The Why and The How

We are having a hard time sleeping at night these days thinking about the why and the how of personalized learning.  It has become a driving passion of ours.  There is a vast amount of research around personalized learning that illustrates the why and the how, but in this forum we are going to share ours.  Our why is rooted in our belief that ALL kids can learn and that some kids learn differently.  When we look at kids we try to see the whole child and not just see them as a “student”, which is why we use the terminology “learner”.  It is a mindshift for teachers to think about how can we build learners' capacity to learn, connect to their passions, and meet them where they are at.  Instead of asking ourselves, “How are we going to teach our lesson?” we are asking, “How are we going to ensure learning?”

We have had conversations with teachers where, “They will be fine once they get out of school,” has actually been said.  Meaning, some learners don’t fit into the school “system” but have talents or qualities that will make them successful in life.  In our experience we have found that the traditional school system works great for about 70-80% of kids.  But that is not equitable, and it is not preparing all children for the future.  

In the “real world” we need all children to feel worthy, capable and engaged.  We are not preparing learners to all have the same career, we don’t even know what the future jobs will look like.  Future employers will want to know things like, what can you create, how do you work with others, how do you problem solve and what can you learn?  Teachers do not have to be the keepers of content, we want our children to become independent and not rely on teachers for learning.  All learning is personal, it happens when a child makes a connection or has an experience.  Learning begins with the leaner and not the lesson.   Check out this great video that illustrates this point “I Just Sued the School System.”     

How:

There are many paths to personalize learning.  Here are some that we have used to personalize our course.  Currently, we still organize our class around units that address the standards, so each unit will look different.  We are always asking ourselves, “What are the different ways learners can access, engage and express their learning?” This thinking lead to a change in how we introduced new terms with learners.  Rather than have all kids take notes on the terms as we explained them, we shared the notes with them electronically.  This allowed us to link videos to each term.  After giving them a brief overview, we told them they had 15 minutes to engage with the words by whatever method they felt best helped them learn.  Some learners chose to watch the videos, some made note cards by hand or using quizlet, and a few sat with us to go over the terms orally with the teacher. (see notes example here).  Once again we saw ALL learners engaged.  This has not been true when we stood in front and lectured about each term in the past. 



Teacher Seminar

We have also personalized a unit that is centered around a novel the whole class reads.  To Kill a Mockingbird is the classic novel we use to address standards around theme, writing arguments, and using technology.  For this unit each class followed this structure:10 minutes of independent reading, 10 minutes of dialogue journals, 50 minutes of voice and choice, and ended with 20 minutes of whole class discussion.  During the voice and choice time learners will choose to work independently, in a collaborative groups, or in a teacher seminar.  After three class periods of building prior knowledge(students inquiring and doing research on topics addressed in the novel, building their capacity to make connections and learn while reading), we began day one of the novel study.  On this first day learners discovered what standards they needed to meet and how the unit was outlined, then made goals.  We shared a document with learners via google classroom that contained all this information.  (Click here to view the document).  This is also where learners track their progress and know what topics are discussed each day for teacher seminar and large group discussion.  The standards tell learners why we are reading the novel so that they can have voice and choice in the how they show their learning.  Check out this illustration of why this is so powerful:  “When you know your why you how can have more impact…”              

Collaborative Group Work

With learners being at different places in their learning, one strategy we use to address questions is a classroom document where questions can be docked and answered at any time.  See here. Learners and teachers can look at these any time offering questions and answers. We’ve found that learners often surprise us by offering solutions and insights to their peers.  This creates even more buy in for learners studying the unit.  

Here is our unit outlined by standards, assessments, and formative work: TKMB Personalized

Here is how we explained what our daily classes would be like: Video

Here is the letter home to parents we sent regarding this unit: TKMB Letter To Parents

In a recent observation another teacher noted that during “voice and choice” time 100% of learners were engaged, this illustrates the value of giving learners different paths to learn.  We are excited to see where these paths are going to take the learners throughout the course of this study...stay tuned to see...

Independent work

 

 




Taking risks and allowing the unexpected.

Earlier I mentioned how Tricia and I are simply "better together".  One way that is true comes through when trying something new and taking a risk.  This school year will be all about risk taking for us as educators, because we are changing a lot of what we experienced and what we were taught about school.  Tricia called me last week to say, "I took a risk...I was nervous...but I am SO happy about how things turned out."  Her "risk" was stepping away from a teacher directed lesson and instead setting objectives learners could work toward with more voice and choice.  This last unit we encouraged learners to choose a path that is best for them as they began to work toward the standard.  Daily, learners could choose to participate in collaborative groups, teacher seminars or work independently.  Again, in our work Rickabaugh's words, "Allow learners to be active participants, as opposed to active recipients," inspired us to step out of what felt comfortable and into what felt better...better for our learners. 

Observing how learners participate has been fascinating.  Some students would work independently one day and join a teacher seminar the next.  Others worked independently the entire time returning back to the large group with a look of satisfaction.  Several learners chose to collaborate with others and produced solid work.  With that came a group of learners who realized one choice was less successful and productive learning time was lost.  The benefit, those individuals made more effective choices the next class period.  What felt intimidating to both Tricia and me was spreading kids out to various learning spaces.  We weren't used to loosening the reigns and allowing kids to learn without us being able to observe their work "just in case".  Just in case they "wasted their time", had a question, had to get a drink, or perish the thought, GOT OFF TOPIC FOR A SECOND."  Guess what?  We all survived.  And guess what, we all learned from the experience. 



Our learners recently took a unit summative (a "final" assessment) in order for learners to "show what they know" (term coined by one of our learners because of the connotation behind the word "test").  Tricia and I had in mind to have learners reflect using a "Personal Learning Profile" (as designed by Bray and McClaskey).  This means students think about how they Access, Engage, and Express information.  In order to help students get there we had them complete an end of unit reflection.  As learners began building background knowledge for the upcoming unit, we sat down one on one and talked with each individual about his or her learning process thus far.  Tricia is using hard copies for all reflection unless a learner asks for electronic.  I am asking students to track growth in a chart that I adopted from educators at Pioneer Ridge in Chaska, MN.  Tricia and I are excited to share results comparing hard copies vs. electronics. 

One on one learner reflection, goal setting "meeting".

Throughout this process we have now realized that the "Access, Engage and Express" language isn't working for our learners or frankly for either of us.  (Here is a student example) Now we are simply going to have students reflect continuously on how their learning is going.  We took the feedback our learners offered about what they found helpful in reflecting about their learning and chose to continue with reflection just not using the format/language Bray and McClaskey presented. 

Elvis Presley was quoted saying, "When things go wrong, don't go with them."  We hope this blog serves as an effective format where we candidly share our successes and our failures, missteps, flops if one will.  We didn't like how one part of  the learner reflections were going so we are leaving it behind and moving on.  As we continue our work we have a goal to be effective communicators.  One way to help bridge understanding of the work we are doing with learners between home and school is through the use of unit letters.  At the conclusion of one unit and the beginning of a new unit we send a letter home to help parents/learners to help offer some more specific insight into the work we are doing in class.  By communicating in this manner, we have found that individuals are more supportive of the work we are doing in class and are less critical and more open-minded of "something new".