Equity in Student-Centered Learning Design - A Collaborative Guide to Realize Equity Across Your School

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Connor

Equity in Student-Centered Learning Design is a collaborative guide to help educators and teams plan, implement, and continuously improve learning that honors students’ unique assets, needs, identities, and voices. It introduces seven learning principles identified through listening to students and educators and review of academic research. The guide explains how to prepare individually and as a team, work through each principle using discussion questions, and conduct deeper year-long focus to strengthen equitable learning by design.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Getting Ready as Individuals

Getting Ready as an Educator Team

Principle 1: Positive Relationships

Principle 2: Foundational Needs Met

Principle 3: Positive Identity

Principle 4: Student Ownership and Agency

Principle 5: Real-World Relevant

Principle 6: Competency-Based

Principle 7: Anytime, Anywhere Learning

Next Steps: Going Deeper In a Cycle of Continuous Improvement

Meet the Equity Fellows

Equity in Student-Centered Learning Design A Collaborative Guide to Realize Equity Across Your School 2 This guide is designed to help you and your team collaboratively design and implement learning that equitably honors the unique assets and needs of your students. Like you, we believe that learning must be designed with students at the center. It must be personalized to students’ unique assets, interests, identities, and aspirations—and designed with their ideas and voices at the table. Education Evolving has identified seven common principles of learning that are present when students are at the center of school design decisions. These principles were identified by listening to students and educators, anda careful review of academic research. When these principles are fully realized, the result is learning that is equitable, by design. But doing that—fully realizing these principles equitably—is a challenge. This guide is intended to help you and your team face that challenge. How to Use This Guide First, work through the Getting Ready as Individuals and as a Team sections (pages 5 to 8) Then, as a team work through each of the seven principle sections, one at a time. Use the discussion questions to identify immediate design changes your team can make to live each principle more equitably (pages 10 through 23) . Finally, we suggest doing a deeper dive (for example, over a full year) on one principle you particularly need to work on (pages 24 and 25) [Visit](Visit educationevolving. org/equity-guide to find accompanying resources)[ ](Visit educationevolving. org/equity-guide to find accompanying resources)[educationevolving. org/equity-guide](Visit educationevolving. org/equity-guide to find accompanying resources)[ to find accompanying resources](Visit educationevolving. org/equity-guide to find accompanying resources)[ ](Visit educationevolving. org/equity-guide to find accompanying resources)[to this guide.](to this guide.) 3 Table of Contents 4 Getting Ready as Individuals ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Getting Ready as an Educator Team ........................................................................................................................ 6 Principle 1: Positive Relationships........................................................................................................................ 10 Principle 2: Foundational Needs Met ................................................................................................................... 12 Principle 3: Positive Identity ................................................................................................................................... 14 Principle 4: Student Ownership and Agency ..................................................................................................... 16 Principle 5: Real-World Relevant ........................................................................................................................... 18 Principle 6: Competency-Based............................................................................................................................. 20 Principle 7: Anytime, Anywhere Learning .......................................................................................................... 22 Next Steps: Going Deeper In a Cycle of Continuous Improvement........................................................... 24 Meet the Equity Fellows ........................................................................................................................................... 26 Getting Ready as Individuals This guide is intended to be used as a team, but before the team work can begin, each individual must do some deep, sometimes uncomfortable, self reflection. Use the following chart to help guide yourself and your team as you

FAQs

What is the purpose of the equity guide?

The guide helps educators design and implement learning that is equitable by honoring students’ unique assets, needs, and identities. It also supports teams in addressing challenges to fully realize that equity.

How should teams use the guide step by step?

Teams should first complete the individual and team preparation sections, then work through each of the seven principles one at a time. Discussion questions help identify immediate design changes, and a deeper year-long focus is suggested for a priority principle.

What are the seven principles the guide focuses on?

The principles are Positive Relationships, Foundational Needs Met, Positive Identity, Student Ownership and Agency, Real-World Relevant, Competency-Based, and Anytime, Anywhere Learning.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Connor