An Overview

The Agile Classrooms Framework

Agile Classrooms helps educators build student agency, collaboration, and adaptability by making learning routines visible and iterative.

Why an Agile Classroom?

🌍 The World Has Changed

Success today depends on more than memorization. Students need to think critically, work in teams, and adapt to new challenges. Most classrooms aren’t set up for that. An Agile Classroom is.

🎓 Authentic Skills Are Caught, Not Just Taught

You don’t learn collaboration by just reading about it. You learn it by doing it—over and over, in meaningful ways. Agile Classrooms helps students build habits through consistent practice.

⚙️ Perfect for STEM, PBL, CTE, and WBL

Agile Classrooms is grounded in real-world frameworks like Scrum and Kanban—tools used in engineering, healthcare, design, and more. Students don’t just learn how teams work. They become part of one.

🧭 A Framework That Builds Skills on Purpose

Self-direction and teamwork aren’t traits students either have or don’t. Agile Classrooms gives educators a way to guide growth step by step, with routines that make progress visible and repeatable.

Infographic showing the four steps to build an Agile Classroom. Step 1: Make Learning Visible – use visual tools to make learning and progress transparent. Step 2: Facilitate Learning Sprints – support deliberate practice through five self-directed routines. Step 3: Grow Collaboration – shift from solo work to shared team responsibility. Step 4: Grow Choice – gradually move from teacher direction to student choice to build learner agency.

The Four Elements of an Agile Classroom

Agile classrooms don’t happen by chance—they’re built with intention.

These four elements work together to shift classrooms from compliance to clarity, from confusion to ownership.

Each one supports student growth while making teaching more focused, flexible, and fulfilling.

Teacher and student standing in front of a visual board with sticky notes. The teacher points at the board, representing making the learning process and progress visible.

1. Make Learning Visible

Make the Learning Progress and Process Visible

Make the process and progress visible.

When students can see what they’re doing and how far they’ve come, they engage with more purpose and confidence.

Learning artifacts like the Learning Canvas and Learning Backlog turn goals, tasks, and reflection into something students can track—and own.

It’s how they move from doing school to owning their learning.

Teacher with two students, pointing upward while a yellow cycle icon represents iteration. Symbolizes guiding students through structured, self-directed learning cycles.

2. Facilitate Learning Sprints

An Iterative Cycle for Growth

Short learning cycles. Big progress.

Learning Sprints give students a rhythm: set goals, take action, reflect, and improve.

Each cycle includes built-in feedback that helps students adjust and grow—quickly.

As a facilitator, you guide the process while students take ownership of their progress.

Three students sitting together, smiling and interacting. Represents students shifting from working alone to collaborating as a team.

Grow Collaboration

From group work to real teamwork.

Collaboration isn’t automatic—it’s built. With the Spectrum of Collaboration, students grow from working side-by-side to truly sharing goals, ownership, and outcomes.

It’s not about assigning group projects. It’s about helping students become accountable teammates.

Teacher supporting a student making a decision, with green check and red X icons. Represents gradually increasing student agency and decision-making responsibility.

Grow Student Choice

Give control without losing control.

Students don’t become self-directed overnight. They grow into independence through structure, feedback, and support. The Spectrum of Choice helps teachers release responsibility at a pace that builds confidence—without creating chaos.

🔷 What Students and Educators Gain from an Agile Classroom

Agile Classrooms helps students become self-directed, collaborative learners. At the same time, it gives educators a structured way to support growth while reducing overload.

📊 Clarity for Everyone

Students and teachers can see progress clearly. Tools like the Learning Canvas and Backlog help track what’s complete, what’s in motion, and what’s coming next.

🤝 True Collaboration

Students shift from working individually to collaborating as teams. They build skills in communication, shared decision-making, and problem-solving.

🔄 Skill-Building Routines

Agile learning cycles—Refine, Plan, Check-in, Review, and Retrospective—give students regular practice in managing their own learning.

⚖️ Balanced Choice

Students gain more choice at a pace that works. Teachers keep structure in place while gradually guiding students toward greater independence.

📉 Less Burnout, More Impact

Teachers no longer have to direct every step. With clear routines in place, they focus on feedback, engagement, and deeper learning.

🚀 Real Ownership

Students go beyond just completing assignments. They learn to set goals, reflect, and improve through structured learning cycles.

Tools and Knowledge to Help You Empower Student-Led Learning

Download free Agile Classrooms resources built for teachers.
Use these templates, routines, and guides to make learning visible, support student reflection, and build meaningful collaboration—without having to create everything from scratch.

Get Certified

Learn to lead Agile Classrooms with confidence. Earn your certification and help students take charge of their learning.
Educator showing students how to use a Learning Canvas with columns for goals, tasks, doing, and done—introducing the Agile Classrooms framework

Agile Educator Guide

A free guide to help you understand and apply the Agile Classrooms framework in your school. Includes examples, visuals, and tools to make learning visible, collaborative, and student-driven.
Educator holding a clipboard labeled “Template,” offering Agile Classrooms resources for routines, rubrics, and classroom tools

Free Resources

Download ready-to-use Agile Classrooms templates, visible artifacts, routines guides, and rubrics.
Hand holding up an Agile Classrooms article featuring an educator on the cover, promoting teacher stories, tips, and classroom practices

Articles

Browse real stories, tips, and classroom practices from educators using Agile Classrooms. Learn how others are growing student agency, collaboration, and visible learning.