No "Blueprint"

How Learner Goal Setting Dictates Instruction

One of the most intimidating factors for teachers transitioning to a personalized approach is the idea that the planning process is organic.  In other words, one isn’t able to make copies of an assignment four weeks in advance because he or she doesn’t know if that assignment will be the best fit down the road.  Teachers are planners by nature and there is some comfort in knowing one can plan a couple weeks out.  For us, the most important thing we do to help in the planning is make time for student self-reflection and goal setting meetings.  If the focus of our instruction becomes building a capacity to learn where individuals have growing learner independence, allowing time for reflection easily becomes a priority.  

Our learners reflect at the end of every unit.  They carefully recall their recent learning processes and contemplate how they added to their personal toolbox.  Learners reflect independently, in groups and one on one with teachers.  We started asking learners to reflect on the process and what they discovered about themselves as a learner at the beginning of the year (Sept. 16’).  At that time, we had to offer quite a bit of help pinpointing skills that were addressed in a particular unit, lesson or activity.  We would ask questions like; What is your reading process?; How did you access the vocabulary you needed to know for that project?; Did you have any distractions as you worked on your technology piece?; Is it easier for you to listen to a lecture or talk with a few peers?  Modeling the language of reflection for individuals was necessary.  At one point in our quest to seek more training around personalization we were told teaching learners to reflect is as important as teaching them how to read and write.  Our hope was for learners to be able to be more articulate and specific in their reflections later in the year.

Here we are later in the year, having just wrapped up another round of goal setting and reflecting and the growth around the ability to self-reflect is incredible.  Here are some examples of learner goals around writing:

“I want to be more effective at annotating in order to improve my outlining and organization.”

“I want to include more strategic transitions so my argument is clear.”

“I want to further define my voice with more unique word choice and transitions.”

“I want to work on aligning my claims without so much redundancy.”

“I want to take more time to process what I can write in order to make for a stronger argument.”

“I want to be able to transition someone else’s ideas to my own.”

“I want to adapt my claims to my analysis more consistently.  I want my argument to be clear to myself and in turn my audience.”

“I want to express a point deeper with less bias, consider multiple perspectives and reach a broader audience.”

“I want to spend more time committing to the editing process.”

“I need to practice more patience when tackling a writing assignment.  Writing is hard for me and I need time to process.”

“I want to find meaning in the work.  I don’t want to write just to write.”

“I am going to make more time to read outside of school in order to be exposed to various writing styles.”

During this time of reflection learners were working through literary terms necessary for our upcoming unit.  We asked learners to consider the dedication it takes to build their learning capacity by engaging in the work for the day.  In the end we asked learners to choose three literary terms they feel most interested in understanding at a deeper level.  See a list of the terms here!  We told them to be prepared to share these terms with us during reflections.  Every single learner worked through 95% of the terms even though we only asked them to choose three.  Most learners did all of the terms.  

Watch Tricia guide learners to set goals and self-reflect!

Now let’s go back to where we started, the organic planning.  When we met with each learner to reflect and set learning goals we also had them share the terms they want to “specialize” in (see example list of terms here).  Our next lesson will include plans that allow individuals multiple ways to access their chosen terms and study them on a deeper level.  Throughout the unit each learner will be exposed to a variety of AP Essays (they choose the pieces they want to read).  The goal is for each learner to identify where their understanding of the terms is evident in the essay as well as the impact that device has on the reader and the overall message of the piece.  

We couldn’t plan this a month ago. We had no idea the students would be advanced to this point so early.  In fact, we can’t imagine planning more than a day in advance because when the lessons are planned in “real-time”, meeting learners where they are at the self efficacy is off the charts.  

The two of us have done much reflection ourselves.  When thinking about our former learners we know the experiences our current learners are having is much different and more meaningful.  In the past, we have had learners showcase incredible growth through summative (final) assignments.  However, in truth, we believe they could not have grasped and articulated their learning process in the way our learners can right now.  Former learner reflections were more scripted and less authentic, because they didn’t quite understand their role in their learning.  At this point, that difference in one’s ability to describe his/her learning is what we believe demonstrates the value of personalized learning.  Even with our roadblocks and obstacles (we all have them), our time with learners just keeps getting better.     

Personalized Learning vs Differentiation

Moving Beyond Differentiation into Personalized Learning

Teachers are constantly asked to take on more and more as professionals.  With class sizes ranging from 30-40 learners, there is always more to do to meet the needs of all their learners; implement and plan for instructional strategies, interventions, enrichments, technology, collaboration, etc., etc.  And yet, there are still those learners who, regardless, never really engage either for lack of effort or ability to do so.  It’s no wonder teacher burnout is so high and many are reluctant to take on “one more thing”.  So when Barbara Bray pointed out at a training on personalized learning that teachers are doing too much of the work she intrigued our interest in learning more about personalized learning vs differentiation.  

Six years ago leveled courses for 9th grade English in our school district were eliminated.  The new course was titled, Pre-AP English 9, with the intent that all learners would have access to rigor and be exposed to skills needed to take an AP class as a junior or senior.  This was an exciting change for us as we saw it as an active step to make student’s learning opportunities more equitable.  In order to meet the needs of a wide range of abilities, we became “master differentiators”.  Differentiation is a well-known practice in education where the teacher tailors instruction to meet individual needs.  While this instructional strategy is useful, we find personalized learning to be so much more effective.  We will illustrate by explaining three differences.

#1 Differentiation	Personalized Learning
Teacher designs different learning experiences and assigns them to the learners.	Learners have voice and choice in how they access, engage, and express information.

Questions What resources can I provide to support learner's learning paths? What are the different ways learners can access (get), engage (do), and express (show) information?

