New Report from Aurora Institute’s CompetencyWorks Initiative Examines Mental Models, Motivations, and Moves Educators Can Take to Advance Learner-Centered Education

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 29, 2022  — Today, the Aurora Institute’s CompetencyWorks initiative released Teachers Making the Shift to Equitable, Learner-Centered Education, a new report that explores how educators can tap mental models, motivations, and moves to advance learner-centered education.

We know that the traditional “sit and get” classroom will not help us advance towards educational equity or promote the deeper learning skills our students need to succeed. The long game of systems-change work is critical to advancing learner-centered education, but what steps can educators take today to advance such environments?

This new resource offers a comprehensive, research-backed analysis of how education systems can support the transition to learner-centered education by tapping educator mental models, motivations, and moves. For those responsible for and interested in professional learning, this resource offers steps that educators can take today to shift their practice to advance learner-centered environments.

“This paper is an invaluable resource for those that lead, design, and are engaged in educator professional learning,” said Laurie Gagnon, program director of the CompetencyWorks initiative at the Aurora Institute. “Making the Shift outlines research-based strategies to drive teacher practice in the direction of learner-centered education.”

“Shifting to an equitable, learner-centered approach is not easy,” said Wendy Surr, lead researcher and primary author of the report. “Our hope with this report—and the blogs and exercises—is that practitioners will find our Making the Shift framework helpful for engaging educators in the kind of deeper learning needed to make real change. By leveraging the learning sciences to uncover and address educators’ mental models, motivations, and moves we believe we can enhance and accelerate change efforts.”