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…

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Blog

Rethinking SAMR in the Age of AI: Why the Model Needs a Second Axis

This article originally appeared on Getting Smart and has been republished with their permission. Written by Vriti Saraf, Nate McClennen, & Katie Martin Key Points The SAMR model needs a second axis (positive vs. negative impact) to better evaluate AI’s effect on teaching and learning. AI’s role in education is nuanced—its success depends on…

Blog

What an 8th-Grade Defense Taught Me About Competency-Based Learning

Written by Maysa Dadmun Have you ever watched a student light up when they get to learn about something they truly love? That spark is what shaped my entire 8th-grade defense project, and now, as a freshman in high school, it’s shaping the way I approach learning every day. I attended Sussex School, a…

Blog

If No One Was Telling Us What To Do, What Would We Build?

For decades, K-12 educational leaders have worked within a system and structure of someone else’s design. We’ve generally been operating with an “outside-in” policy model where Federal rules, funding, accountability systems, and compliance requirements have shaped what we do and how we think about what is possible. State Departments and local education agencies have…