Looking to Deepen Student Agency? Tools to Support Inquiry, Independence, and the Shift to Facilitator
Release Date: 07/01/2025
Is Your Classroom Built for Student Thinking? 4 Design Shifts to Spark Shared Ownership
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Is Your Classroom Built for Student Thinking? 4 Design Shifts to Spark Shared Ownership Ever walk into a classroom and instantly feel the energy? Not from the teacher—but from students leading the work. That’s not an accident. It’s the result of intentional design choices that turn passive learning into shared ownership. In this episode, I walk you through four practical spatial shifts to transform your classroom into a hub for student-led collaboration. These aren’t high-budget maker spaces—they’re reimagined learning environments where thinking becomes visible and shared. Whether...
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From Classroom to Co-Working Space: How to Design Learning Spaces That Invite Agency and Flow
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Still stuck in the same classroom setup year after year? You’re not alone. Too many classrooms signal teacher control before a single word is spoken—and that design choice shapes everything about how students engage. In this episode, I take you inside the transformation of an old office into a vibrant Montessori adolescent hub—and unpack what it means to move from “classroom” to “co-working space.” You’ll learn how even small space shifts can foster agency, collaboration, and creative thinking. You’ll discover: Why subtracting furniture may be the boldest design move you...
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Looking to Deepen Student Agency? Tools to Support Inquiry, Independence, and the Shift to Facilitator
The Student-Centered Shift: Empowered International Schools and Classrooms Through Project-Based Learning
Even after shifting to student-centered learning, it’s easy to fall into familiar routines: sparking a project, guiding students along, and quietly doing the heavy lifting ourselves. But what does it take to fully hand over the reins—and trust students to direct their own learning? In this episode, inquiry-driven educator Robynne Esther shares how she made that shift herself, and the practical tools she now uses to support real student independence, without sacrificing structure. From co-creating checklists to guiding expert research and using visible thinking strategies, Robynne walks us...
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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...
info_outlineEven after shifting to student-centered learning, it’s easy to fall into familiar routines: sparking a project, guiding students along, and quietly doing the heavy lifting ourselves. But what does it take to fully hand over the reins—and trust students to direct their own learning?
In this episode, inquiry-driven educator Robynne Esther shares how she made that shift herself, and the practical tools she now uses to support real student independence, without sacrificing structure. From co-creating checklists to guiding expert research and using visible thinking strategies, Robynne walks us through how to scaffold agency without oversteering it.
You’ll hear:
- How inquiry provocations can open up—not narrow—student-led direction
- What expert groups and feedback loops look like in project-based units
- Why the right checklist isn’t about control, but about clarity
- How thinking routines help students reflect, take risks, and follow their curiosity
- The subtle mindset shifts that allow teachers to lead by stepping back
Whether you’re refining your role as facilitator or looking for ways to help students take the next leap in self-direction, this conversation offers inspiration—and strategy—you can put to use right away.
Connect with Robynne: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robynne-esther-24990771/
Dive Deeper into Student-Centered Environments: Get the 12 Shifts Book
Robynne's Bio: Ever wonder how to spark genuine curiosity in your students? Robynne Esther has spent 15 years, including seven within the PYP, unlocking that secret through inquiry-based and project-based learning. She has empowered teachers across Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shanghai to adopt 21st-century learning through engaging IBL/PBL & AI workshops. Currently inspiring young minds at DSHK, Robynne leads Grade 6 Project-Based Learning and teaches Grade 4 Inquiry, fostering classrooms buzzing with collaboration and community. But her journey's even richer than that! She's an AFHEA-accredited mentor who has guided aspiring teachers at Sunderland University and has even spent time as a pastry chef in Hong Kong's Soho district. Robynne brings this uniquely diverse background to her exploration of the fascinating intersection of PBL and IBL. Join her as she shares her insights on their similarities and differences.