The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning

What do you think of when you hear the term 'learner agency?' You might envisage students having some "voice" and "choice" around what they learn, or where they sit in class. And while that's a nice start, learner agency is more than allowing students some choice in what they learn. It's about involving them in every step of the journey. Imagine a school with... 🙌🏼 Student- run electives. 🙌🏼 Seventy + student led businesses to carry out the school's day to day operations. 🙌🏼 Timetables that are created and carried out by a student design team. 🙌🏼 A school board that includes young learners. 🙌🏼 100+ Individualised Learning Plans that students co-design. That's Templestowe College, or more affectionately known as "Take Control" College in Australia. It's one of Hundred.org's top 100 most innovative schools in the world. And Peter Hutton was the mastermind at its helm. I was lucky enough to sit down with Peter to learn more about how he built this kind of learner agency; and how we as learner-centered champions can heed the lessons to build more student agency in our classrooms and schools.

Connect with Peter: LinkedIn, Twitter

Join Future Schools: https://futureschools.education/

Take the 12 Shifts for Learner-Centered Classrooms Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmastermind

Buy the 12 Shifts Book for 20% off: 'Where is the Teacher: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments.'

Join the 12 Shifts Certificate Program: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

Peter's Bio: Peter is a maverick, a free radical, a challenger of the status quo. His strength is in transformational insight and supporting educational leaders to build innovative and adaptive cultures. As a person with dyslexia, Peter sees the world differently. Co-founding the Future Schools Alliance in 2018, Peter now works with a community of 100 member schools to significantly improve the lives of young people by transforming the education system to promote purpose-filled empowered learning and equip them for times of exponential change. Peter was the former Principal of Templestowe College which has been recognised by Finland's HundrED organisationas one of the most innovative schools in the world.

Do you still set New Year's Resolutions?

I used to—until I realized I broke nearly all of them by February. And I'm not alone. Research shows that 88% of people abandon their resolutions within the first two weeks!

But there's a far more powerful, research-backed method for casting your vision for Student-Centered Learning in 2025. This method has already helped me and over 2,000 educators achieve radical transformations in their classrooms.

In this short bonus episode, I'll share this simple, proven method and show you how to use it to create more self-directed, empowered learners in the 2025 school year.

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to target areas for growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book (20% off for the holidays): Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Shifts-Student-Centered-Environments/dp/1032484713

Routledge: https://www.routledge.com/Where-Is-the-Teacher-The-12-Shifts-for-Student-Centered-Environments/Wagner/p/book/9781032484716

Join the 12 Shifts Training Certificate Course: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

"Feeling Overwhelmed by Running Your First Project with Learners?" 🎙️

You aren't alone.

Moving from a teacher-centered to student-led environment takes a lot of courage.

Bu what if all it required was a few simple shifts in what you already do?

In this episode, three student-centered elementary teachers share the shifts, stories, strategies, and lessons learned from running their first student-centered projects.

Learn how to overcome the three most common challenges:

• Keeping projects manageable
• Engaging and empowering all learners
• Balancing structure and curricular demands with student voice.

..with a few simple tweaks in how you design learning.

If you're new to project-based learning, this episode will give you actionable tips and the confidence to get started right away.

The 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book: www.transformschool.com

Learn more about the 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments Certificate Course: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

How do you develop a student-centered secondary classroom with a packed curriculum, strict assessment guidelines, and an exam based culture?

This is the dilemma Gisou Ravanbaksh faced when wanting to provide more agency to her students in her DP Psychology class.

But through a few simple shifts in the learning process and audience for student work, her classroom came alive with students researching, developing, and exhibiting an authentic 'brain museum' they co-created from start to finish.

Learn more about the shifts she implemented and how you can unleash student agency in yours as well.

Learn more and connect with Gisou: LinkedIN

Get the 12 Shifts Book: https://transformschool.com/whereistheteacher

Take the Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Join a 12 Shifts Cohort in January: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

Gisou's Bio:

Gisou is a student-centered international educator and educational leader with 20 years of experience in both adolescent and adult learning. She has xpertise in designing and delivering customized professional development workshops on student wellbeing, cross-cultural understanding, diversity and inclusion, character development, curriculum design, leadership training, and other areas of targeted need.

What happens to the classroom environment when you give students a real problem to address?

That's what Dave Strudwick, former Teacher/Principal of Real School Budapest was wondering when he asked year 5 students to fuse literacy, multimedia, and fashion to "create a better world."

His classroom transformed from a teacher-centered space to a real world design studio, with students taking on roles as sustainble fashion designers, and magazine publishers.

Learn more about his transformation story and how through a few simple shifts, you can experience the same transformation in your classroom as well.

