Student-Centered Teaching Practices
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Here you’ll find a variety of broad overviews of the shift in learning away from teacher-as-expert, teacher-focused classrooms to students as the focus, teacher-as-expert guide engaging with and being led by student curiosity.
“Evidence for Student-Centered Learning,” written by a Minnesota non-profit Education Evolving. This clear introduction sets out how and why traditional education functions and offers a history of the move to student-centered education as well as a list of key principles.
A very broad introduction to the ideas in student-centered learning from a new non-profit focusing on teachers, Europass Teacher Academy. Note that these pages include definitions, key principles, examples and more.
KnowledgeWorks.org offers a rich website filled with information about possible futures for education. This section presents a clear overview of the benefits of advancing student-centered learning. We also would suggest reading this provocative April 2026 report on “Charting a New Course for Education,” which discusses potential use of AI. We don’t agree with all of this, but it’s worth reading and contemplating.
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Design thinking began at Stanford University in the Institute of Design. It codifies many practices in design and engineering fields that begin not with a hypothesis, but by considering who is affected by a situation, then moving to new ways to frame and understand a problem.
Design thinking is so helpful for teaching because it frames teaching differently. It also is a very useful practice to teach to students and learners, who themselves learn a new process by which to understand and reframe ideas, issues, and problems.
Excellent PDF from Stanford outlining the process.
Henry Ford Learning Institute blog on Design Thinking in Project-based Learning .
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The degree to which technology and AI is used in classrooms is a key debate in education. This section offers overviews of a variety of positions on the topic.
“Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Teaching and Learning,” by the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology thoroughly outlines the different perspectives and concludes with a series of recommendations.
Jonathan Haidt is one of the most famous skeptics of phones and some other forms of technology for children. A moderate, he envisions people-engaged childhoods instead of screen-engaged childhoods.
The Liberty Cap Foundation wants to aid all educators in their quest to present engaging, informative, curiosity-driven lessons for learners. Key to that is meeting students where they are, so that students themselves help shape their lessons. If homeschooling a child, or creating an after-school activity for them, starting with some of the principles below will help you craft lessons that create life-long learners.