By Danish Kurani This article is an adapted excerpt from the book The Spaces That Make Us: Why Design Is Broken and How We Can Create a Happier, Healthier World. From the first day of kindergarten to the day students complete high school, they spend approximately…

Two middle school students sitting cross-legged on a library floor, reading together from an open book.

Learner-Centered

Educational fMRIs: Dynamic Pedagogy and Pedagogical Analysis in the Multimodal AI Era

Edmund W. Gordon, Eric Tucker

Apr 1, 2026

Explore how education fMRI can enhance understanding of student assessment beyond mere scores and classifications.

Teacher smiling with three young students reading picture books at a classroom table with word walls in background

Leadership

Blueprints Are Not Enough: Building Balanced Assessment Systems for Science of Reading 2.0

Edmund W. Gordon, Eric Tucker

Feb 11, 2026

Ms. Rivera has done everything right: she attended the state-mandated Science of Reading (SoR) training and internalized the new, evidence-based curriculum. She is teaching phonics and phonemic awareness. Yet, as October settles in, she feels a familiar anxiety. She is teaching the “what” of the new laws, but…

Students and staff standing in a semicircle on a school basketball court at Big Picture Ukiah during a PMU Circle gathering.

Learner-Centered

In Ukiah, Eternal Truths Are Saving Young Lives

Sam Chaltain

Nov 17, 2025

Big Picture South Valley High empowers struggling teens with personalized, learner-centered education, fostering community, healing, and purpose.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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