BONUS. Learner-Centered Schools in Every State with Sonn Sam

Welcome to a bonus edition of Learning Unboxed, where we will spend two weeks revisiting innovative case studies of student-centered learning. We know that the one-size-fits-all sit-and-get strategy is not the most effective for students. Join us in moving to a system that deeply values the individual. Tune in to get inspired and walk away with tools ready to champion student-centered environments in your own community.

There’s a good chance your state’s policies actually allow for more innovative and student-centered learning than you think. Sonn Sam is the National Director of Partnerships at Big Picture Learning and he’s our guest on the show today. He explains how they have been able to create more space for innovative student-centered learning over the last 30 years.

Big Picture Learning’s mission is to activate the potential of schools, systems, and education through student-driven, real-world learning with a vision that all students live lives of their own design, nurtured by supportive mentors, meaningful relationships, and equal opportunities to succeed. Big Picture Learning now has 111 schools in the US and 150 internationally.

Sonn explains Big Picture Learning’s emphasis on locally-infused school design, working through everyday obstacles to community-based learning like transportation issues, and helping teachers become well-connected generalists.

If you’re looking for practical ways you can make student-centered learning possible in your area, be sure to listen to this episode.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• The difference between a school model and a school design
• What it means to say “the student is the curriculum” 
• Why it’s important for teachers to be well-connected generalists

Resources:

• Learn more at BigPicture.org
• Read Education Reimagined’s research, “Progress and Possibilities to Support Learner-Centered Education and Ecosystem Design.” 
• BPL Guided Experience
• Getting to Know BPL:  a document that can help explain who BPL is, what they value, and how they do their work for and with young people. 
• BPL OARIA

Produced by NOVA