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Here is a start for resources you might use to research Student Centered Instruction with your learning team. Feel free to add to this Padlet, or start your own list of resources on Google Drive.

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Students created an iMovie trailer on a famous Missourian of their choosing. They shared their presentations during a gallery walk to other students.

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After watching MO tourism bureau promotional videos, students located and labeled destinations. Then presented as a group - highlighting one destination to the class.

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Students created a class timeline of MO history using dipity.com.

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Teaching and Learning Center | University of the Sciences

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Coordinating faculty teaching activities for better student learning outcomes, the Teaching and Learning Center connects educators with expertise.

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60 Strategies

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Facing History offers student-centered teaching strategies that nurture students' literacy and critical thinking skills within a respectful classroom climate. The strategies suggested here can be used with students of all ages with any academic content. See complete list of teaching strategies.

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Characteristics

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Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom

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Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom

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Book

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Putting students in charge to close the achievement gap

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Putting students in charge to close the achievement gap

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Article

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In an 11th-grade English class at Pittsfield Middle High School in rural New Hampshire, Jenny Wellington's students were gathered in a circle debating Henry David Thoreau's positions on personal responsibility.

"Do you think Thoreau really was about 'every man for himself'?" asked one 16-year-old boy.

"He lived alone in the woods and didn't want to pay taxes," another student shots back. "So, yeah."

Sitting off to the side, Wellington took rapid notes. When she noticed the conversation being dominated by a couple of voices, she politely suggested someone else chime in. Otherwise, she stayed out of the way and let the discussion take shape.

Welcome to student-centered learning at Pittsfield, a grade 7-12 campus in its third year of an innovative approach to education.
Related: Personalized learning on the march
"There used to be a lot more of teachers talking at you - it didn't matter if you were ready to move on. When the teacher was done with the topic that was it," said Noah Manteau, a senior this year at Pittsfield. "This is so much better."

Educators, researchers, and policymakers at the state and national level are keeping close tabs on Pittsfield, which has become an incubator for a critical experiment in school reform. The goal: a stronger connection between academic learning and the kind of real-world experience that advocates say can translate into postsecondary success.

Pittsfield, a former mill town, has about 4,500 predominately white residents, and the Middle High School serves about 260 residents. Fifty-six percent of them qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Student-centered learning is fully in place in the high school, and elements of it are being phased in at the middle-school level. The long-term plan is to eventually add it to the nearby elementary school.

Pittsfield's superintendent, John Freeman, is among the first to acknowledge that adopting student-centered learning was a bold move. Student performance on statewide assessments has long been uneven, and teachers and administrators know there is still significant work to be done. But test scores are just one indicator, and based on multiple other measures, including higher graduation and college-going rates, Freeman feels confident that student-centered learning is moving Pittsfield in the right direction.
Related: What it actually takes for schools to 'go digital'
At Pittsfield, student-led discussions, small-group work, and individual projects dominate. The traditional grading system has been replaced with a matrix of "competencies," detailing the skills and knowledge students are expected to master in each class. Students are graded on a scale of 1 to 4 - with 2.5 considered "proficient" - and those numbers are converted into letter grades for their transcripts. Teachers meet at regular intervals to review how closely their instruction is aligning with the competencies; they use an online database to continually track individual student growth. Additional online classes allow students to further challenge themselves and earn college credit. Family engagement is considered a key part of each student's progress. And the Extended Learning Opportunities (ELO) program allows students to earn credit for workplace experiences that reinforce their academic studies, such as interning at a dentist's office or the local radio station.

All of this means students are shouldering more responsibility for their own learning. And they are expected to develop the kind of critical thinking skills -not just rote knowledge - required for "real world" success. As a result, advocates of student-centered learning say it provides superior preparation for both college and career.

As senior Ryan Marquis put it, "I had to switch from 'Here's your study guide and here's your answer sheet' to 'How do you want to learn the content, and how can we support you?'"

***

Student-centered learning in Pittsfield - located in the Suncook Valley about 40 minutes north of Manchester - began to take shape in 2008, when the district asked for community input on ways to improve local schools and found overwhelming support for more personalized approaches. The following year, Pittsfield's high school was rated one of the state's lowest-performing, based on students' standardized test scores. The one benefit of that dismal ranking was that it later qualified Pittsfield for a $1 million federal School Improvement Grant (SIG).

