The Impact: The Ripple Effect of Reimagining Support for Learning Differences

BY Khara Schonfeld, Ph.D. and Lindsy Ogawa

After years of struggle, young people with learning differences may believe there is no place where they truly belong. But what happens when that belief shifts? What happens when a young person discovers they are not a “problem” to be fixed, but an individual with unique strengths and gifts to contribute to the world around them?

To explore how learner-centered environments support youth with learning differences, we conducted a multi-case study with a team of practitioner-researchers. In our companion brief, The Approach: Reimagining Support for Learning Differences Through Learner-Centered Education, we explore how these sites reframe foundational mindsets, redesign organizational architecture, and realize daily practices. Building on those findings, this brief examines how the learner-centered approach creates a ripple effect, with impact beginning with the individual learner and then extending out to those around them.

Download the report here.

Khara Schonfeld, Ph.D.

Partner of Research, Education Reimagined

Khara is Education Reimagined’s Partner of Research. She has taught K–12 students for over a decade in the US and internationally, taught teacher education courses and led programs at the university level, and researched alternative learning approaches, including unschooling. She holds a PhD in Teacher Education & Professional Development and an MEd in Art Education.

headshot of Nayan Bhula

Lindsy Ogawa

Senior Partner of Practice and Learning, ​​Education Reimagined

Lindsy Ogawa is Education Reimagined’s Senior Partner of Practice and Learning. She connects and convenes national communities of learning for educators and partners dedicated to an equitable, joyful education for every young person. She knows there’s much to celebrate and learn from those already bringing learner-centered education to life. Lindsy taught special education, holds an MS in Education from JHU, and loves karaoke with her husband in the Bay Area and Hawaiʻi, places she calls home.