Connect with Dave on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-strudwick-a6152128/

Get the 12 Shifts Book: www.transformschool.com/whereistheteacher

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to Identify Target Areas of Growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Learn more about the 12 Shifts Master Class starting in January: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

Dave's Bio:

Dave is a creative leader who has founded three schools and lead others. He has worked in a wide range of contexts including schools, museums, with tech companies, start ups, and with excluded children. His focus is on the development of rounded young people who have great knowledge, habits of success, creative know how and way finding abilities. He loves writing, facilitating workshops and keynote speaking that looks to design and develop curriculum, pedagogy, community and culture. His approach improves outcomes through the development of people, student ownership, digital processes and creating a high quality learning environment.

What learning opportunities exist beyond our classroom doors?

That's the question that led school founder and student-centered educator Dr. Jane Shore on a community mapping expedition with her high school students in Philadelphia.

Through a simple 5-step process, they uncovered community stories, built strategic connections, and forged long term learning partnerships that would give learning in the classroom new purpose and meaning.

This 'ecosystem map' became their North Star.

Hear Jane's story and discover how to more meaningfully connect your classroom to the community as well.

Connect with Jane: [email protected]

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to target araeas of growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book: www.transformschool.com/whereistheteacher

Learn more about the 12 Shifts Cohorts starting in January: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

What do grades tell students about their learning? Are they even helpful?

Even though evidence suggests grades are a poor motivator for student learning, we still use them in our classrooms to evaluate learning. But there's a much better way to not only evaluate learning, but track learner GROWTH and PROGRESS.

In this highly engaging episode recorded live at my Book Launch Party , Gary Heidt takes us through his journey of replacing grades in his classroom with portfolios and presentations of learning, and the impact it had on his learners.

This episode will make you re-imagine what's possible in your won classroom when shifting from...

Grades - - - - > Self, Peer and Expert Critique

Get in touch with Gary Heidt: Linkedin, Twitter/X- @Ed_by_design, Instagram- @pvnovalab

Gary's Blogs: https://onlyconnects.wordpress.com , Https://pvhsnovalab.com

Link to Gary's Gradeless Digital Notebook: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1oOWav74ZSMcoS9wXQhB6r_UCbnQR7J_b/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107869970601559545884&rtpof=true&sd=true

12 Shifts Resources:

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to identify areas for growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Shifts-Student-Centered-Environments/dp/1032484713

Learn about the 'From Teacher Led to Student-Centered' Professional Learning Cohorts Starting in January: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsmasterclass

With AI able to fill out worksheets, write five paragraph essays, craft short stories, or pen reports in seconds, the impetus for inspiring original, real-world work couldn't be greater.

How as student-centered faciltiators do we support students in producing the kind of work that they find PERSONALLY meaningful and beautiful?

Helping them find THEIR unique, personal voice.

In this groubreaking episode, recorded live at our 12 Shifts launch party, Matthew Neylon, Creative Director at Mt. Vernon K-12 school unpacks the secrets to curating this kind of work across an entire school.

Through his transformation story we learn how to transform the blank walls of our schools and classsroom with the creative work and genius of kids.

Connect with Matt: Instagram/Twitter (X) (@mattneylon), Linkedin, Website: https://cre8ivmvmt.com/

Purchase the 12 Shifts Book: www.transformschool.com/whereistheteaher

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to identify areas for growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Watch the video presentation and join the conversation on LInkedin: Join the Conversation

What happens to student empowerment when we move from the the front of the classroom to a gentle facilitator on the side?

We get more self-directed learners.

More student voice, opinions, and ideas.

A range of diverse work products.

Making this shift is NOT easy. It requires a mindset of trust, and the facilitator 'moves' to support this kind of student-centered environment. Andrew Faulstich, a Montessori Adolescent Guide and Facilitator of these kind of learning environments teaches us how to make these shifts by:

• Unpacking the core tenets of learner-centered environments
• Providing concrete strategies to foster student-led discussion
• Suggesting a few changes in the way we design our classrooms
• Offering prompts for more open-ended learner supported questions

Get in Touch with Andrew: LinkedIn, Community (Enlightened Educator Project), Blog/Newsletter (Substack)

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to Target Areas of Growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book for More Strategies/Ideas/Stories: www.transformschool.com/whereistheteacher (Use WT30 at checkout for 30% discount)

Andrew's Bio:

Andrew believe in the potential for education to be transformative for all students. His expertise is in facilitating learning environments where all participants, both young people and adults, experience empowerment and liberation. He developed and led international and U.S. education programs and taught students from 10 different countries in person, virtually, and in a hybrid format. Across these experiences, Andrew found that progressive, learner-centered, and Montessori education is a catalyst for a transformational change within each learner. Andrew works at the intersection of supporting human development and driving a social revolution leading to a more equitable, interdependent world.

If I walked into your classroom, would I find students seated neatly in rows facing the front, or in small interdependent table teams?

One of the best ways to shift from a teacher-led to a student-centered environments is to re-arrange your furniture.

In this short bonus episode, I unpack simple ideas for creating this kind of collaborative environment, strategies for developing interdependent student teams, and the implications it will have for your classroom in the new school year.

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard to Identify Areas for Growth: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book: www.transformschool.com/whereistheteacher

RSVP for the 12 Shifts Launch Party: www.transformschool.com/booklaunch