This set in motion intensive public-private partnerships, and the creation of a community working group to help come up with a new instructional approach. After extensive research, planning, and conversations with parents, the district opted for the student-centered learning model, and the plan was implemented in January 2012.
Related: Can special education students keep up with the Common Core?
"People in our community wanted schools to be places where students' passions and interests were recognized, and their deficits and weaknesses addressed," said Freeman. "We're thinking not just about what happens within these walls, but preparing them for success at least seven years beyond high school graduation."

"I've never seen any school - big or little - pay such close attention to student data." Laureen Avery, UCLA Center X

Around the same time, the district was considering how to implement New Hampshire's mandate that high schools use a competency-based model, rather than traditional seat-time hours, to award course credit. New Hampshire had also adopted the Common Core State Standards, which set grade-level expectations for what students know and can do, but do not dictate classroom instruction.

Rather than becoming competing forces, this unique combination of circumstances provided Pittsfield with enviable synergies, education experts say. "One of the downfalls of personalized learning has often been a regression to the lowest standard," said Sonja Santelises, vice president of K-12 policy and practice for the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Education Trust. The confluence of the Common Core, high school competencies, and student-centered learning in Pittsfield, said Santelises, offered "a rare opportunity" to set high expectations for learning that are supported by a rigorous and innovative instructional framework. At the same time, she added, the community's buy-in has been critical, particularly during the earliest planning stages. Accountability must also be a top priority, Santelises said: Teachers should be continually checking students' progress against the standards and adjusting instruction accordingly.

"These are not just nice things to have - they're absolutely essential to have if you're going to bring about meaningful change," Santelises said.

***

What is student-centered learning? In its broadest sense, it describes an approach where teachers function more as coaches than lecturers. While it's gaining momentum nationally, the definition is still evolving. The term is sometimes used - incorrectly, say the model's advocates - to describe any kind of free-form learning that is not "teacher centered." The New England-based Nellie Mae Education Foundation defines the model as personalized instruction that allows students to advance at their own rate, with opportunities for "anywhere, anytime" learning outside the confines of the traditional school day and building. Students must also have input in determining how they will learn, choosing among opportunities such as online classes and independent study. Project-based learnin g, in which students build connections between the academic course content and their own interests and career goals, is another popular route.

According to Rebecca Wolfe, director of the nonprofit Jobs For the Future's Students at the Center project, student-centered learning shares the Common Core's underlying goal: helping students develop their critical thinking skills while better preparing them for the real-world challenges of college and career. "They are absolutely complementary - and should be part of the same whole - when done right," Wolfe said.
Related: Can kids tell whether they're being taught the Common Core?
Student-centered learning is not without its critics. Some question the philosophical premise, while others worry about the potentially daunting logistical requirements. There are also concerns that student-centered learning can result in a chaotic classroom environment, and that some students won't progress quickly enough to cover the required curriculum. Learners who already trail their peers could be the most vulnerable.

"The idea of 'student-centered everything' is one of those orthodoxies where it's easy to fall off the end of the cliff," said Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow and vice president for external affairs at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Washington, D.C. "It works a lot better in the content areas than in skills-based instruction like reading comprehension, for example."

As for letting students demonstrate proficiency by non-traditional means, Pondiscio said "as long as the projects are rigorous and challenging, I see no problem with allowing students to produce work product that interests and engages them - provided it's aligned to the content expectations."

Recent research from the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education found the student-centered model is working in unexpected places, including urban high schools with high percentages of minority and low-income students. Consider a June 2014 study looking at student-centered learning in four northern California public high schools, all smaller, open-enrollment campuses. The Stanford researchers concluded that regular assessments were helping teachers better monitor student progress and adjust instruction accordingly. Students were also finding ways to connect their learning to their own interests and the wider community outside of school.

