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

How do you get students so engaged that they ask for extra paper, and don't want class to end?
 
In this episode I sit down with Vince, founder of Press Start Studios and curator for Games for Change Hong Kong, to explore how game design principles transform student engagement, creativity, and intrinsic motivation. Discover how thinking like a game designer shifts your entire approach to curriculum—and why the best teachers are actually already doing this without realizing it.
 
In this episode, we explore:
 
Why game-based learning is about intrinsic motivation and agency, not gamification gimmicks like badges and leaderboards
How to apply game design thinking to any subject—from reefs and rainforests to your existing project-based learning
How game design and project-based learning work together: structuring your curriculum as interconnected quests, levels, and challenges that build toward meaningful real-world outcomes
Practical ways to sprinkle game mechanics into your curriculum without it feeling forced or artificial
How students become so engaged they ask for extra sheets of paper because their story won't fit—and want to come back before school even starts
Listen now to unlock the game design principles that turn learning into an adventure your students won't want to leave!
Connect with Vince: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincentsiu/ (LinkedIn)
Learn more about Press Start Academy: https://www.pressstartacademy.com/en/ 
Get the 12 Shifts Book for Student-Centered Environments: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Kyle-Wagner/dp/1032484713 
Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard 
Vince's Bio: 
At Press Start Studios, Vince produces innovative, inspiring, interactive learning products. Through Press Start Academy, he brings them to life through immersive, impactful, in-person learning experiences.
In an adjacent, not-for-profit role, Vince serves as the Founding and Lead Curator for Games for Change Hong Kong, Asia's first local chapter of an inspiring global movement that spotlights the power of games to drive change—and the change the game industry is leading. He believes Asia is ready to lead the conversation on both top-down and bottom-up impact through immersive mediums and has many exciting stories of experimentation and innovation to share. Through G4CHK, Vince aims to help push these boundaries even further.
Vince is deeply passionate about and committed to social impact and change, and he strives to support meaningful causes wherever possible—both through his organizations and in his personal capacity.

What if student-centered learning meant your students were running the coolest business venture at school—and made £5,000 in a weekend?
Join me as we sit down with Ed Moore, an award-winning primary teacher and author of "100 Ideas for Primary Teachers for Greener Schools," to explore how environmental education becomes the catalyst for project-based learning, youth empowerment, and community engagement—whether you're teaching internationally or in your own backyard.
Discover how one teacher's passion for gardening transformed an entire school culture—and caught the attention of Dr. Jane Goodall and King Charles.
In this episode, you'll discover:
How to embed environmental projects directly into your curriculum (not as an afterthought club) so every child benefits
Practical, implementable ideas you can start tomorrow—from energy audits to student-led businesses that teach real-world skills like marketing, sales, and finance
Why starting small in your own classroom creates a domino effect that eventually transforms your entire school
How to leverage community experts and local businesses to amplify student learning and build genuine connections beyond the classroom
Unlock 100 practical project-based ideas for creating greener schools—and learn how to empower your students to become changemakers.
Get the Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/100-Ideas-Primary-Teachers-Greener/dp/1801997845 
Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard 
Get the 12 Shifts Book: 'Where is the Teacher: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments.' 
Ed's Bio: Ed is a primary school teacher with experience in Early Years, Key Stage 1 and 2. Ed is passionate and enthusiastic about the environment, learning outdoors, gardening and young enterprise. Ed has integrated all these topics into the school curriculum encouraging children to lead and have a voice in these subjects by becoming experts themselves. This has been accomplished by each class making a pledge across the school each term to help people, animals or the environment. These qualities and subjects help drive and inspire innovative projects engaging children, staff and volunteers across the school and the wider community to join together.
In a previous school, Eco Schools was at the heart of the life of the school. Ed wanted every child to leave with a real awareness of the local, national and global environment and how each one can make a real difference to the quality of the environment for everyone. Eco work was integrated into the curriculum and there was a real enthusiasm across the school for all of Ed's eco work. Ed also recognised that it has financial rewards too.

