Explore the Student-Centered Learning Continuum (SCL Continuum)

July 26, 2019

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 student-centered learning, and is based upon a year of work with RAND’s education team, who conducted a thorough review of literature and tools used to measure student-centered learning and consulted experts in the field. We hope this definition provides clarity about the innovative ways in which classrooms, schools, and districts approach student-centered learning.

This resource is a product of the Foundation’s commitment to student-centered approaches over the past eight years—an important tool that we believe will be of use to the field. We are still learning about the connections between student-centered approaches to learning and advancing equity in the field of education.

Because every context is different, we don’t believe there is a purposeful path every learning environment needs to follow to high-level SCL; progressions towards SCL are more fluid in practice.

You may visit the SCL Continuum here. Read more about the team’s work via our Medium piece.

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