"Students in the study schools exhibited greater gains in achievement than their peers, had higher graduation rates, were better prepared for college, and showed greater persistence in college," said Stanford University Professor and SCOPE Faculty Director Linda Darling-Hammond in a statement about the new research. "Student-centered learning proves to be especially beneficial to economically disadvantaged students and students whose parents have not attended college.
Related: When "proficient" isn't enough: A California school rises to the Common Core challenge
At Pittsfield, the shift to student-led discussions was a fairly steep learning curve for everyone, including teacher Jenny Wellington. To build her lesson on Thoreau, Wellington first turned to the school's "competencies," which are drawn from the state's Common Core standards. For the 11th grade, that means students should be able to interpret the literature they read, and craft arguments using the text as evidence. Wellington uses a mix of student-led discussions, small group work, writing assignments and the occasional traditional test to measure the progress of the class.

"I'm giving them a point of focus but I'm not telling them what to think," Wellington said. "My role is to make sure they are following through with a thought or an idea and not just jumping around. Once they hit on something they have to go deeper - and find support for their position from the text."

The students keep track of how often each of them contributes to the conversation, setting goals both for themselves and for the class overall. For the most part, Wellington remains on the sidelines, although she occasionally stops the conversation for an in-class writing assignment to give quieter students an extra moment to collect their thoughts and consider what they want to say.

"When I have really strong student dominating the discussions, I'll tell them privately to hang back a little," Wellington said. "They all get feedback from me every time, after every discussion. That's hard data for them, and they love it."

There have been unexpected developments: When Wellington used a traditional multiple choice test to measure students' grasp of the content at the end of a subject unit, many of them scored poorly on some of the basic facts of Thoreau's biography. But their written responses to the essay portion of the test, asking them to explain and interpret transcendentalism, were a different kind of surprise. "They blew me out of the water," Wellington said. "Their understanding was clearly deeper than just those facts."

In an age when Google's search engine is as close as a cell phone, "I would question whether a student knowing the year Thoreau died is really essential," said Robert Rothman, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Excellent Education, a Washington, D.C.-based organization focused on high school transformation. "If students didn't know that he lived in the 19 th century, that might be problem. If you're going to talk about transcendentalism you need to know facts about it, and about the people who espoused it, to provide evidence for your conclusions."

There are other education theorists who take this argument even further, insisting that there's little need for much of the rote learning that takes place in public schools. However, "there's a danger of going from one extreme to another," Rothman said. "Just testing students on basic facts doesn't help students develop those deeper understanding and learning. And just having them show they can communicate and write longer essays without some basis in knowledge isn't going to help them, either."

***
Related: Why is this Common Core math problem so hard? Supporters respond to quiz that went viral
Like many of the nation's public schools, both large and small, Pittsfield must contend with a high-need student population and a post-recession struggle for adequate funding. Until recently, those challenges were exacerbated by a culture of low expectations for students, say Pittsfield teachers. In 2013, Pittsfield's 11th graders had a proficiency rate of 61 percent for reading on the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) exam; the statewide average for reading was 77 percent. In math, Pittsfield's proficiency rate of 36 percent was the same as the state average, but that's almost double the 19 percent that the school reported for the 2008-09 school year. Until 2011, Pittsfield had been on upward trend for several years, but during the past two school years, scores have fallen.

The district has also been challenged by system-wide instability. Pittsfield has a higher-than-average number of residential rental properties, which means it has more student turnover than many of the state's other small towns, said Superintendent Freeman, who took the helm in 2008 after nine years as one of the district's principals. Teacher turnover has also been high: Since 2011, about 60 percent of the teachers and administrators at the middle-high school have been replaced, in part because some staff members rejected the shift to student-centered learning. Freeman said the school has also taken a more aggressive approach to evaluating the performance and potential of non-tenured teachers.

Test scores aside, Pittsfield has improved in key areas since it launched its student-led curriculum. According to the National Student Clearinghouse, Pittsfield's dropout rate in 2013 was 2.3 percent, down from 3.6 percent in 2010. During the same three-year period, the graduation rate climbed to 80 percent from 75 percent. And the college-going rate jumped to 60 percent from 47 percent.

Laureen Avery of UCLA's Center X also points out that the school is no longer in the bottom 5 percent of the state's high schools. Avery is the lead evaluator of the school's Investing in Innovation (i3) grant, a $5 million federal investment it shares with a network of 12 other New England campuses; the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Rural School and Community Trust have each contributed an additional $500,000 to the group of schools, and Nellie Mae, located in Quincy, Mass., has awarded a separate $2 million grant to Pittsfield specifically to put student-centered learning into place.

