10 Questions to Ask Students

Listening to learners is essential when leading change. This tool will help you spark conversations with your students to understand what’s working and where innovation may best serve your school. Empathy – listening to learners – is the first step in designing solutions that scale.

Choose the format for connecting with you learners that best aligns with your goals—student forums, focus groups, surveys, or interviews—and use these key questions to help guide the conversation.

To download this tool and get started, complete the form below:

Publications

Pathways to Possibility: Reimagining CTE in California’s Continuation High Schools

Across California, continuation high schools are creating more personalized, purposeful learning experiences for students who have often been underserved by traditional systems. These schools support young people navigating poverty, housing instability, and other complex life challenges, yet too often these students are left out of education redesign efforts. Career Technical Education (CTE) is a…

Blog

Reading, Writing, and Rising: Centering Literacy in Learner-Centered Education

By Stephanie Buelow and Charlotte Frambaugh Kritzer, Professors of Literacy at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Literacy is the cornerstone of a learner-centered education—it unlocks the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and engage meaningfully in a rapidly changing world. Few leaders embody this understanding as powerfully as Dr. Lori Gonzalez. A visionary…

Blog

Debunking the Math Myth: How Learner-Centered Classrooms Deepen Understanding

In a learner-centered classroom, math is about more than numbers and formulas—it’s about curiosity, exploration, and making sense of the world. Picture this: It’s 10:00am in Ms. Kim’s 3rd grade classroom and students are gathered on the rug around a chart. Two students have just finished sharing their strategies with the whole class on…

Tools

Durable Skills Learning Experience Accelerator App

Welcome to the Durable Skills Learning Experience Accelerator (LEA) App! If you are an educator looking to embed Durable Skills into your learning experiences, lessons, units, and projects you’ve come to the right place. Trained with the Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework from America Succeeds and learner-centered strategies from Learner-Centered Collaborative, this powerful tool supports…

Explore More Topics

Tools

Forming a Strong School (Re)Design Team

Every successful school redesign starts with the right team. This tool, Forming a Strong School (Re)Design Team, helps leaders intentionally build a group that represents the full school community, from leaders, educators, and learners, to families, and staff, who will guide the redesign process together. Note: We recommend using this tool as a supplementary…

Blog

The Power of Why: How Assessment Philosophies Drive Calibration for Meaningful Change

“This feels overwhelming.” “We are moving towards something tangible and realistic.” “This is amazing – we got this.” These reflections, shared by educators, capture the spectrum of emotions that surface when rethinking assessment and grading practices. One names the challenge of stepping into something new, another lifts up the promise of what’s possible, and…

Blog

Big Moves at West Pk-8: The Power of Distributed Leadership in the School Redesign Process

Colorado Springs is changing fast. Like many communities across the country, it is being shaped by new demographics, emerging opportunities, and the need for creativity and critical thinking like never before. District 11 knew that West PK–8 Campus, one of its oldest schools, couldn’t simply layer new programs on top of old structures to…