Your weekly source of learner-centered inspiration
Dear Educator,
Last week, I was in Hampton Township School District in Pittsburgh. My colleague Brittany Griffin and I worked with a Guiding Coalition of central office leaders, site leaders, and teacher leaders to identify how to bring their new Profile of a Talbot (aka Learner Profile) to life.
As a first step, we visited schools, observed classrooms and, of course, talked to kids to identify the Bright Spots that already exist.
I love hearing the incredible ideas that young people have. This week’s Bright Spot is a reminder not only of what we can teach them, but what they can teach us.
We want to hear from you! Share your Learner-Centered Bright Spot with us here.
BRIGHT SPOT OF THE WEEK
Learner-driven action research projects
I visited a class where students were doing literature reviews, conducting their own independent research study, collecting data, analyzing it, and writing their findings. It reminded me of my dissertation! The questions they were asking were sophisticated and important:
How does socio-economic status affect your sense of belonging in high school?
How does a gender neutral wardrobe impact perceived effectiveness in the workplace?
I got to talk more in-depth to Kathleen, a 16-year-old, about her research project. As an athlete, she noticed that many teenagers didn’t understand their menstrual cycle and wanted to do research on the impact of better understanding their bodies in order to help them harness their bodies as a superpower—yup you read that right.
These infographics below are a product of her research and she is teaching young women, along with her teachers, administrators, and coaches. These posters are put up in schools and it is clear that student voices are not only honored but celebrated.
When I asked Kathleen how she feels looking back at her K-12 career, she said:
“I feel really proud. I used to be scared of doing really hard work and didn’t know if I was capable of it but now I know that I can do real research, and write a paper and share my ideas for other people to learn from.”
Kathleen is researching, learning, teaching and empowering others while she leans in to her gifts. How are learners in your systems noticing, questioning, learning, and sharing their expertise? Let us know!
Explore resources that promote a culture that empowers learner-driven questions, research, solutions, and sharing.
1. Flex these superpowers webinar. Don’t miss Monday’s webinar with Devin Vodicka and Marlon Styles as they share 8 Superpowers for leading learner-centered change– many of which involve listening to and learning from learners. Register
2. So You Designed a Profile of a Graduate, Now What? Your vision for learners is clear, aligned, and articulated, now to put it into practice...these 9 steps will get you started.
3. New podcast episode! I'm excited to share podcast episode 12: Evoking a Growth Mindset, with Jenn Maichin where we discuss the benefits of challenging learners and evoking a growth mindset.
LET'S SHARE OUR BRIGHT SPOTS!
How do you collaborate in your context?
Share your #LCBrightSpots on social media!
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Learner-Centered Collaborative, 49 Stevenson Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
