The LCL model
Layered Collective Learning
A didactic model in which the class stays one group, but within that group students can learn through different layers, routes and paces. The teacher remains the director. Technology supports the structure. The group remains the social starting point.
“Learning together, with room for difference.”
First published 25 May 2026 on lectame.com. Written by Patrick Rambaldo, teacher and founder of LectaMe.
Why a new model is needed
Many lessons are still linear: the teacher starts with an explanation, shows slides, asks a question, finishes with an assignment. For some students that works. For many it does not. Students differ in pace, prior knowledge, language level, motivation and way of processing.
At the same time, we do not want to lose the sense of group. Learning together remains important. The teacher remains important. The class as a learning community remains important.
LCL starts from one idea: not everyone has to follow the same route in order to still learn together.
The six building blocks
The LCL model consists of six parts that together form one coherent didactic model.
A shared learning goal
Every lesson starts with a shared starting point: what is it about, why does it matter, what must you be able to do by the end. Students may take different routes, but work towards the same goal.
A base layer for everyone
The foundation: core concepts, a short explanation, a recognisable example, a first comprehension check. Not for ‘weaker students’ — for everyone. We start together.
Support, deepening and choice
After the basics, room for difference emerges through additional layers: support for those who don't get it yet, deepening for those who can go further, choice for those who need autonomy within clear frameworks.
Active group processing
Students talk, choose, organise, solve cases. The group is not an audience but an active learning community. Students learn from the teacher, from the material and from each other.
Reflection and feedback
What do you understand better now? Which step was difficult? Which question do you take with you? Reflection makes students owners of their learning process. Feedback can be individual or on patterns within the group.
The teacher as director
LCL cannot work without a teacher. The teacher sets the learning goal, designs the layers, decides when the group starts together and comes back together. Technology supports — it never takes over the direction.
What makes LCL different?
LCL is not a purely individual learning path. Nor is it a classic whole-class lesson. It sits exactly between those two extremes.
Not
- × Everyone follows only their own route
- × Everyone always does the same thing, at the same time
Yes
The group stays together, while within that group students can use different layers.
A real-world example
Lesson on sleep medication and fall risk — MBO Nursing.
Case — starting together
Mrs De Vries has recently started taking sleep medication. In the mornings she is drowsy and walks unsteadily to the toilet.
Base layer for everyone: what is sleep medication, which side effects, why fall risk matters.
Different layers: extra explanation for those unfamiliar with the concepts, a step-by-step plan for observation, an in-depth question about medication and the elderly, a choice task ‘what do you do first’.
Together in between: which observation do you find most urgent?
Reflection: what would you report?
Coming back together: what do we take with us into practice?
LectaMe is built on LCL
LectaMe is designed from exactly this thinking. A lesson does not have to be a straight line from slide to slide — a lesson is a learning experience with layers.
- • Layered slides: every slide gets layers — Base, Deepening, Interaction, Reflection.
- • Reflection layer: students privately type an answer that only the teacher sees.
- • Come-back-together slide: automatically aggregates reflections and quiz results during the lesson.
- • Activating-lesson template: immediately scaffolds a 6-phase LCL lesson with the right layers.
- • Live cockpit: the teacher sees who is participating, who is dropping off and what is being reflected on — instantly.
Citing and sharing
How to cite
Rambaldo, P. (2026). The LCL Model: Layered Collective Learning. LectaMe. https://lectame.com/lcl-model
License
The LCL model is free to use under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) license. You may copy, adapt and use it commercially, provided that you:
- credit LectaMe as the source with a link to lectame.com/lcl-model
- share derivative works under the same license
LCL in practice
The model is more than theory — here's how to put it into practice.