Aidyn Grice is a 6th-grade doing 9th-grade math and is a student at Norris Academy in Mukwonago, Wisconsin. I met Aidyn and his mom, Nicole, at the Aurora Institute (past was iNACOL) conference in October 2019 in Palm Springs where Aidyn who was an amazing speaker on the student panel. After talking to Aidyn, his mom, and Johnna Noll, Executive Director of Norris Academy, we decided it was time for a conversation with Aidyn on my podcast.
Whatever community you are in, you are bound to find something parallel and worth digging into.
Learner-centered is a mindset, not a model. There is no designation—public, private, charter, or independent—a learning environment can bear that necessarily means they are operating with this mindset. If their work fits the distinction of what it means to operate within the learner-centered paradigm, we pin them to our map and explore opportunities to write profiles, conduct interviews, amplify the voices of their learners, and more.
As the Norris School District entered the 2015-2016 school year, the board of education made a bold move to achieve its mission of “changing lives through the power of learning” by embracing a learner-centered educational delivery system and building a culture of innovation with leadership at all levels.
Susan Freeman, PhD visited Norris Academy as part of Education Reimagined’s Immersive Learning Exchange (ILX).
