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

Wondering if your students will succeed in projects when you stop leading every step? Or worried that giving them more independence will lead to less learning?
In this episode, I reconnect with Nikola, a former student from High Tech High who is now a mechanical engineer, to reflect on the student-centered experiences that continue to shape his work nearly two decades later.
From designing an interactive science exhibit for a local museum to leading engineering projects today, Nikola shares why authentic projects, student choice, and real-world audiences taught him far more than content alone.
You'll learn:
How stepping back helps students step up
How authentic projects build lasting problem-solving and collaboration skills
Why student choice creates deeper engagement and ownership
How failure and iteration prepare students for life beyond school
How to use AI as a thinking partner—not a replacement for thinking
If you are an international educator and have ever wondered whether student-centered learning is worth the time and trust it requires, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: students often grow the most when we create the conditions for them to lead.

Trying to create a more student-centered classroom—but feeling constrained by curriculum, assessment, or time? 
In this episode, the tables are turned as I'm interviewed by Dan from Future Anything about the simple shifts that transformed my own teaching—from traditional instruction to classrooms where students ask better questions, lead meaningful discussions, and take ownership of their learning. Together, we unpack practical strategies that any teacher can begin using immediately, regardless of curriculum or grade level.
Through stories from High Tech High, international schools, and classrooms around the world, I share how small changes -like starting with compelling questions instead of content, redesigning learning spaces for collaboration, involving students in co-design, and creating authentic audiences—can dramatically increase student engagement, agency, and deeper learning.
You'll learn:
Why student agency starts with small classroom shifts, not complete curriculum redesigns
Simple ways to increase student voice, choice, and ownership without sacrificing academic rigor
How project-based learning and inquiry become more meaningful when students help shape the learning
Practical strategies for co-designing learning experiences, discussions, and assessments with students
How to overcome common barriers like time, curriculum constraints, and leadership buy-in
Whether you're just beginning your journey toward student-centered learning or looking to deepen the agency already present in your classroom, this conversation offers practical ideas that can help you move from passive participation to active ownership.
Get the 12 Shifts Book for 40% off: 'Where Is The Teacher: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments'

Feeling like your students are becoming more disengaged, dependent, or resistant as they move into adolescence? Wondering how to build genuine independence without constantly reminding, managing, or motivating them?
In this episode, I sit down with Jan and Rhonda, two experienced Montessori adolescent guides, to explore a radically different model of middle school education. Instead of relying on grades, compliance, and teacher direction, their students spend each day tackling meaningful work, managing real responsibilities, and contributing to a community that depends on them. The result is a learning environment where motivation grows from purpose—not pressure.
From students planning weekly meals and managing budgets to caring for farms, leading projects, and solving real problems together, you'll discover how authentic responsibility transforms adolescent learners. Along the way, Jan and Rhonda explain why teenagers need meaningful work, trusted relationships, and opportunities to contribute if we want them to become confident, capable young adults.
You'll learn:
Why traditional schooling often misunderstands the developmental needs of adolescents
How meaningful work and real responsibility naturally increase motivation and independence
Practical ways to build student ownership without giving up structure or support
Why mixed-age communities and authentic contribution develop confidence, collaboration, and leadership
How shifting from teacher control to purposeful guidance helps adolescents thrive
Whether you teach in a traditional, IB, project-based, or Montessori classroom, this episode will challenge the way you think about adolescence—and offer practical ideas for creating more student-centered learning environments where teenagers feel trusted, capable, and motivated to contribute.
Get the Book: Where Is The Teacher: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments 
Take the 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments Scorecard: 12 Shifts Scorecard

Students using AI to avoid thinking? Wondering how to create learning experiences that can't simply be generated with a chatbot?
In this episode, I sit down with Coach Mark, veteran educator and project-based learning leader from Hawai'i, to explore why the rise of AI makes project-based learning more important than ever. We discuss how authentic, community-connected projects move students beyond memorization and into the kind of deep thinking, creativity, and problem-solving that AI can support—but never replace.
Through stories from High Tech High, environmental advocacy projects, and student-led AI initiatives, Coach Mark shares how learners tackled real issues like water quality in Hawai'i and Papua New Guinea while using technology to extend their thinking rather than outsource it. He also recounts a candid moment when students admitted they only use AI to complete "stupid assignments"—a powerful reminder that meaningful work still matters.
You'll learn:
Why project-based learning is one of the best ways to prepare students for an AI-driven future
How to design authentic tasks that require real thinking, collaboration, and creativity
Practical ways to use AI as a thinking partner instead of a shortcut
Why involving students in conversations about AI leads to better policies and stronger ownership
How deeper learning experiences help students apply knowledge to real-world challenges that actually matter
If you're trying to create student-centered classrooms where AI enhances learning instead of replacing it, this episode will challenge the way you think about technology, assessment, and the future of education.
The best defense against AI misuse isn't banning it—it's designing learning that's too meaningful to fake.
Mark's Bio: Dr. Mark Hines is a prominent educational leader and Director of the Kupu Hou Academy at the Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu, Hawai'i, where he has taught and led for over four decades. He is widely recognized for championing Project-Based Learning (PBL), Deeper Learning practices, and progressive educational models.
Kupu Hou Academy: https://www.midpac.edu/the-center/kupu-hou-academy 
Get 'Where is The Teacher': 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments:  https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Kyle-Wagner/dp/1032484713

Do your students constantly ask, "What do I do next?" Feeling like you have to manage every detail for projects to succeed?
In this episode, I take you inside two real student exhibitions—from upper elementary passion projects to middle school independent studies—to show what happens when students are given ownership of their learning. Through interviews with the learners themselves, you'll hear how peer experts, community mentors, authentic audiences, and simple teacher supports empowered students to tackle ambitious projects with confidence.
From writing novels with published authors to learning skateboard tricks from local coaches and turning beach trash into artwork for charity, these stories reveal that the teacher's role isn't to have all the answers—it's to build the conditions for students to find them.
You'll learn:
How to help students find peers and mentors instead of relying on the teacher for every answer
Why combining passion, purpose, and projects leads to deeper engagement and ownership
Simple ways to scaffold project-based learning without taking control away from students
How authentic audiences and exhibitions raise the quality of student work
The teacher moves that build independence while still providing the structure students need
If you're trying to shift from teacher-led instruction to student-centered, project-based learning, this episode offers practical strategies you can implement immediately to help learners become more independent, motivated, and capable.
The goal isn't to do less as a teacher—it's to create the conditions where students can do more.
Get the 12 Shifts Book for Student-Centered Environments: 'Where Is The Teacher?' 
'Where Is The Teacher' (40% off)