Student-Centered Learning
Engage today’s learners. Build teacher capacity. Create the conditions for student-centered learning to thrive.
Today’s students need learning experiences that are engaging, relevant, responsive, and designed to give them greater ownership of their learning. Teachers need practical strategies and support to make that possible.
IU13 Student-Centered Learning professional learning workshops help districts build educator capacity and create the conditions for meaningful, sustainable change.
Through practical workshops, coaching, and implementation support, we equip educators to design learning experiences that increase student engagement, voice, choice, collaboration, and ownership—while helping teachers rediscover the creativity and purpose that make teaching rewarding.
Our professional learning is aligned with the Pennsylvania Student-Centered Learning (PASCL) Blueprint, a collaborative effort of PDE and Pennsylvania Intermediate Units. The Blueprint connects five essential components — Administration & Leadership, Learning Models, Curriculum Design & Development, Teaching & Learning, and Community Outreach — providing a framework for moving student-centered learning from vision to everyday classroom practice.
Act 45 and Act 48 professional learning opportunities are available.
Ready to build capacity for student-centered learning in your district?
Contact the IU13 Educational Technology Team to explore workshops, coaching, and customized professional learning to meet your district needs.
Turn Professional Learning into Lasting Practice
Meaningful instructional change doesn’t happen in a single workshop. It takes time, practice, reflection, and ongoing support to turn professional learning into lasting classroom practice.
To help districts maximize the impact of their Student-Centered Learning investment, the IU13 Educational Technology Team offers optional Instructional Coaching and District Action Planning that extend learning beyond the workshop.
Instructional Coaching supports educators throughout the transition to student-centered practices. IU13 specialists work alongside teachers as they apply new strategies—providing opportunities to plan, problem-solve, reflect, refine practice, and build confidence along the way.
District Action Planning helps leadership teams turn professional learning into intentional, measurable progress. Using the SCL Action Planner Tool, IU13 works with districts to connect student-centered learning to local goals and objectives, identify priorities and next steps, and measure the impact of professional learning over time.
The goal isn’t simply to attend professional learning—it’s to build the capacity, conditions, and support needed to create sustainable change for teachers and students.
Foundations – Getting Started
The SCL professional learning series begins with this 2-day ‘Foundations of Student-Centered Learning’ workshop. Attendees will explore personalized strategies for small group, independent, and collaborative work, departing with practical tools for immediate application tailored for their specific grade level and content area.
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The Foundations of Student-Centered Learning
Leadership
This 2-hour workshop is designed for administrators, principals, assistant principals, and instructional coaches, providing resources to demonstrate leadership, support educators, and promote student-centered learning. Participants will learn to use tools like walk-through forms, success criteria, action planning tools, and feedback forms to guide coaching conversations and enhance instructional practices.
(Included within the Student-Centered Learning Series or can be taken individually: Leadership & Coaching: Supporting Student-Centered Learning in the Classroom)
Differentiated Instruction
In this session, we will develop a rationale and research base for differentiating instruction. We will examine the five guiding principles that form a supportive learning environment for leading and managing a differentiated classroom. We discover the critical elements of curriculum (content, process, and product) and how these relate to designing differentiated lessons based on students’ readiness, interests, and/or learning preferences.
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Beyond One-Size-Fits-All: Building the Groundwork of
Differentiated Instruction with Student-Centered Learning
In this session, we will deepen their foundational understanding of differentiated instruction and explore how to apply differentiation strategies that support a wide range of learners, including culturally and linguistically diverse students, gifted learners, English learners, and students with disabilities. Emphasis will be placed on clearly articulated learning goals, ensuring that all differentiation is purposeful and aligned to what students must know and be able to do. We will discuss addressing readiness, interest, and learner profile through designing flexible entry points, scaffolded supports, and exploring meaningful choices.
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Level-Up Differentiation: Strategies for Driving
Success with Success-Centered Learning
This AI in Education workshop empowers educators to move beyond the “hype” and into high-impact practice. This session focuses on how Artificial Intelligence serves as a powerful co-pilot-streamlining administrative tasks, automating lesson differentiation, and reclaiming valuable prep time. Participants will explore emerging pedagogical approaches, navigate evolving AI policies, and share best practices for preparing students for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
Register for
The AI Classroom: Leveraging AI to Power the
Student-Centered Learning Classroom
Authentic Learning & Student Engagement
Enhancing learner engagement is at the heart of effective teaching. In this workshop, educators will explore evidence-based strategies to create dynamic and participatory learning environments. This workshop will focus on identifying learner engagement vs. learner compliance, the exploration of evidence-based strategies rooted in Schlechty’s Design Qualities, and the development of an implementation plan to infuse student-centered strategies.