Feeling stuck in old classroom routines that drain your energy and limit student ownership? Wondering how to reset your learning space without adding more to your plate?
In this Chinese New Year–inspired episode, I explore how the traditions of renewal, clearing space, and beginning again can guide a powerful classroom reset. Drawing on my own experience teaching in Hong Kong and across international schools, I share how small, intentional shifts in learning environment design, student voice, and co-creation can transform teacher-led classrooms into active, student-centered spaces.
You'll learn:
Why student-centered learning often fails without an intentional classroom reset

How to "sweep away" outdated routines before adding new strategies

Simple ways to redesign classroom space to signal agency, flexibility, and collaboration

How co-designing routines, questions, and success criteria builds real student ownership

Why renewal, vulnerability, and starting again are essential for sustainable change

If you're an international educator feeling the mid-year slump, this episode offers a practical, culturally grounded way to reset your classroom, renew your energy, and invite students into deeper engagement and responsibility.
🧧 Student-centered learning doesn't require a full overhaul—just one meaningful shift to begin again.
 
Get the 12 Shfits Book: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Shifts-Student-Centered-Environments/dp/103250370X 
Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Designing student-centered lessons but still seeing disengagement, emotional shutdowns, or surface-level participation? What if the issue isn't what you're teaching, but whether your learning environment aligns with how the adolescent brain actually works?
In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Ari Pinar, neuroscientist and educator, to unpack what brain science tells us about adolescence — and why autonomy, belonging, and relevance aren't "nice-to-haves," but neurological necessities for learning. Dr. Pinar helps us bridge the gap between student-centered intentions and brain-aligned practice.
Drawing from neuroscience research and classroom examples across international school contexts, we explore how common school structures unintentionally work against adolescent development — and what shifts truly support agency, regulation, and motivation.
You'll learn:
Why autonomy, belonging, and relevance are core drivers of adolescent engagement and learning

How the developing adolescent brain responds to risk, feedback, identity, and peer connection

Why some student-centered strategies fail without the right environmental conditions

Practical ways to redesign space, time, relationships, and routines to support teen learners

How brain-aligned environments reduce disengagement, resistance, and burnout — for students and teachers

If you're serious about moving from passive compliance to active, empowered learning, this episode will help you design with the adolescent brain — not against it.

Still stuck playing classroom referee, solving every issue yourself, and wishing your students would step up?
In this episode, I sit down with my colleague and veteran Montessori educator/ adolescent expert Meg Broz, who shares the single structure that transformed her classroom into a thriving student-led community: weekly student-run councils.
Meg outlines how a simple shift—from teacher-driven management to peer-led community circles—created more ownership, accountability, and connection among her students than any behavior chart or classroom contract ever could.
You'll learn:
What a student-run council looks like—and why it's so much more than a glorified circle time
A step-by-step structure you can embed into advisory, homeroom, or morning meeting
How weekly councils support executive functioning, self-regulation, and community-building
Tips for training student leaders to take the reins (and what to do when issues arise)
Why this approach aligns with restorative practices, student voice, and real-world leadership
Whether you're teaching in an IB, PYP, or project-based setting, this episode offers a powerful, transferable model for giving students shared responsibility—without chaos or loss of control.
👣 Ready to shift from manager to mentor? Start small, start now—with your own version of student-led council.
Get the 12 Shifts Book: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Kyle-Wagner/dp/1032484713/ 
Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard and identify areas for growth: https://transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard/ 
Meg's Bio: Meg is the Humanities Adolescent Guide for the inaugural International Montessori School of Hong Kong, and an experienced middle school educator with a certificate in Montessori Adolescent Education. She has a passion for history, writing, and social justice, and imparts these loves on to my students. In her 15+ years as an educator, she has gotten deeply involved in DEI work, presented at multiple Montessori education conferences, and co-directed a conference in Chicago.

Meg recently completed a Graduate Certificate, and Masters of Science degree is in progress from the International Institute of Restorative Practices. Meg brings restorative practices and student led councils into spaces to help people better communicate and understand each other, to restore harms, and to find a way to move forward compassionately and equitably.
In her current role as Humanities Guide and past role as Junior High Coordinator, Meg uses her organizational skills to keep the program running smoothly, including G-Suite skills, communication, and project planning.Additionally, Meg has a past life as a theater technician, including carpentry, welding, painting, sewing, and stage management. I'm also 1/3 of the doo-wop rock band Midnight Moxie. These experiences make their way into her work in creative ways.