The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Want to turn your classroom into a hub of curiosity, innovation, and real-world impact but don’t know where to start?
The Student-Centered Shift with internationally acclaimed educator Kyle Wagner equips international school educators with the simple shifts to move from passive to active learning spaces, so you can grow more engaged and empowered learners.
Each week, Kyle interviews forward-thinking educators who share actionable strategies and proven frameworks to create a classroom buzzing with energy and purpose. Past guests include project-based powerhouse Ron Berger and bestselling author Gary Stager. By tuning in, you’ll unlock:
* The mindset shifts needed to transition from teacher-led to student-centered spaces.
* Strategies to empower students as independent thinkers, creators, and problem-solvers.
* Tips for designing and implementing project-based experiences
* Practical ways to redefine your role from instructor to facilitator.
Discover how Kyle made the same shifts to transform his own teaching from burnout to breakthrough—guiding students to publish bestselling novels, launch businesses, and build museums. Over 1,000 classrooms have experienced similar results worldwide—will yours be next? Let’s shift learning together!
- Update frequency
- every 11 days
- Average duration
- 37 minutes
- Episodes
- 106
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
How to Authentically Assess Project-Based Experiences: The four 'A's of Assessment
What do all of these assessments have in common?
💡 A field guide to the of the local flora and fauna in the region. 💡 A community garden. 💡 A recipe book for healthy meals using only 5 ingredients. 💡…
Going Gradeless with Gary Heidt
Why do we grade students?
Is it to measure and evaluate learning? Provide students an incentive to do their work? Reflect the ‘rigour’ of our classroom?
Research shows that grades don’t accomplish …
Think Global, Act Local: Reaching global SDGs through community driven projects w/ Paul Karpawich
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a focal point for many schools.
But few are taking real ACTION on a local level to make these goals become a reality.
What would happen if we…
From MakerSpace to MakerMindset w/Mark Loundy
It's not unusual to find MakerSpaces popping up on several school campuses as a way to offer students hands on learning opportunities.
But does 'making' have to be confined to the MakerSpace for onl…
Capturing Evidence of Student Growth in PBL Experiences w/ Aaron Schorn
It's easy in project-based experiences to get caught up in the shiny final 'product' at the end. But just like the tip of an iceberg, the product is only a small part of a much deeper PROCESS of lear…
Enlarging the IMPACT of PBL experiences w/ Stacey Duchrow
Many powerful project-based experiences are borne inside Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, electives, STEM or after school classes. But for most of these PBL experiences, that's where th…
Buiiding Learner-Centered Environments that support Learner-Centered EXPERIENCES w/ Ashley Durdle
Many schools spend millions of dollars on state of the art learning environments, yet few of them have the desired impact on learners.
Why?
Because they weren't designed WITH the learners, and integ…
Addressing global Issues through local, curriculum connected projects and partnerships w/ Margo LaPointe
The SDGs (sustainable development goals) have become a huge focal point for many schools.
With climate change, water pollution, and elimination of biodiversity effecting the entire planet, it makes …
Developing creative problem solvers through small, inter-disciplinary learning communities w/Jeff Harwood and Amber Kotcher
Lots of large international schools are seeking ways to make learning experiences more relevant, interdisciplinary and project/problem-based.
Yet between fixed timetables, a demanding curriculum, la…
Transforming your classroom into a student-run business w/ Elyse Burden and John Cahalin
Imagine your most challenging students- The ones who can't sit still, blurt out, submit low- quality work, have difficulty working with others, and seem totally checked out suddenly self-managing, co…
Co- creating learning spaces for PBL to fly w/ Michelle and Bridgitte
So many schools are spending millions of dollars to reconfigure learning environments to be more fit for the '21st century' and project-based learning.
But when the spaces are finally built, they don…
Teens making change and fostering social justice through an 'Innovators Compass' w/ Ela Bur
How can the most innovative square mile on the planet also be plagued by racial injustice 2 blocks away? And what can we do about it?
This is just one of the many difficult questions teens at 'Innova…
A Week off the Timetable: Powering up PBL and Transforming Culture at your school with project intensives w/ Zach Post
What would happen to learning if you collapsed the timetable, paired teachers, and co-designed community and passion driven projects?
This is what American International School does for one week each…
P in PBL as Place, People, Purpose and Partnership w/ Dr. Jane Shore
What if before developing 'Projects' we first built Partnerships? Connected students with real People? Became more familar with our Place? Purpose?
This is what Dr. Jane Shore, Director of Community …
School as a Startup Incubator w/ 14 year old Raheen Fatima
What if schools operated more like a start-up?
Students as entrepreneurs.
Schedules- flexible.
Community as partner.
Community needs, and student-generated solutions as the curriculum.
Teachers …
Your first Project- Insights from teachers new to PBL w/ Dave and Michelle
Are you planning to launch your very first project-based experience in the 2022-2023 school year?
That can be exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
This episode provides insights and tips fr…
How to connect student passion to a purpose through capstone projects w/ Dagan Bernstein
What happens when we provide time for students to pursue their passions, and connect them to a deeper purpose through projects they design? This was the big question behind the Capstone Program at …
How to build 100% learner agency: Where Students Run the School w/ Peter Hutton
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 ni…
What Makes a 'Good' Project? with Gary Stager
Good projects aren't that tough to create.
But somehow we always seem to overcomplicate them. (Me included)
What if I told you that the best project prompts could fit on a single post-it note?
Proj…
Building future ready citizen designers w/ Cameron Fox
How do we build 'future ready' students? Answering this question requires us to change a lot of the underlying structures that govern schools.
Schedules. Curriculum. Learning Experiences. Age groupi…