Big Moves
Physical Space Design
Overview Physical spaces, when designed with intention, can enable the Learning Model to be fully embraced by a school, shaping the learning environment to align with the Portrait of a Learner. The guiding principle is that form drives function and that both influence and reflect a school’s culture. Thoughtful care for physical space demonstrates…
Big Moves
AI Principles
Overview AI tools are increasingly accessible to learners and are more ubiquitous in the world and workforce outside of schools. In order to meet learners where they are and to best prepare them for a future that is already integrating AI into the workforce, it is important to establish thoughtful guidelines to ensure that…
Big Moves
Capstone Projects
Overview A capstone project is a culminating project, usually done in a learner’s final year at a school or in a program, that allows them to apply the knowledge and skills they’ve gained throughout a course, program, or educational experience. Typically, it is comprehensive, often interdisciplinary, and requires learners to engage in critical thinking,…
Big Moves
Master Schedule Redesign
Overview School-centered schedules often focus on compliance and efficiency over learning. Students move through the instructional day, most often dictated by bells, learning content in isolation. In a learner-centered system, time is prioritized to ensure that a school day provides opportunities for learners to engage deeply in meaningful work that supports their progress toward…
Big Moves
Redesign Educator Growth Plans & Evaluations
Once a system has clarity and coherence on leader and educator roles in service of their learner-centered vision, other structures require rethinking. Evaluation models in a school-centered paradigm focus on compliance and accountability. As we shift our focus to empowering learners, we must also empower educators and leaders by focusing on feedback and development. …
Blog
From Data to Storytelling: How Scorecards are Transforming School Accountability in Hawai’i
Written by Nicolas Mireles, Ph.D. Candidate at James Madison University. Through the inaugural Learner-Centered Assessment Fellowship, Digital Promise and Learner-Centered Collaborative brought together early-career scholars, education partners, and mentors to explore the potential of collaboration and culturally responsive approaches to educational assessment. As a final reflection and celebration of their work, each of the…
Blog
Why Stepping Outside Your School Could Be Key to Learner-Centered Change
Culture is the foundation of any learner-centered ecosystem. The big blue outer circle, illustrated in Learner-Centered Collaborative’s Ecosystem model, is representative of a big blue body of water we are all swimming in—in our classrooms, schools, and districts. Culture is something we always feel but might not always recognize while we’re in it. We…
Big Moves
Redefine Educator Roles & Responsibilities
Overview With a shift to learner-centered learning and in the age of AI, the role of the educator is also shifting. A learner-centered vision for the future where all learners (both young learners and adults) are developing the whole learner outcomes defined in a school or district Portrait of a Learner, what defines effective…
Big Moves
Exhibition of Learning
Overview Exhibitions of Learning (also called Celebrations of Learning, Showcases of Learning or Demonstrations of Learning) are events where students share their learning and any products from a learning experience or project with a broad and public audience. These events could take the form of a formal presentation (ex. play), an individual exhibition (ex.…
Blog
Operationalizing the Vision in Escondido Union School District
See how Escondido USD is turning ideas into actions with student forums, a guiding coalition, and a Framework for the Future.
Blog
How Hawaiian Charter Schools Are Honoring Identity
Brought together by a shared vision to create a more expansive student transcript reflecting whole child learning, charter schools in Hawaii offer a glimpse into their process—from vision to implementation.
Big Moves
Portfolios
Overview A school or district-wide portfolio structure supports learners in curating evidence of their learning and growth over multiple years, across multiple courses or learning experiences. Portfolios are student-curated collections of work that include a self-reflection on progress over time and why that piece was selected to include in the portfolio. They work best…
Big Moves
Student-Led Conferences
Overview A student-led conference is a meeting facilitated by students with their families and teachers. In this meeting, students reflect on their overall learning, progress towards goals, and next steps. Students who participate by leading their own conferences take more ownership of their learning and the communication between school and home becomes more transparent.…
Big Moves
Defense of Learning
Overview A school or district-wide defense of learning (sometimes called Presentation of Learning, Showcase of Learning, Demonstration of Learning or Celebration of Learning) is a way for students, at designated milestones or grade levels, to share a body of evidence of learning and reflect on how they grew towards their own and school/district goals,…
Big Moves
Advisory
Advisory is a recurring and consistent small-learning community with dedicated time in the daily or weekly schedule intended to provide opportunities to cultivate a sense of belonging, support learner agency, and explore strengths and interests. In Expeditionary Learning schools this structure is called “Crew” and it can go by many different names. It also…
BlogWebinars
Webinar Recording: Creating Coherence and Aligning Systems Toward a Learner-Centered Vision
In this webinar, Dr. Andrée Grey from Encinitas Union School District and Dr. Cory Steiner from Northern Cass School District discuss how they are transforming their school systems to center learners in meaningful and personalized ways. Hosted by Catina Hancock of Learner-Centered Collaborative, they explore the importance of creating enabling conditions for change and…
Tools
Learner-Centered Scorecard Guide
Our Learner-Centered Collaborative Scorecard Guide introduces a powerful framework for measuring and communicating educational progress beyond traditional metrics. This comprehensive guide provides a 4-step process for creating, implementing, and leveraging Scorecards to drive improvement, engage stakeholders, and showcase your school or district’s unique success story in a learner-centered paradigm. Explore this tool to…
Blog
Not All Rubrics Are Created Equal: How Competency-Based Progressions Are The Way to Go
For decades, rubrics have been both championed and criticized. This blog explores two distinct types of rubrics: traditional product-based rubrics and the emerging competency-based rubrics. Traditional rubrics, as we typically conceptualize them, are product-based. They define success criteria for specific assignments, describing gradations of quality for meeting expectations. These rubrics are assignment-specific and outline…