"I've never seen any school-big or little-pay such close attention to student data," Avery said. "They have a really well-developed way of tracking progress. Yes, Pittsfield is a unique, small school. But they're succeeding with processes that could be transferrable to another campus."

Paul Leather, New Hampshire's deputy education commissioner, emphasizes that a student-led program like Pittsfield's could not have worked without strong leaders, supported teachers, and an engaged community. "You can have the best ideas in the world," Leather said. "But ultimately, it all comes down to implementation."

To that end, Freeman has worked hard to carve out time for professional development. He has also eliminated the principal position and instead installed two deans at the helm: one for curriculum and instruction and one for building management. That clear delineation of duties means the first dean can focus on supporting classroom teachers while the second deals with the day-to-day tasks involved in running the school.

For Jenny Wellington, who has spent 12 years teaching - six in New York City public schools, two years at the University of New Hampshire, and four at Pittsfield - it's still a daily challenge to manage everything student-centered learning requires. The academic, social and emotional needs of her Pittsfield students are not dissimilar to those of her former pupils in the Bronx, Wellington said.
Reproduction of this story is not permitted.
But she says the changes at Pittsfield have made it easier for her to respond to those challenges. She regularly visits her colleagues' classrooms, gleaning ideas about how to get students to steer their own learning and looking for opportunities for joint projects. This fall, for example, biology students will be expected to write a persuasive essay about the use of human stem cells in research - an essay that will also be evaluated by their English teacher.

"I've learned to step back more and let the students lead," Wellington said. "To let go of the idea that I have to be center stage all the time has been incredibly freeing. I feel like I'm a better teacher."

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Putting students in charge to close the achievement gap - The Hechinger Report

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In an 11th-grade English class at Pittsfield Middle High School in rural New Hampshire, Jenny Wellington's students were gathered in a circle debating Henry David Thoreau's positions on personal responsibility. "Do you think Thoreau really was about 'every man for himself'?" asked one 16-year-old boy.

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Student-Centered Learning Strategies for Math and Other Subjects

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Student-Centered Learning Strategies for Math and Other Subjects

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Article

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The following is a lesson plan that I give to the students to execute. It covers one section of the Geometry textbook (high school).

Project 2C (Classwork) Congruence and Triangles (4.2) (Page 202)

1. Three vocabulary. Corresponding Angles, Corresponding Sides, Triangle Congruence Statement Write and learn the definitions, include examples, underline, highlight, or change the color of the term. Learn and understand them.

A triangle congruence statement names the two triangles congruent with corresponding angles in corresponding positions in the triangle name. For example: When you write ?ABC??PQR you also mean that ?A??P,?B??Q, and ?C??R. If this is not true, then the congruence statement is false.

Note: Congruent is the same as equal except in math only figures are congruent and only numbers are equal (previously covered).

2. DFU Example: 1. Naming Congruent Pairs (DFU means Done For You.) Copy the question. Copy or write the solution in your own words. Include what you think is important when the instructions are to completely show your work. Be sure to learn what you are doing.

3. UDO Example: Page 205 Guided Practice #1 (UDO means You Do.) This is very similar to DFU Example 1. You must write the question and completely show your work.

Note: When working with congruent figures it helps a lot to draw them both facing the same way. Sometimes you only need to rotate one of them, but sometimes you need to flip one of them over and rotate it. This makes it easy to see corresponding sides and angles. It is easy to do and always makes the problem easier; it often changes a difficult problem into an easy one.

