I apply the use of data (quantitative and qualitative) systematically to understand individual skills, gaps, strengths, weaknesses, interests, and aspirations of each student, and use that information to design personalized learning paths and pace.
Use a variety of assessment methods
I use multiple, frequent, and formative assessments —such as self-assessment, exit tickets, and student surveys—in a timely manner to engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, to guide educators’ and learners’ decision making, and to communicate with families.
Design backwards
I design curriculum units backwards, starting from essential questions, recognized standards, school-wide and/ or subject-specific competencies, school or district learner profiles and/or real-world problems to be solved.
Emphasize the iterative process
I maintain a focus on high expectations for achievement while providing feedback and opportunities for practice, revision, and improvement.
Define levels of proficiency
I create, use, or adapt rubrics that clearly define what “proficiency” looks like for key content-based concepts.
Connect skills and content to the real world
I create learning experiences that make the content-based concepts accessible and meaningful (e.g., to understand the “why,” as well as the “how”).
Share outcomes
I provide students with a clear understanding of the desired competencies to be mastered.
Support students telling their learning story
I facilitate the development of a Student Portfolio: a curated collection of performance assessments from multiple subjects aligned to the Profile of Success, which shows evidence of growth and proficiency in those skills.
Assess authentic demonstrations of learning
I provide students with an opportunity to create public products and share their learning with a public audience.
Personalized
Learning is co-constructed based on each learner’s unique strengths, skills, interests, and needs.
When learning is Personalized, educators:
Empower students
I help students build their agency, determine priorities, and develop skills to choose between competing interests.
Encourage self-regulation
I develop students’ abilities to self-reflect and self-regulate via strategies such as goal setting, self-assessment and self-pacing.
Highlight the process of thinking
I use modeling, rehearsal, and feedback techniques that highlight the processes of thinking, rather than focusing exclusively on the products of thinking.
Engage students as problem-solvers
I provide opportunities for students to contribute to classroom or school-based decision-making processes.
Solicit feedback
I solicit my students’ feedback about their classroom experience and use it to improve and iterate.
Promote equity of voice
I use protocols and methods to ensure all student voices are heard.
Use formative data
I create opportunities to document and track learning that inform each learner’s readiness, strengths, needs, and interests.
Ensure flexibility in learning process, product, or pace
I scaffold, customize whenever possible, and provide adequate interventions to appropriately stretch each learner.
Create responsive learning experiences
I recognize and integrate knowledge of individual learners, diverse cultures, and the community context in developing materials and pedagogy to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet rigorous standards.
Leverage technology
I use technology to lessen the burden of tracking student progress, find materials, engage learners in different ways, and offer academic supports.
Shift the decision-making dynamic
During learning, I enable students to choose and co-design curricula. At the conclusion of learning, I co-construct and offer choice among multiple means for students to demonstrate proficiency.
Authentic
Meaningful, relevant learning grounded in real-world challenges and applications for authentic audiences.
When learning is Authentic, educators:
Design with, not for
I engage learners and other faculty in co-designing projects that stretch and deepen the learning experience.
Create interdisciplinary projects
I use collaborative, cross-curricular projects to develop learners’ understanding of content areas, applications beyond school, and skills to apply knowledge.
Spark student reflection
I emphasize regular student reflection about specific questions that draw out the learning within the project.
Integrate concepts into projects
I present content-based concepts (both within and across disciplines) through a variety of perspectives in order to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, transfer, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues.
Crosswalk external experiences to learning targets
I align out-of-school experiences to relevant academic outcomes, so students may demonstrate proficiency and receive credit for out-of-school experiences.
Create flexible learning environments
I develop diverse physical and digital environments that maximize learning within, across, and beyond classrooms.
Build networks for and with your students
I connect students with mentors and internship experiences when possible, that provide real world learning experiences from experts in their fields.
Build relationships with your community
I build relationships with families, community members, business people, etc to support communities of practice that enhance individual and group learning.
Promote peer feedback
I develop students’ abilities to collaborate with peers via strategies such as peer assessment.
Focus on equity
I analyze collaborative group work to ensure that it engages and stretches each learner and builds toward demonstration of proficiency of specific skills.
Develop collaboration & cooperation skills
I develop, scaffold, facilitate and where appropriate, co-design collaborative and cooperative group work and foster students’ specific collaboration skills necessary for group work.
Celebrate differences
I plan ways to recognize and address issues of different cultural norms and implicit biases among students when they arise in collaborative group work.
Inclusive & Equitable
Learning communities are collaborative and culturally relevant, where every learner feels they belong and can tap into their full academic and social potential, contributing to the collective success of their community.
When learning is Inclusive & Equitable, educators:
Build community with learners
I invest time to get to know my learners and for my learners to know me.
Plan & Design for Equitable SEL
I design learning experiences that develop social and emotional skills and model my own social-emotional learning for my students.
Address systemic inequities
I create a learning community with equitable policies, rituals and routines (ie, homework policy, late work policy, summer reading choices, materials for projects, etc), acknowledging the historical marginalization of youth due to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, learning differences and/or behaviors, etc.
Honor learner cultures
I demonstrate awareness of and employ culturally responsive teaching to center students’ cultural diversity as a strength and asset in their learning journey.
Engage learners
I deliberately build students’ abilities to engage in self-directed learning as well as to learn from peers, especially those of different backgrounds, identities and strengths.
Curate inclusive curriculum intentionally
I audit my curriculum and instructional resources to ensure they represent diverse voices, stories, and perspectives, particularly from marginalized communities.
Include learners
I provide opportunities for students to contribute to classroom or school-based decision-making processes, including participatory action research, place-based education, restorative practices, and class meetings.
Design for equitable access
I leverage personalized approaches to learning to ensure that all learners are able to equitably access, engage with and share their learning.
Prepare students for their next step in life
I provide age-appropriate and individualized career exploration, planning and connections counseling to help each student explore, plan and take the necessary steps to navigate their path in college, career and life.
Create a support network
Be explicit with students about the value of positive networks and supportive communities; help students learn how to build networks and engage with communities in order to achieve their academic and career goals.
Enabling Conditions
The conditions that are critical to support the learning experiences that lead to desired learner-centered outcomes.
Coherence
Framework for the Future
There is a shared vision, learner profile, and learning model that clearly defines a learning community’s aspirations.
Enabling Policies
Policies support a learner-centered paradigm and empower all learners to demonstrate mastery in flexible times and spaces.
Holistic Learner Outcomes
Whole-learner outcomes are prioritized, transparent, measured, and aligned to learning progressions.
Resource Allocation
Resources such as curricula, programs, and tools are allocated in ways that align with the vision and desired outcomes.
Culture
Collective Efficacy
Teachers and leaders feel empowered to impact structures and policies in service of learning.
Relational Trust
High levels of relational trust and collaboration across the school community.
Capacity Building
Systems are set up for continuous improvement, professional learning, and talent development, beginning at recruitment and continuing throughout each individual’s career.
Connectedness
Digital Ecosystem
Tools, resources, data, and supportive systems are in place to empower impactful teaching and learning opportunities.
Use of Time and Space
Schedules and spaces are optimized for anytime/anywhere learning and connectedness.
Family and Community Partnerships
Learning is facilitated by a variety of community, industry, and family partnerships that address barriers and expand access to real-world learning that enables students to explore passions through authentic learning experiences.
