No Time and Space for Project-Based Learning? How One Shift Changes Everything
Release Date: 05/27/2025
Essential Summer Reading List: 5 Books That will Transform Your Life as an Educator
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
What if a single book could transform your life as an educator this Summer? Shifting burnout, boredom, and breakdown to BREAKTHROUGH. That's what these 5 📖 books did for me. One helped transform my uninspiring worksheets into student designed works of art- where no two products looked the same One helped unlock the magic formula for designing prompts that transformed disengaged learners into citizen scientists, authors, and budding engineers One helped transform preclusion into new possibility One uncovered three traits to motivate all learners without using...
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Is Inquiry Still Teacher-Led in Your Classroom? How to Design for True Student Ownership
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Is inquiry still too teacher-directed in your classroom, even when it’s framed as student-centered? You’re not alone. Many international educators find that despite good intentions, “inquiry” still looks like teacher-planned lessons with limited student agency. In this episode, I speak with Dawn York, Head of Hanoi International School, about how she and her team shifted from teacher-led inquiry to real student ownership. From launching a student-led middle school council to embedding project-based learning across grades 6–10, Dawn shares how to design structures that make...
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Hiring for a Student-Centered School? 3 Shifts to Attract the Right Educators
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Starting a student-centered school or program but not sure how to find educators who can thrive in it? You’re not alone, and the answer isn’t just another job fair or standard posting. In this episode, I share the exact 3 shifts that helped me staff our brand-new Montessori Middle School with mission-aligned “unicorn” educators in less than three weeks. If you’re launching a new initiative or simply want to rethink how you hire, this will help you attract the right teachers: You’ll discover: Why the traditional job description fails for student-centered roles How to build a...
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No Time and Space for Project-Based Learning? How One Shift Changes Everything
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Feel like project-based learning sounds powerful—but totally unrealistic in your packed curriculum and schedule? What if one small shift could open the door? In this episode, I talk with international educator, VIS Dean of Academic Affairs and social scientist Tristan Reynolds, who shares how he replaced a single unit test with a project—and saw student ownership, engagement, and reflection skyrocket. From rural Texas classrooms to interdisciplinary teaching in Taipei, Tristan walks us through the simple mindset and planning shifts that helped PBL work within, not outside of, school...
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Teacher Led vs Peer Led: What Sparks Real Student Action?
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
You want your students to take action but how do you actually empower them to lead real change? In this episode, I speak with Arlian Ecker, a 19-year-old environmental changemaker and co-founder of Plastic Free Boy, who has reached over 1.5 million students across 350 schools through film, storytelling, and action-based learning. From citizen science on the Great Barrier Reef to student-led plastic audits and five-year sustainability campaigns, Arlian shares what truly ignites youth agency and how educators can help nurture it. If you’ve ever wondered how to move from structured lessons...
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Shifting From Teacher to Project Coach? Simple Tools for Self-Directed Learning
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
You’ve handed over choice, but you’re still doing the heavy lifting. Many well-intentioned student-led experiences fall flat—not because students can’t lead, but because they lack the structure, tools, and guidance to own the process. So how do we support self-directed learning without taking control back? In this episode, Laurence Myers, K–12 Service Learning and Self-Directed Projects Coordinator at the American School of Dubai, shares how his school builds true student ownership through purposeful systems, mentorship, and process design. From process journals to stakeholder...
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Structure vs. Space: What Students Really Need to Thrive
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
What if creating a student-centered classroom wasn’t about adding more—but about holding space for what’s already there? In this episode, I speak with movement and mindfulness educator Lawrence about what it means to create environments that center curiosity, personal exploration, and connection. From yoga studios and sound healing sessions to forest clearings and public parks, Lawrence shows us how to design space that invites—not directs—growth. As educators, we’re challenged to do the same in our classrooms. This episode offers a chance to step back, reimagine your role, and...
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Is Your Schedule Working Against Student-Centered Learning? Here's How to Fix It
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
They say you can tell a lot about what a school values by looking at its timetable. What does yours say? If you’re trying to create more time for student-driven projects, real-world connections, and deeper learning, but your current schedule feels rigid and confining, this episode will show you a better way. It’s part two of our special monthly series on Building Student-Centered Schools. In this episode, I walk you through a hands-on exercise to design your dream student-centered schedule. No spreadsheets, no software, just a whiteboard, post-its, and the values that matter most to your...
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Voice and Choice vs. Curriculum Coverage? How One School is Making it Work
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Trying to build more student agency—but feel boxed in by curriculum coverage? What if you didn’t have to choose between voice and academic rigor? In this episode, I sit down with Natalie Harvey, secondary principal at Beijing City International School (BCIS), to explore how her team is shifting culture around student agency while still honoring the demands of a rigorous curriculum. From co-creating a three-year vision to redefining personalization in the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework, Natalie shares the intentional moves that are making voice and choice a lived...
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Planning Projects Across Subjects? Three Shifts to Make Them Work
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Feeling stuck planning projects across subjects? It's more common than you think. Without the right structures, interdisciplinary projects often feel messy, disconnected, and overwhelming — for both teachers and students. But what if a few small shifts could lead to more engaged students, stronger collaboration across subjects, and less stress for you? In this episode, I sat down with Ryan Murfield, Coordinator of the Interdisciplinary PRAXIS Program at the International School of Kuala Lumpur, to unpack three simple shifts that make interdisciplinary planning work: Focus planning around...
info_outlineFeel like project-based learning sounds powerful—but totally unrealistic in your packed curriculum and schedule? What if one small shift could open the door?
In this episode, I talk with international educator, VIS Dean of Academic Affairs and social scientist Tristan Reynolds, who shares how he replaced a single unit test with a project—and saw student ownership, engagement, and reflection skyrocket. From rural Texas classrooms to interdisciplinary teaching in Taipei, Tristan walks us through the simple mindset and planning shifts that helped PBL work within, not outside of, school structures.
It’s a refreshing look at how real change happens—not through an overhaul, but through intentional, evidence-based experimentation.
You’ll learn:
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How one teacher redesigned a single assessment and sparked student agency
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What student data revealed about deeper learning and engagement
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How interdisciplinary collaboration builds momentum for school-wide change
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Why project-based learning can fit within your constraints—not fight against them
Ready to see how one small step can unlock student-centered learning in your setting? This episode shows you the shift in action.
Connect with Tristan: Instagram, LinkedIn
Data Studies Around Benefits of PBL on Learning: Wide Scale Studies
Tristan's Bio: Tristan Reynolds is an educator and writer who focuses on international best practices in education and the impacts of globalization on education. As an experienced international educator, he understand the importance of creating schools which support celebrating different cultures, and which cultivate a cosmopolitan attitude in students. Tristan's work helps build a clearer picture of how to help students and teachers move beyond local limits to education. He holds an M.S.Ed. from Johns Hopkins University, American and British teaching & administration licensures, and is a 2021 Teach For America alum.