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Engagement: Practical Strategies to Ignite Student-Centered Learning
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Collaboration by Design: Purposeful Teamwork
for the Student-Centered Learning Classroom
In this session, we’ll delve into the ways community connections can improve educational outcomes and create authentic learning experiences. By applying student-centered learning principles, we aim to cultivate supportive environments that benefit both learners and the wider community. Participants will learn practical strategies to establish collaborative partnerships.
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Community Connections: Authentic Experiences
through Student-Centered Learning
This AI in Education workshop empowers educators to move beyond the “hype” and into high-impact practice. This session focuses on how Artificial Intelligence serves as a powerful co-pilot-streamlining administrative tasks, automating lesson differentiation, and reclaiming valuable prep time. Participants will explore emerging pedagogical approaches, navigate evolving AI policies, and share best practices for preparing students for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
Register for
The AI Classroom: Leveraging AI to Power the
Student-Centered Learning Classroom
Performance-Based Assessments
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Level-Up Collaboration: Building Classroom Culture
for Student-Centered Learning Collaboration
Frequent Feedback
The SCL professional learning series begins with this 2-day ‘Foundations of Student-Centered Learning’ workshop. Attendees will explore personalized strategies for small group, independent, and collaborative work, departing with practical tools for immediate application tailored for their specific grade level and content area.
Register for
The Foundations of Student-Centered Learning
This AI in Education workshop empowers educators to move beyond the “hype” and into high-impact practice. This session focuses on how Artificial Intelligence serves as a powerful co-pilot-streamlining administrative tasks, automating lesson differentiation, and reclaiming valuable prep time. Participants will explore emerging pedagogical approaches, navigate evolving AI policies, and share best practices for preparing students for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
Register for
The AI Classroom: Leveraging AI to Power the
Student-Centered Learning Classroom
Learning Environments
The SCL professional learning series begins with this 2-day ‘Foundations of Student-Centered Learning’ workshop. Attendees will explore personalized strategies for small group, independent, and collaborative work, departing with practical tools for immediate application tailored for their specific grade level and content area.
Register for
The Foundations of Student-Centered Learning
This workshop focuses on classroom strategies for a student-centered learning environment. Participants will explore how well crafted and executed routines and procedures can help to shift from a teacher-centered approach to one that empowers learners. Educators will share experiences, reflect on their unique classroom management style, and leave with practical resources and techniques to foster active participation and self-directed learning.
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Classroom Routines & Procedures: Fostering a
Student-Centered Learning Environment
Participants will examine the “Essential Actions” of Instructional Strategies and Assessment through the lens of clarity. We will move beyond the technical task of writing objectives to the pedagogical shift of creating a “common language” that empowers students to self-assess, reflect, and collaborate on their path to mastery.
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Learning Targets and Success Criteria:
Gaining Clarity on Student-Centered Learning
Personalized Learning
Note: This session is taken over two separate days.
This is a two-day workshop delivered over the course of several months. Day one focuses on professional learning, providing participants with practical strategies and actionable steps to implement a more personalized learning environment. Day two serves as a follow-up session, where participants will reflect on their experiences, debrief successes, and address challenges encountered during implementation.
This workshop is designed for K-12 educators who already use an effective rotational model. Educators who already differentiate effectively and are ready to deepen their practice into personalized learning, with a particular focus on shifting from teacher-designed differentiation to learner-informed pathways that elevate student voice and agency within, or beyond, a rotational model. Participants typically already use flexible grouping, scaffolds, varied resources, and formative assessment to guide instruction, and may be implementing a rotational model or other blended learning approaches. Building on that foundation, the session explores what comes next: developing learner profiles, using learning progressions, designing purposeful student choice, and creating learning paths or playlist structures, along with the management routines needed to implement and sustain these practices effectively.
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Transitioning to a Personalized Learning Environment:
Advancing the Rotational Model of Student-Centered Learning
This AI in Education workshop empowers educators to move beyond the “hype” and into high-impact practice. This session focuses on how Artificial Intelligence serves as a powerful co-pilot-streamlining administrative tasks, automating lesson differentiation, and reclaiming valuable prep time. Participants will explore emerging pedagogical approaches, navigate evolving AI policies, and share best practices for preparing students for a rapidly changing, technology-driven world.
Register for
The AI Classroom: Leveraging AI to Power the
Student-Centered Learning Classroom
Content Specific
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Mathematical Engagement: Building a Thinking Classroom –
An Approach to Student-Centered Learning
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From Spectators to Scientists:
The Student-Centered Learning Science Classroom
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Student-Centered Social Studies:
Designing Classrooms for Historical Thinking