The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning - podcast cover

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!
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Start 2022 with a Vision Board

Do you set New Year's Resolutions? I used to. Until I broke nearly all of them by February. Sound familiar? Vision Boarding is a FAR more effective way to reach milestones you never dreamed possible, and improve your life- both as an educator, and human. I've been using them since 2016, and I now have a life I could have never imagined if I stuck with boring resolutions. In this short bonus episode, I teach you how to create yours and: Set in motion a new, improved you Manifest your dream day, l...

Dec 29, 202117 min

'Letting Go' and Building Future Mindsets w/ Yvette Larson

Do you have a hard time letting go of control in the classroom? Letting go isn't easy. It requires trust and confidence in our learners, while we take a backstage role in the classroom. But when we do, we unlock unlimited student potential. Yvette Larson, a PYP teacher and future mindset guru, has a classroom full of unlocked potential; with 30+ self-directed students, and 30+ projects happening at the same time. In this short episode, Yvette teaches us how she creates this kind of magic, and bu...

Dec 15, 202148 minSeason 1Ep. 24

Building an 'Ethic of Excellence' with Ron Berger

You know that buzz you hear when you walk into a classroom that is completely learner-owned? That's world renowned Ron Berger's classroom... And his students are ALWAYS working on something meaningful. Whether it's completing a field guide on local amphibians; or drafting plans for a new playground; they behave in the same way professionals would in the REAL WORLD- and they are only 10. I sat down with Ron, veteran teacher and senior advisor for EL Education to uncover his secrets for creating t...

Dec 08, 202145 minSeason 1Ep. 23

How to Get 'Buy-In' for PBL w/ Catriona Woodward

How do you take the first steps into project-based learning, and help others across your school take theirs? How do you get the critical 'buy-in' from parents, students, teachers to really help PBL fly? I explored these BIG questions with Catriona Woodard, Director of Community Outreach and Partnerships at Bloom Academy in Hong Kong. Through discussing 2 of her projects, Catriona shares how she took her first steps into the PBL pool, and how she is empowering others across the school to take the...

Dec 01, 202140 minSeason 1Ep. 22

Building Agile Classrooms with Ros Jackson

Imagine a classroom full of students who move seamlessly from project task to project task; self-directed, self-managed, and self-empowered... While the teacher facilitates seamlessly in the background. That's what it looks like in veteran teacher Roslynn Jackson's 7th grade 'agile' classroom. In this episode Roslynn uncovers the secrets behind her 'agile' classroom, and how we can develop the mindsets in students to allow for it. Through her 'Gamifying the Weather' and 'Simplifying Science Conc...

Nov 24, 202140 minSeason 1Ep. 21

Re-imagining 'RIGOUR' with High Tech High Co-Founder Rob Riordan

What picture comes to mind when you hear the word 'rigour?' Is it a group of students huddled over their exam papers, solving complex math equations for an end of unit test? Or is it as the Co-Founder of world renowned PBL school High Tech High Rob Riordan describes it: students engaged for an extended period of time in DEEP, meaningful, real-world work? In this episode, we unpack and re-imagine rigour through Rob's 8 rules: Rule #1: No rigour without engagement. Rule #2: No rigour without owner...

Nov 17, 202150 minSeason 1Ep. 20

How to build a program and projects around adolescent needs

Anyone who works with adolescents, knows middle school can be a challenging time. But what if we could build a program or school, and project based experiences grounded in best practice that not only made it less challenging, but fun and empowering as well? This was the question that guided visionaries Andrew Ravin and Denise Daniels in creating Workshop Middle School, an innovative middle school for "creative, curious, and big-hearted students in 6th-8th grade." Imagine no more bells. Textbooks...

Nov 10, 202133 minSeason 1Ep. 19

Building Entrepreneurial Mindsets and 21st Century Skills in Students

Peter gave students one simple prompt to unleash the creators, innovators and entrepreneurs in his business studies class: "Create a business around a single product or service to help improve your experience at school." And then he got out of their way. How might you unleash the creators, innovators and entrepreneurs in your classroom? In this interview, learn (or unlearn) from 'The Unlearning Coach' how to: Frame empowering learning experiences Provide a simple roadmap to help students reflect...

Nov 03, 202125 minSeason 1Ep. 18

#NotGoingBack: Creating Engaging + Collaborative Hybrid Learning Experiences

With the move to hybrid and blended learning environments, collaboration and co-creation can now occur across multiple mediums. Yet many teachers are still designing learning experiences confined to the classroom. How might we leverage digital tools to co-create deep and meaningful learning experiences that allow learners to collaborate and build anytime, anywhere? In this interview, 'Miss Betzy,' Innovations and Instructional Coach at Decroly International School teaches us how to: Design empow...

Oct 27, 202124 minSeason 1Ep. 17

How to Create 'Real World' Learning Experiences

Ever have a student say, 'When will I use this in the REAL WORLD?' It's their attempt to connect learning in our classrooms to the things that naturally empower and engage them outside of school. Hobbies, interests, sports, work, passion, the community. At REAL School Budapest , this curiosity is satisfied daily through real world learning experiences. From designing self guided eco-wonder tours of the community, to creating short docu films on relevant topics, kids are immersed in the real worl...

Oct 20, 202129 minSeason 1Ep. 16
Hosted on Libsyn
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android