First-Year Insights into Building a Truly Learner-Centered Approach with SparkNC

By: Dana Brinson

SparkNC is a whole new way to do school, offering learner-centered, industry-relevant, and competency-based learning in high-tech fields–like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and game and software development–across our interdistrict network of 17 North Carolina public school districts. The SparkNC experience is facilitated by a SparkLab leader with home-base SparkLab where learners connect and collaborate. We engage learners, particularly those who may not yet see themselves in high-tech careers, to chart their own pathways to developing a competitive edge in tech-infused futures. Learners choose from a catalog of more than 60 modular, stackable learning experiences offered in varied formats: experiential, live-interdistrict, and on-demand. If they choose and stack six and complete a capstone experience, they can earn high-school credit along the way. 

In our first year of implementation, we held our learner-centered values dear. But sometimes in the rush of getting things off the ground, we fell short of our goals. So this spring and summer, we had conversations with learners and our partners. We listened, reflected, and took action to become even more learner-centered in the years to come. 

SparkNC is now engaging Spark Scholars as design partners, givers of very honest feedback, and cultivators of real-world connections. We are:

Launching our first student-designed learning experience across our inter-district network;

Co-designing an ambassador program with learners to develop them as leaders ready to engage their peers and build community connections and support for their SparkLab; 

Partnering with industry leaders to hold learner-led design and pitch events to create an app that helps Spark Scholars navigate the SparkNC experience, and

Developing partnerships with like-minded organizations to help us authentically engage youth voice in our design and improvement efforts.

To further our efforts in cultivating learner-centered environments, SparkNC has joined Education Reimagined’s Learner-centered Ecosystem Lab which is creating focused R&D space and support for diverse communities across the United States to advance pilots of learner-centered ecosystems. The lab supports a dozen organizations through facilitated learning, collaboration, solution prototyping, and resource connection. We look forward to learning with and from our fellow Lab members in the year to come. We know our participation in this Lab will help us work in greater alignment with our vision for Spark Scholars.

Starting with a Vision for Spark Scholars

At SparkNC, we believe students should be empowered to select pathways, learning partners, and pace, and we are expanding opportunities for learners to design and shape our program. Doing this well requires learners to possess a set of skills that must be purposefully cultivated. For learners who may only spend small portions of their school days within a learner-centered environment, the whiplash of moving between the two paradigms can be daunting. And in the beginning, they can readily fall back into the routine of waiting to be told what to do next or what the right answer is. They need ongoing encouragement and guidance to grow into individuals who can fully leverage the potential of a learner-centered environment.

After a year of working together–with learners, leaders, and learning experience designers–we are crafting a shared vision of Spark Scholars that will guide our work and help us live up to our aspirations. Though it is still being developed, it centers on learners:

feeling they belong in SparkLab and the high-tech world beyond;

having a strong sense of self-efficacy and the safety to try new things, fail, and try again with the support of peers, lab leaders, and a network of caring adults;

knowing themselves as individuals and as learners and using that self-knowledge to identify preferences and interests to shape their own path; and 

believing that what they create in SparkNC can have an impact on their communities. 

Spark Scholars build and present a portfolio of industry-relevant work, cultivate a network of peers and professionals in the high-tech industry, give and receive feedback, and build high-tech, teamwork, and NC Portrait of a Graduate skills. This has real value in the world of work. All the same, we are finding that connection, self-reflection, play, and safety are critical prerequisites. Learners told us this and we listened. 

SparkLab Leaders are the “Heart and Soul” of SparkLabs

Over and over, learners have said, “SparkLab feels like home” and the SparkLab leader is undeniably the creator and caretaker of that culture of belonging. Enthusiastic, approachable, and knowledgeable leaders create thriving learning environments and our most effective lab leaders remain flexible and guide learners to identify and solve challenges together rather than waiting for an answer from an adult. Learners have shared that they greatly valued having a supportive lab leader and peers which creates a safe space for learning and expression. 

Rooted in learner feedback and program data, SparkNC is developing new approaches to onboarding and professional learning for lab leaders so they can craft these lab experiences. This year, SparkLab leaders are serving in working groups piloting new approaches to competency-based learning and assessment, leveraging AI to automate some processes so lab leaders can be even more present for learners, and creating tools that help lab leaders facilitate learners to find experiences that are the right fit for them. Lab leaders support one another in PLCs and will receive personalized training to develop their skills at cultivating partnerships with local industry and high-tech professionals to generate real-world relevant learning opportunities for Spark Scholars. 

SparkLabs: Welcoming, Collaborative Learning Environments

The physical environment of the SparkLab encourages student engagement and collaboration and learners describe it as open, relaxed, and judgment-free. Many expressed gratitude for the freedom and flexibility with no deadlines or pressure. SparkLabs are attractive spaces that offer the flexibility and creative collaboration common in modern high-tech workplaces. Learners feel supported to collaborate and work in teams, sometimes expressing surprise that they can each take on a specialized role in a project and that they don’t all have to do the same thing. 

SparkLabs were designed by experienced educators and learning environment experts, but the current SparkLab model did not incorporate significant learner input. After a year of use, and to lean into our learner-centered approach, we are creating opportunities for learners to apply their design thinking and user experience (UX) design skills to inform the reshaping of the SparkLabs to better support their connection and learning.

