Big Moves
Student-Led Advisory Councils or Boards
Asking students their opinions about decisions that affect them in their school community is a great place to start listening to learners. However, taking it a step further puts students at the decision-making table. Inviting students to participate in school or district-wide decisions by being on the board, a part of a student government…
Podcasts
Episode 34: Families and Caregivers Empowering Teachers with Sandy Cima
By loading this video, you agree to the privacy policy of Youtube.Always load Youtube videos on this site.Load VideoListen on SpotifyListen on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTubeEpisode Summary: In this episode, Sandy Cima, Director of People and Business Operations at Learner-Centered Collaborative, offers her unique perspective as both a parent and a professional. Sandy discusses…
Blog
See Me, Know Me, Grow Me: Personalizing Learning for Learner Agency and Success
Education is in a constant state of evolution, striving to meet the diverse needs of students in an ever-changing world. However, between 25% and 54% of students feel disengaged in school, with less than half feeling positively challenged or aligned with their strengths (Hrynowski, 2024). These statistics highlight the urgency of adopting a more…
Tools
Learning Experiences BINGO card
Access actionable steps for creating personalized, competency-based, authentic, inclusive and equitable learning experiences
Blog
What Happens When You Let Learners Lead? Embark Learners Share Their Insights
This work is a collaborative effort by Learner-Centered Collaborative in partnership with Eli Yoon, 6th grade learner; Tahliiya Harris, 6th grade learner; Vida Mennell, 7th grade learner; and Carissa Solomon, Senior Lead Educator at Embark Education in Denver, CO. Two learners work to organize the contents of the Essential Manual they wrote to support…
Blog
Discovering AI Together: Lessons from a Learner-Centered Classroom
Guest blog post by Carissa Solomon Carissa Solomon is a Senior Lead Educator at Embark Education in Denver, CO. Today, AI seems to be part of almost every conversation in education. Some people are excited by its possibilities, while others are anxious that it may usher in more cheating. Do you know what’s missing…
Blog
The Transformative Power of Surveys for Learner-Centered Improvements
In our continuous journey towards creating more learner-centered environments, Learner-Centered Collaborative has embarked on a pioneering effort to harness the insights of those who matter most in education: learners. By developing and deploying comprehensive learner surveys, we’ve aimed to capture a multi-faceted view of student learning outcomes and experiences. Here’s a glimpse into what…
Blog
Designing Assessments with Learners at the Center
Assessment often carries negative connotations for many educators, who associate it with grades, rankings, time pressures, effort, frustration, misrepresentation, and standardized tests. However, assessment doesn’t have to be a negative experience. When approached from a learner-centered perspective as a tool for learning and growth, assessment can be a powerful catalyst for student success. The…
Blog
Flexing Your Creative Confidence for School Redesign
Flex Your Creative Confidence “What if I don’t have a creative bone in my body?” an educator asked during a recent staff meeting I was invited to attend. “I hear creativity,” she said, “and, I just shut down.” Her brave admission resonated with many in the room. As an innovation leader, I’ve encountered…
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
These Pennsylvania Educators are Ready to Make Change Happen
Co-authored by Brittany Griffin and Jesse Ross Collaborative, learner-centered innovation has taken off in Western Pennsylvania. Throughout the 2023-24 school year, 23 educators from four Western Pennsylvania school districts—Hampton Township, Shaler Area, Deer Lakes, and Avonworth—are participating in a Learner-Centered Collaborative Innovation Cohort. Get an inside view into the experience in this 3-part series…
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…
Blog
5 Ways to Drive Learner Agency with Goal-Setting
Enabling students to take control of their own learning is one of the most powerful results of a learner-centric education. We share five techniques for cultivating student agency.
Blog
Elevating Learner Voices: Deer Lakes Students Share Their Vision in Video
At Learner-Centered Collaborative, we know centering student voice is key for meaningful change in education. We recently witnessed the power of learner voice in an impressive video produced by high school students at our partner district, Deer Lakes School District. To showcase Deer Lakes’ work with Learner-Centered Collaborative to redesign learning, high school students…
Blog
Empowering Educators As Designers
By Liz Perry and Sarah Mathews Liz Perry is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Learner-Centered Collaborative and former Director of Instructional Innovation at San Diego Unified School District Sarah Mathews is the Program Manager of Cross-Content Literacy at San Diego Unified School District. Educators As Curriculum Designers & Decision Makers As…
Tools
Feedback Protocol
Here’s the scene: You provided really thoughtful comments on a completed assignment and your feedback was never even read! Say goodbye to spending hours on “dead-end” feedback. Reclaim the power of feedback with a flip in practice and timing that makes feedback an actionable part of the learning process that is aligned to learning…
Blog
Using Feedback to Drive Learning, Connection, Purpose, and Ownership
Meaningful feedback is not the same as a grade or an evaluation. Feedback is information for the learner about where they are in relationship to the goal or target to help them get there.