What changes when teachers stop being the center of the classroom and students start taking ownership of their learning?

In this episode of Education Vanguard, Justin Hardman sits down with Kyle Wagner, student-centered learning designer, project-based learning expert, and author of Where’s the Teacher? 12 Shifts for Learner-Centered Classrooms.

Drawing from his experiences at High Tech High, the International School of Beijing’s Futures Academy, and the International Montessori School in Hong Kong, Kyle shares what it takes to create learning environments where students have greater voice, choice, and responsibility.

Their conversation explores how educators can move beyond traditional instruction, overcome curriculum constraints, and make small but meaningful shifts toward more authentic learning.

Kyle also reflects on the importance of designing projects that extend beyond classroom deadlines, creating learning experiences with real-world purpose and lasting impact.

At its heart, this conversation is about rethinking the teacher’s role, not making teachers less important, but creating the conditions where students can do more of the thinking, exploring, and learning themselves.

Listen on:

Continue the conversation at 21CLHK 2027.

Kyle Wagner joins Chris Bush for the pre-conference workshop Personalise Your Next Unit With AI: Keep the Thinking, Grow the Agency on 11 March 2027 in Hong Kong.

Discover how to redesign an existing unit using project-based learning and AI while keeping students actively engaged in the thinking.

Learn more:
https://www.21clconf.org/item/personalise-your-next-unit-with-ai-keep-the-thinking-grow-the-agency/