4. DFU Example: 2 (a, b). Using Properties of Congruent Figures

5. UDO Example: Page 205 Guided Practice #4 - 9

6. One theorem. Theorem 4.3 Third Angle Theorem

7. DFU Example: 3. Using the Third Angle Theorem

8. UDO Example: Page 809 Guided Practice #11

9. DFU Example: 4. Determining Whether Triangles are Congruent

10. UDO Example: Page 206 Guided Practice #17

11. DFU Example: 5. Proving Two Triangles are Congruent

12. UDO Example: Page 208 Guided Practice #35

13. One theorem. Theorem 4.4 Properties of Congruent Triangles

The plan guides the students to learn vocabulary, copy and learn examples, and do examples on their own. They need help at first, but soon learn how to teach themselves. Their work is collaborative; they rely on each other for help. They rely on me too, often asking questions. The book weaves the vocabulary into the examples. The book is very thorough, covering all aspects of the standards with very creative examples. Mostly I do one-on-one instruction. My role in the classroom has changed from "imparter of knowledge," to "facilitator of learning." The student centered lesson frees me up to roam about the room and become a resource for explaining, demonstrating, and clarifying precisely those areas each student needs. The students now ask me, instead of me demanding they "listen and learn." When several students are not getting it however, or are making the same mistakes, I will interrupt the class as a whole to explain something of general interest. Those students who want to learn the material excel using this method. It's all about motivation.

Strategy Two: Teach good note-taking skills

Besides learning subject matter, it is essential for students to be taught how to learn. Specific techniques for old fashion note taking are essential. Most textbooks (especially in Science and Social Studies) have pages of narrative followed by questions. Have the student write p1pa1 in the left margin of their paper. This means, page 1 paragraph 1. The student reads the paragraph, writes a short something, and then writes p1pa2. They read, they write, they read, they write, and so forth, until they get to the questions. The students will be surprised at how easily they are able to answer the questions. The answers will be in their notes or direct them to a page and paragraph. This frees you from teaching knowledge based lessons and prepares the students for high level comprehension activities.

The product of the math lesson in Strategy One is notes for the section.

Strategy Three: Keep students motivated

The student-centered style is quite motivating for some students. The students I'm talking about seem to be surprised that they can learn this way, and each day fuels the next. For some it happens right away; others may take a month to six weeks to get hooked on the power of student-centered learning. I try to be a model of a lifelong learner, sharing my interest in puzzles, toys, mazes, kites, geometric art, and anything academic. We build geometric figures with straws for extra credit. I try to make it as fun as I can.

Some students are not highly motivated and tend toward procrastination and socializing rather than doing schoolwork and homework. I would not be honest if I didn't admit that there are some students who refuse to do the work and are way behind schedule. However, the student-centered style leaves these students nowhere to hide. You know who you need help with and who is in danger of failing very early on.

Strategy Four: Make tests a real-time learning experience

Unfortunately, many students are not motivated to learn until there is a test in front of them. All of a sudden they have questions. I capitalize on this opportunity as a learning experience. I let them use the book and I am glad to answer questions during the test. When I correct the test I put small red dots next to the problems they get wrong. I return it to the student to make corrections. Besides being a highly motivating learning experience, it is an opportunity for the student to assess for themselves how much they have learned thus far. They may decide to intensify their work habits. Again, this is another opportunity for creating lifelong learners.

Strategy Five: Grade for learning

It has been argued that the grades in my class are too high. I believe however, that the classroom setting is the place for learning, not a place for pronouncements of success or failure. Standardized Tests are sufficiently appropriate venues for assessing Subject Mastery. Classrooms are for learning.It is my continued belief and experience that both Subject Mastery and Self Motivational Learning are the keys to success. When we, as Educators, are willing to give the Power and Responsibility for learning back to the student, we will have succeeded. Student Centered Learning is our future.

A secondary math teacher, Paul Bogdan has over 10 years of experience in the classroom, as well as 8 years in the field of computer systems design. He has a BA in Mathematics and a MA in Multidisciplinary Studies. He grew up in Buffalo New York, and has taught in NY, California, and recently got a credential to teach in Oregon.

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Student-Centered Learning Strategies for Math and Other Subjects | Edutopia

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The following is a lesson plan that I give to the students to execute. It covers one section of the Geometry textbook (high school). Project 2C (Classwork) Congruence and Triangles (4.2) (Page 202) 1. Three vocabulary. Corresponding Angles, Corresponding Sides, Triangle Congruence Statement Write and learn the definitions, include examples, underline, highlight, or change the color of the term.

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Article

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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An Up-Close Look at Student-Centered Math Teaching

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An Up-Close Look at Student-Centered Math Teaching

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10 Ways to Get Student Centered Learning Right

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10 Ways to Get Student Centered Learning Right

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Photo credit: Francisco Osorio

If there's been a single educational buzzword with traction over the past few years, "student-centered learning" certainly tops the charts. From the TED stage to experimental classrooms, an increasing number of thought leaders, schools and teachers are advocating a handover of the learning experience to the students who must do the learning.