Learning Experiences: Leveraging Autonomy and Choice

Spark Scholars have told us that they value the absence of rigid grading systems and appreciate the space for exploration, experimentation, and pursuing their own passions. We got rave reviews for some learning experiences that were more hands-on with opportunities to be creative and have fun. And learners were open and refreshingly direct about which units were boring or even overwhelming. As a sign of the lingering challenges brought by the pandemic, many learners avoided the online, self-driven learning opportunities, preferring to work in pairs or teams in interactive ways. For our platform-based experiences, some learners identified user interface improvements and gently chided us for these shortcomings given the multiple units we have focused on good user experience design! Learners asked us to do better and we are. 

In response, we are redesigning our orientation and capstone components of the SparkNC experience to prepare learners to build the skills of self-reflection, identifying preferences, trying on experiences just outside of their comfort zone, and setting goals they can revise as they learn more. We hope to build learners’ discernment to identify when they want to quit a project just because they have hit a temporary roadblock or because they truly are not interested in continuing and want to exercise their choice to move on.

We are also revising every learning experience (and our learning design template) to ensure greater accessibility for different learners and provide clearer guideposts and onramps for those new to high-tech topics. We have developed tools to support better matching between learner interest, skill level, learning needs, pacing, and desired formats with the offerings in our expanding catalog. And, even better, learners now have opportunities and guidance to design their own personalized learning experiences to go deeper when their interest is sparked or to explore topics not yet covered in the catalog. We look forward to learning from these budding designers and sharing what they create across the network. 

Partnership is Key to Industry-Connected Learning

Though learners are becoming integral design partners with SparkNC, we know that true partnerships with district leadership, high-tech industry partners/businesses, higher education, and leaders in education transformation are essential to bringing industry-relevant learning into SparkLabs and getting Spark Scholars out into the world to familiarize them with high-tech careers while expanding learner-centered ecosystems across North Carolina.

High-Tech Industry Connections

Learners shared that some of the most meaningful experiences they had with SparkNC last year were when industry professionals came to their labs to teach them tech skills, share their career journeys, or give feedback on learners’ high-tech projects. Professionals taking the time out of their days to visit labs made learners feel special and important, they said. Our scholars also valued opportunities to visit high-tech company campuses. Learners visited Cisco, SAS, IBM, and more in their first year and we are creating pitch events with other partners for this year. Learners are cultivating their professional networks now that they can leverage for years to come. 

Higher-Education Pathways
SparkNC has both established and emerging partnerships with higher education institutions – both at the community college and university level. We have located SparkLabs on community college campuses and designed curricular materials with university professors that are offered through our platform. We are focused on avoiding duplication of efforts across the state while clearing pathways and demystifying processes for learners to go from exploration, through learning experiences and then tracking toward industry credential and college credit opportunities that align with each learner’s goals. 

District Partnerships
Perhaps most centrally, district partners help us bring our approach to life. Because our labs are largely located within public schools, it is crucial that the superintendent, principal, and SparkLab leader are aligned in their vision to expand competency-based, learner-centered models. When they are, districts are more likely to invest in the launch of their SparkLab startup and remove barriers to implementation, creating a dynamic and supportive learning environment for Spark Scholars. In situations where key district stakeholders are not fully invested in making progress toward a learner-centered model, gaining traction can be challenging.

Transformational Education Partners

In joining Education Reimagined’s Learner-Centered Ecosystem Lab, SparkNC has committed to build upon the transformational learning experiences we have already fostered with our partner district communities. We will continue to design, pilot and share new solutions for cultivating learner-centered ecosystems while learning from other education leaders across the country to bring new ideas to our state. 

To strengthen alignment and deepen our interdistrict network’s capacity to offer true competency-based education, SparkNC has published comprehensive guiding documents and implementation playbooks to ensure clarity and consistency for all stakeholders. Our external evaluation, internal data, and feedback from learners and district stakeholders is guiding us toward clarity on which parts of our model are necessary to adhere closely to and where we can provide broad flexibility for local adaptation of the SparkNC experience.

Continued Learning and Iteration

In our first year in schools, we made hundreds of real-time changes to our approach, the design of our platform, the structure of our credit model, and more. Decision fatigue is real, and it takes substantial commitment to keep moving forward. But at SparkNC we began this organization by first listening to learners, and we must regularly recommit the time and attention it takes to remain learner-centered. True transformation can’t happen without that. In addition, SparkNC invested in a Director of Development and Business Partnerships to facilitate deeper connections between SparkLab students and industry partners while building SparkLab Leaders’ own capacity to foster strong, local networks of partners who feel connected with their community’s SparkLab. 

With our partners, including learners, we are developing a handful of signals for success to keep our focus on what matters most–our shared vision for Spark Scholars–and the leaders, labs, and learning experiences that help us bring that vision to life. In our first year, we reached 1,500 learners across North Carolina and many are serving as design partners and ambassadors now. We will keep learning alongside our scholars and we commit to sharing our journey until our collective vision for learner-centered, competency-based, and industry-relevant learning is a true reality for all young people. 

Dana Brinson is the Senior Director of Strategic Programs and Development, SparkNC

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 SparkNC offers a learner-centered, competency-based education in high-tech fields across North Carolina, empowering students with flexible, industry-relevant learning experiences.
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