Overview
We have identified patterns in the actions teachers take in classrooms where students are growing as leaders of a better future. These transformational classrooms have shown that growing students in this way calls for more relational, student-led, discovery-oriented teaching and learning.

Discover
Check out this compilation of clips from some of the teachers, students, classrooms, schools, and communities that were part of our Global Learning Loops. What do these classrooms have in common? What key strategies do you see?
Learn
Our studies suggest that five families of actions (which we are calling “strategies”) distinguish transformational classrooms. Under each of these, you will observe five specific actions (for a total of 25 actions) often found in these classrooms.
Love & Connect |
Build relationships |
Foster belonging |
Nurture culture |
Know yourself |
Be human |
Listen & Envision |
Broaden perspectives |
Host dialogue & discussion |
Partner with families & community |
Critically examine history |
Collectively envision success |
Learn & Design |
Build critical knowledge |
Plan backwards |
Value learner variability & ownership |
Expect higher-order thinking |
Leverage learning theory |
Facilitate & Challenge |
Facilitate effectively |
Manage norms & rituals |
Foster collective discovery |
Flexibly adjust course |
Monitor learning & progress |
Reflect & Grow |
Take care of yourself |
Pause & reflect |
Find & foster allies |
Seek feedback |
Learn & unlearn |
“It turns out, if you are a teacher working to help students improve their lives and their communities’ futures, you do things very differently than teachers who are working to raise test scores.”
— Franco Mosso, CEO & Co-founder, Enseña Perú

“It turns out, if you are a teacher working to help students improve their lives and their communities’ futures, you do things very differently than teachers who are working to raise test scores.”
— Franco Mosso, CEO & Co-founder, Enseña Perú

Do
Explore an emerging toolkit of strategies for developing student leadership designed for teachers and teacher coaches, and other recommended resources:
TACL
Data Triangulation for Measuring Social-Emotional Learning
This article provides guidelines and best practices for measuring student social-emotional learning (SEL). It offers methodologies and examples beyond the typical self-reporting measurement style which is limited by accuracy, bias, and ceiling effect
TACL
Brené Brown | Daring Classrooms | SXSWedu 2017
Explore this Brené Brown talk in which she discusses the need to understand how scarcity affects the way we lead and teach, and to learn how to engage with vulnerability and recognize and combat shame.
TACL
Earning Trust: Relationship building with vulnerable young people
This video from 2013 portrays how we can't effectively work to empower young people without building relationships with them first. Watch this video to learn from former youth worker Susie Gray's approach to building relationships with students.
Pagination
Share
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Our Glossary
In our attempt to capture the real spirit of the classrooms we have studied, we have sometimes intentionally used words and phrases in a slightly unusual way.
We invite you to learn more about our language choices by exploring our Glossary.