To seasoned educators, the basic concepts that undergird student-centered learning won't strike them as particularly new. After all, Paulo Freire's famous critique of the "Banking Model of Education" - the model in which knowledge is a resource that students passively withdraw from the bank (teacher) without active engagement - made waves all the way back in the early 70s. Even earlier in the 20th century, John Dewey, Carl Rogers, and Maria Montessori advocated for student-driven learning, while Theodore Sizer's 1987 book, Horace's Compromise, advocated for collaborative learning.

And yet, while student-centered learning did take off in some places (often in private schools), it has only recently begun to take firm hold in public schools. This may be due in part to the renewed influence of educational reformers and an increased urgency to fix a struggling education system. However, the influence of the Common Core's tough critical thinking requirements can't be underestimated, as well as the spread of technology that is increasingly making personalized learning a reality.

If we accept the premise that student-centered learning can be a highly effective strategy for many kinds of classrooms and school populations, how can we ensure it is implemented effectively, with intelligence, and without the rigid dogma that so often leads to the failure of so many sweeping educational reforms?

It Starts With Definition

At its most general, student-centered learning is an educational experience that is driven by its students. This can manifest in many different ways. In student-centered learning, students might choose what they want to learn within a set range of topics, lead their own discussions after doing research online, or complete a mixture of online classes and independent study. Student-centered learning can encompass (but is in no way limited to or defined by) project-based learning, active learning, and collaborative learning. As a personalized form of learning, student-centered approaches can mean many different things, as long as they employ that essential pivot from teacher- to student-lead learning. The core goals are to motivate and interest students and to foster critical thinking skills that employ active rather than passive engagement in the classroom. For a deeper look at what student learning is - and what it can be - we can't recommend this guide from the Education Writers Association highly enough.

How to Make It Work

Using a struggling New Hampshire school as a case study, the recent Atlantic article, " What Happens When Students Control Their Education?" provides an excellent review of what proponents see as the benefits of student-centered learning and critics see as weaknesses. Here are the key takeaways for overcoming obstacles and successfully making this shift in your classroom or school.

1. Turn Teachers into Facilitators and Coaches

Critiques of student-centered learning often focus on the unruliness that may result when a teacher is no longer firmly in control. But a true student-centered approach in no way means taking the teacher out of the process. Rather, the teacher remains key as a coach and facilitator - the person who puts the structure in place and then makes sure it is maintained as students move within it. This is different from traditional approaches, in which the structure in itself can often feel like an end rather than a mean, but, when done correctly, it should not be a free-for-all.

Importantly, the teacher should also act as a guide to deeper insights, whether that means refereeing so that every person's input is heard and not just that of the most vocal students, or asking students probing questions at the right moment to prompt them into thinking deeper. This kind of intervention is key in ensuring students move beyond the simple gathering of information via Google search to ingesting and examining it at a deep, integrative level.

2. Push Students to Apply Their Knowledge

Similarly, it is important that the guiding doesn't stop at discussion and analysis. As the next step in the learning cycle, it is crucial that students then apply their knowledge in new settings. Students should again drive this process, whether it's determining what kind of projects or further investigations they would like to do, or it's choosing from a number of choices a teacher has provided. This can also be combined with collaborative learning as a group project.

3. Give Teachers the Resources and Support They Need

When student-centered approaches don't work, it's often because teachers are simply given a bunch of new jargon to imbibe that is indecipherable from previous jargon, and then are sent out into the wilds of the classroom. Schools that are interested in implementing student-centered approaches should provide ample professional development opportunities, workshops, and mentoring on the subject. This should cover both the deeper philosophical shift at hand as well as specific, concrete lesson plans and coaching techniques. Teachers should also be given training on using individualized classroom devices like iPads to foster a personalized learning environment.

Keep in mind that supporting teachers is also about finances. A 2012 study by the Center on Reinventing Public Education found that new student-drive programs worked best in schools that reallocated resources in that direction. Even better were schools that generated revenue through private-public partnership - though that financing approach, of course, comes with its supporters and detractors.

