Tired of watching student teams burn out mid-project? Or seeing the same student take charge while others fade into the background?

In this episode, I share a simple but powerful strategy that reinvigorated our year-long student-run business: rotating roles. You'll hear how a single shift—letting students try on new responsibilities—rebalanced workloads, re-energized participation, and fostered deeper collaboration and skill growth.

Through the story of our Montessori middle school café project, you'll hear how rotating a fatigued marketing manager into product development not only reignited his excitement, but sparked new momentum across the entire team.

You'll learn:

• Why rotating roles prevents burnout, apathy, and imbalance in student teams

• 4 simple, flexible roles you can apply to any PBL experience

• How role rotation supports fairer assessment, stronger collaboration, and broader skill-building

• Quick examples for applying this in an urban garden, student podcast, or playground redesign

• Why this small shift keeps projects moving forward—without constant teacher intervention

Whether you're guiding 6th graders through their first group inquiry or facilitating interdisciplinary projects with high schoolers, this episode will equip you with one of the easiest changes you can make… that delivers outsized results.

👣 Start small, start now—and keep the momentum going.

Get the 12 Shifts Book: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments

Have you provided students freedom and choice only to watch them fail miserably at exerting it?

Make bad decisions. Poorly manage their time. Produce sloppy, unpolished work.

That was me last week when I let students pitch their student generated business plan to a panel of investors.

Real stakes and real people. And they were terribly unprepared.

But what if I told you their failure was NOT their fault...but ours?!

In this episode I share why student agency fails and 5 ways to fix it.

You learn:

• The three common mistakes aspiring student-centered practitioners make when giving students more autonomy and choice
• The simple shift to ensure success
• Simple facilitator moves to guide the process
• A dead easy framework to use every time you give students a new project based experience, open-ended task, or challenge

Transform failed attempts at student agency into student empowerment.

Feel like you're the only one pushing for more student-driven, hands-on learning in a system built for tradition?

For many of us international educators, shifting toward student-centered, project-based learning feels like an uphill battle, especially when the system is slow to evolve.

In this powerful episode, I speak with Steve from Bradbury International School, who turned a single underused structure on campus- what became "The Shed"- into a proof of concept for student-led, hands-on, tech infused, interdisciplinary learning. What started as a pilot space quickly became a catalyst for broader school-wide change.

You'll learn:

• How to create momentum for active learning through visible wins, not policy
• Why student-designed spaces inspire deeper ownership and innovation
• How to align design thinking, sustainability, and curriculum into one bold vision
• What's required to lead change from within, when others aren't quite ready

If you're trying to push student-centered learning beyond your classroom, this story of grassroots transformation will give you the spark—and strategy—you've been missing.

Take the 12 Shifts Scorecard: www.transformschool.com/12shiftsscorecard

Get the 12 Shifts Book: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Teacher-Kyle-Wagner/dp/1032484713

Steve's Bio: Steve is a dedicated EdTech Teacher with over 20 years of experience in Primary education. His journey has equipped him with a passion for teaching and learning, allowing me to develop and nurture learners of all ages as we explore the exciting world of educational technologies. The Shed at Bradbury School is a space for adults and children to learn new skills and explore new technologies that can be taken back to the classroom to enhance daily learning. From 3D design to practical maker sessions; cooking and sewing to VR design and coding, we love to try new ways to bring a practical aspect to the way we learn. I am always eager to connect with like-minded professionals and explore new opportunities. Let's connect and see how we can make teaching and learning more exciting!