Blog
Scaling Learner-Centered Innovation: It Takes a Community (of Practice)
The benefits of a Community of Practice last well past the collaborative time together. LeShae Daniel makes the case for why you should say “Yes!” to interactive, collaborative learning with colleagues.
Blog
Prioritizing Educator Belonging for Successful Learner-Centered Instruction
By Dr. Jennifer Karnopp, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, San Diego State University, and Dr. Peter Bjorklund Jr., Lecturer and Research Assistant, UC San Diego Within the education landscape, it is widely agreed upon that supporting student growth and well-being is at the heart of learner-centered instruction, yet we often overlook the well-being of…
Blog
5 Powerful Practices to Develop Learner-Centered School Leaders
On a sunny January “winter” day in Santa Ana, California, a group of Assistant Principals huddle around a case study that chronicles a common scenario in their (and many) school districts: a new teacher is struggling with reading instruction and classroom management, and her students report feeling bored and disengaged. The school leaders collaborate…
Blog
4 Practical Tips for Creating Coherence Within Your District
In any educational setting, clarity of vision, a well-understood mission, and a core set of operational values can fundamentally transform how initiatives are executed and objectives are met. I have come to understand this deeply through my experiences as an educational leader. The privilege of working with school and district leaders from a diversity…
Blog
Leadership Coaching: A Mechanism for Supporting Organizational Culture and Enabling Conditions
As a school or district leader, your calendar is likely packed with meetings, decisions to make, and fires to put out. With so many demands on your time, it’s easy to push personal development to the back burner. However, making time for leadership coaching isn’t just another task on your to-do list—it’s a critical…
Blog
Understanding and Influencing Collective Efficacy: The Key to Driving Transformative Change in Education
When reimagining education, collective efficacy isn’t just an advantage – it’s non-negotiable for district and school leaders committed to true organizational innovation. At its core, collective efficacy refers to the shared belief among team members that they can purposefully and effectively handle challenges and stressors to achieve desired results and prevent undesired outcomes. In…
Blog
Education Change Management: The Power of a Guiding Coalition
When I was a superintendent overseeing the implementation of learner-centered education across 30 schools, one of our biggest challenges wasn’t just the adoption of new practices—it was fundamentally transforming how we supported change. While I was Initially resistant to adding more meetings to our already busy schedules, I could no longer deprioritize calls from…
Blog
Beyond Conventional Metrics: Telling a New Story Through Tiers of Data
School and district leaders are custodians of a future that demands diversity in our measures of success, mirroring our dedication to whole-learner outcomes and the unique visions that drive our schools and districts. Unfortunately, the school-centered system has narrowed the definition of success in such a way that innovative ideas struggle to get off…
Blog
Going Beyond Assumptions: The Journey to Policies that Enable Learner-Centered Transformation
Reflecting on my journey as Superintendent of Vista Unified School District, I learned the power of auditing and engaging in a collaborative process to update district policies. As critical as it is to establish a learner-centered Framework for the Future—vision, mission, values, goals, learning model, and accountability structure—all of it sits on shaky ground…
Blog
Great Teachers Make Innovative Solutions Possible
Guest Author: Dr. Cory Steiner, Superintendent of Northern Cass School District (ND), Learner-Centered Collaborative Advisory Council member Northern Cass is a mentor school district in the 2023-24 Learner-Centered Connections program Several years ago Northern Cass School District in North Dakota acknowledged that despite traditional markers indicating things were “good” across the district they wanted…
Blog
Updates from a Flourishing Research Collaborative
Learner Centered Collaborative (LCC) and the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently hosted a second Research Partnership convening—this time focused on relational trust, belonging, and flourishing in educational ecosystems. The unique partnership, which applies research in practice to ensure findings translate seamlessly in the field, is also committed to timely dissemination of information…
Blog
Get “Outside” With Us: Exploring Innovative Schools Nationwide
In today’s rapidly changing educational landscape, school district leaders face exciting possibilities when it comes to providing the best learning experiences for students. To accelerate the adoption of these learner-centered models, leaders have the opportunity to learn with and from colleagues nationwide who have done and are doing the work and to build upon…
Blog
3 Optimistic Predictions for the Future of Learner-Centered Education
As we look towards 2024 and beyond, I foresee several exciting developments in learner-centered education. At Learner-Centered Collaborative our focus remains steadfast on advancing learner-centered education. We envision a future where education systems are dynamically aligned with the needs and aspirations of each learner. The potential for transformative impact is immense, and our…
Blog
Ready-Set-Goal! Then Reflect & Repeat
We often talk about goals at the beginning of the school year and the calendar year as these are really natural times to reflect about what’s gone well and what we might do differently. However, these “seasonal” goals often end up on a physical or digital shelf and forgotten by the time October or…
Tools
Goal-Setting and Reflection Template
Goal-setting and reflecting is a part of a learner-centered practice and it can and should take place with our youngest of learners all the way through to our most senior administrators. This tool is intended to support educators and leaders to set meaningful and relevant goals that will support a growth mindset and continuous…
BlogWebinars
Leadership Forum: Igniting Limitless Potential for All Learners with Encinitas Union 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 second event in the series in December 2023, Encinitas Superintendent Andrée Grey and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services…
Blog
Navigating Our Future: The Revised Big Questions Shaping Our Research Partnership with UCSD
In the ever-evolving landscape of education, the need for research and practices that are robust and reflective of contemporary challenges is imperative. Recognizing this need, Learner-Centered Collaborative, in partnership with UC San Diego, has embarked on a journey to foster innovation and advance knowledge in the field of education through collaborative research projects, shared…
Blog
What It Means to Center Learners By Design
What does learner-centered education have to do with design? A lot, actually. At the core, both design and learner-centered education are human-centered. Contrary to what one might think, they don’t require a blank canvas or a sleek modern building, but rather a story, assets to build upon, challenges to address, and a deep understanding…