4. Establish Rules

Similarly, teachers should take the time to explain the coming changes to their students before implementing them. In doing so, they should of course gather student input, but they should also set boundaries - including the crucial point that this is not about "doing whatever you want" so much as it is "asking your most burning questions" and "exploring topics in which you've always been interested." Students will need to fully buy-in to the idea in order for it to be successful.

When leading a discussion group in particular, teachers may want to experiment with setting and enforcing firm moderating rules that still put the students in charge without letting a minority of vocal students dominate or derail the discussion. These rules can be set by students up front. Alternatively, you might try having one student become the teacher for a session, putting all of the research on the topic at hand onto the student's plate, and then having them lead the discussion, with each student stating what they'd like to comment about beforehand, and the student determining whether or not they find the comment relevant for discussion. This is a very regimented approach, but it can be highly effective in keeping chatty or unruly classes on track, while still putting control of the discussion firmly in student hands.

5. Change the Feedback Process

With a student-centered learning approach, grades should no longer be the primary learning metric. Comments and in-depth discussion can be far more useful in terms of learning, especially on written assignments. However, many students will still need a more concrete approach, and schools will still need a way of tying competency to Common Core standards. The New Hampshire school featured in The Atlantic article addressed this problem with "competency matrices," which detailed a number of skills students should master in each class, ranked on a scale of 1 to 4. This allowed the school to provide much more comprehensive and useful feedback than a simple letter grade, but could still be easily translated into traditional grades for transcripts.

Alternatively, in flipped classrooms that have students doing the bulk of their knowledge intake on their own time, quizzes and tests are still relevant and useful, especially in terms of gathering highly specific data to pinpoint where a student needs help. Feedback here can come not only in terms of a number grade, but also with a requirement that the student re-approach questions they missed until they demonstrate proficiency. Overall, tracking growth in a student-centered classroom is crucial to ensure learning is still on track.

6. Get the Families on Board

Student-driven learning requires an increase in student accountability and motivation. In theory, a student-centered approach will intrinsically draw these qualities out of students. In practice, many students will need coaching and support at home, especially in younger grades. Parents may also need education themselves in just what a student-centered approach is to ensure there is maximum buy-in at home.

7. Offer Extended Learning Opportunities

Student-centered learning isn't bounded by a school's cinder block walls. Whether it's time in a Maker studio, online courses or an externship or shadowing opportunity for a motivated student who wants to see what life is like outside of academia, giving students the chance for multi-modal, experiential learning is an effective way to broaden minds and teach specific skills - all while putting student choice at the forefront.

8. Re-Define the Metrics of Success

While increased test scores will certainly remain an important measure for student-centered schools (at the very least, in terms of funding), it is essential that the definition of success is broadened to include increased graduation and college enrollment rates, as well as any other indications of improvement. This point applies beyond student-centered changes, and is important to keep in mind for any major shift to an educational approach.

9. Localize the Approach to the Most Appropriate Content

Big educational reforms often fail when there is complete orthodoxy about how they are implemented, as well as a universal application to areas for which the given reform may not be the most effective strategy. As such, keep in mind that a student-centered approach may not be the best strategy for every kind discipline or subject area, nor for every student population. The Common Core standards can often be a great navigation tool in terms of determining appropriate areas for a student-centered approach, especially for areas that put a strong emphasis on critical thinking.

10. Divide the Principalship

As some schools are finding, student-driven education may very well require a rethinking of the principal role. In the New Hampshire school, the single principal was replaced with two deans, one in charge of building management and the other in charge of curriculum and instruction. At least throughout the long transition process, this seems essential for ensuring such a monumental shift in approach is given the resources and attention it deserves.

What Do You Think?

Student-centered learning represents an important, fundamental, and exciting shift in education. But it is still evolving, and it is not without its detractors. What have your experiences been so far? What has worked for you, and what hasn't? How would you like to see your school or district better support throughout this transition? Let us know in the comments below and also through Twitter @Edudemic!

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10 Ways to Get Student Centered Learning Right

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Photo credit: Francisco Osorio If there's been a single educational buzzword with traction over the past few years, "student-centered learning" certainly tops the charts. From the TED stage to experimental classrooms, an increasing number of thought leaders, schools and teachers are advocating a handover of the learning experience to the students who must do the learning.

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collaborative to-do lists that can keep students on-task while working in groups.

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Use this to keep students on track while working in a student-centered environment