Amplifying Student Voice

This website was designed to introduce educators to action civics. Action civics projects empower youth to become agents of change in their schools or communities. They learn to identify issues important to them and develop evidence-based arguments to influence public policy. This website is full of practical tools for school and community-based educators. Teachers can… Read More ›

Dear Educators, Stop Being Jerks and Amplify Student Voice

Sometimes educators can be jerks, particularly when youth are trying to teach decision-makers (school board members, school administrators, or lawmakers) about the lived experience of young people in schools. Decision-makers can be dismissive, calling youth “cute” or “cool.” They can also be downright rude and ignore student voice altogether. In fact, the more the voices… Read More ›

Distinguished Fellow’s Leadership Produces Results

Principal Arria Coburn stands against wall

One of the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative’s six Distinguished Fellows, Arria Coburn, was recently featured on WBUR’s On Point program. Coburn is the Principal of the Springfield Renaissance School in Springfield, MA, which WBUR notes has “attracted national recognition for raising the achievement of students from low-income families and students of color.” Principal Coburn has led multiple efforts that have helped produce these amazing… Read More ›

We’re Thankful for our Educators, Researchers and Funders

The end of November is always crunch time. Between finishing projects, producing research, educating students, fighting for social justice and planning for the holidays, it’s never quiet. Recognizing this reality makes the team at KnowledgeWorks’ Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative especially grateful for our inspiring Distinguished Fellows, researchers and funders who came out to New York City to ask and answer some of the biggest questions about student-centered learning. We were lucky… Read More ›

iNACOL Symposium 2019: Shining a Light on the Future of Learning

The iNACOL national conference this year will be held on October 28-31, 2019, at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California. At this event, experts, practitioners, educators, policymakers and researchers gather and work to transform education. This year’s theme is “Shining a Light on the Future of Learning” and we’ll be presenting alongside many… Read More ›

The Research Collaborative and Equity: Framing the Conversation

The team at the Student-Centered Learning Research Collaborative is asking questions about equity in education research because we will never achieve equity in education until we center the expertise of marginalized stakeholders. 

In education research, whose knowledge do we most trust? Who is at the table when we make decisions about where we’ll investigate, what data we’ll gather, and how we’ll make meaning of our observations? And whose voices are represented when we interpret findings and translate them for a variety of audiences?  The team at the… Read More ›

Researching the Effects of Culturally Responsive Mastery-Based Education

Every year, there are renewed calls to improve, reform and reinvent public education for all students, and particularly for marginalized students. In efforts to transform educational experiences for students of color, students with disabilities and linguistically diverse students, innovative approaches are imagined (or more often, reimagined) in an effort to address the challenges that these… Read More ›

Explore the Student-Centered Learning Continuum (SCL Continuum)

A student participating in hands on learning in the classroom.

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation, in partnership with the RAND Corporation, has been working hand in hand with teachers, school leaders, and researchers to develop a set of criteria that detail the characteristics of high-quality, student-centered learning in classrooms, schools, and districts — a Student-Centered Learning Continuum (SCL Continuum). This continuum represents a research-based definition of… Read More ›

State Policy Framework for Personalized Learning

This framework will help states and stakeholders define and navigate their pathway from the exploratory phase of system design, where a limited number of districts engage in personalized learning practices, to statewide transformation. The State Policy Framework for Personalized Learning includes: Four strategies for systems design Four core commitments states should be mindful of for quality… Read More ›

Developing a Modern Teacher Workforce

This report, Developing a Modern Teacher Workforce: Federal Policy Recommendations for Professional Learning and Supporting Future-Focused, Competency-Based Education Systems, addresses how policymakers can support the development of a teacher workforce with the skills and support systems needed to embrace the student-centered, competency-based, and diverse learning environments of the future. Specifically, this brief describes a vision for… Read More ›

From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope

The National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development was created to engage and energize communities in re-envisioning learning to encompass its social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions so that all children can succeed in school, career, and life. This culminating report draws on the information gathered over two years from conversations, meetings, and site visits… Read More ›

International Conference on Student Voice

This international seminar, Student Voice: Deepening Relationship between Youth Research and Practice, will convene experts from education, research, and policy realms from around the world to consider the pressing questions of the inclusion of student voice and the development of the youth-adult research paradigm. The event will take place on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 –… Read More ›