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