Differentiation:

We used to create 3 different tiers for all assignments that would get more in depth with each level.  All assignments related back to the same standard but offered 3 different entry points into working toward a standard.  One of the downsides of this approach was all learners were asked to do the same thing at the same time (work on their chosen tier while we as teachers tried to make it around to as many learners as possible), which was too slow for some and too fast for others.     

Personalized Learning:

Now our approach has changed.  Learners are now asked to apply skills to open ended topics that address the standards, and learners choose how they engage in that topic.  Our in class work time used to be all learners working on their chosen tiers. Now learners choose from an array of options for engaging in the work.  Typical choices are teacher seminar (working with teacher), collaborative groups (working in a small group) or independent work.  Depending on the standard and topic we may provide additional choices such as a Socratic Seminar (group discussion based on a text), or other exploration opportunities. The work looks different depending on the choice a learner makes.  We still help learners generate ideas as to how to tackle the topic/theme/concept of the day, but in the end they have an incredible amount of choice.  We take on the role of the “guide on the side” as opposed to the “director at the center”. As mentioned in earlier blog posts, this voice and choice time has increased student engagement tremendously.  Learners feel empowered by the choice and have more buy in.  Also, we find the learners that need extra guidance almost always choose teacher seminar, so we now have 7-8 learners who may have been off task because they don’t know how to begin sitting with us all at once.

Besides giving them choice in how to learn, we give them choice in how they want to meet the standards.   That brings us to our second difference between differentiation and personalized learning.    

       

#2 Differentiation	Personalized Learning
Teacher creates different assignments for learners to choose from.	Learning connects to interests, passions and/or skills.

Question: How can I create flexibility and choice in content, skill, and knowledge development in order to meet leaners where they are and spark their desire to learn?

When it comes to assessing learning, traditionally teachers create projects or tests for learners to complete.  With differentiation a teacher may create a menu of assignments from which learners choose.  Teachers put ample amount of time and creative thought into designing the assignments and then learners complete them.  While we still have assignments that all learners complete, such as essays (literary analysis, expository, and narrative), we also allow for learners to dictate how they will demonstrate meeting a standard.  This allows the learner to express original thought, refine critical thinking skills, problem solve, and grow in learning independence.  Most importantly, this also allows for learners to tie into their passions and interests.  We have seen learners more excited, engaged and motivated when they get to design their own summatives (assignments that measure mastery of a standard).  We have witnessed individuals stretching themselves further than they imagine, thus enhancing their self efficacy.

In a typical unit we begin with the “why” and show the standards that learners will work toward meeting.  As Jim Rickbaugh says, “If one starts and stays with the why, this opens the flexibility for the how.”  To form the foundation of the ‘why” for learners, we develop an essential question based on the standards that are being addressed.  Next, we map out the summatives (“final “ assessments that measure competency), that will be required for all learners to complete.  We also make sure to incorporate voice and choice in meeting standards (as demonstrated in our previous blog “3 Pillars of Personalized Learning”).  For us, the voice and choice come into play with regards to answering the essential question.  

Consider the following example, used for a novel unit where To Kill a Mockingbird serves as the vehicle for the learning.  For one standard, we have learners complete a literary analysis around the evolution of theme (learners chose the theme).  This is a staple and it’s a common summative each learner needs to complete. Learners were also asked to meet the standard of:  9.9.8.8 As an individual or in collaboration, create a multimedia work, a remix of original work and the work of others, or a piece of digital communication for a specific purpose.  Learners needed to answer the question, “How is one inspired, influenced, or impacted by their community?” (Also known as the “why”).  Learners were able to express their understanding through choice.  We encouraged them to consider their personal passions around elements of a community be it volunteering, sports, environment, literacy, music, and art just to name a few.  Their projects were authentic, meaningful and inspiring-all because we tapped into one of the most underutilized resources in classrooms today, learners themselves.  

Example projects  

#3 Differentiation	Personalized Learning
Teacher passes out and directs learning	Learner setting goals, self monitoring, and directing learning with guidance from the teacher.

Questions: Based on what I know about my individual learners, what actions can I take to increase their learning success? What instruction will my students need to support the next stage of learning?

The gap for some learners gets bigger and bigger because they cannot keep up with the pace of a class.  A teacher introduces content or skills and if a learner does not understand the materials or is unable to complete the task, the class keeps moving on.  The approach assumes kids can effectively be taught in “batches”.  Should a learner “fall behind” he or she would be expected to get extra help before or after school, and for some kids that is simply not an option.  Those kids miss out, lose interest and begin to lack confidence.  

There are many external factors that keep teachers moving at a certain pace, the standardized tests, the large amount of standards to cover and content a teacher is expected to get through in a school year.  Differentiation typically does not allow for different pacing, but different choices in how a learner may show their learning.  Personalized learning is achieved by learners setting goals, monitoring, and directing their own learning, so pacing can vary.  We have found this experience to be about equity, all learners are being met where they are at and allowed to slow down or speed ahead based on their readiness.  With the ratio of our classes (the number of learners to teacher) this can be challenging, but we have found ways to allow for multiple paces in our 9th grade Pre-Ap English class.  We accomplish this in a few different ways, and in each unit it works differently, but we plan out “pacing parameters” for an entire unit and learners can then navigate their way through the unit.  We demonstrate this in other blogs, but here are some different unit maps, the pacing calendars are in the middle of the documents. TKMB Personalized   The Other Side of the Sky Personalized  

Correspondingly, we ask learners to goal set at the beginning and end of each unit to guide learners through the process.  We still offer direct instruction (teacher seminar) and still have large and small group discussions based on various topics that all learners can participate in regardless of where they are at in the pacing calendar.  Learners have reflected that they like the independence, flexibility, and extra time this method allows for them to process and truly gather not only what they learn but how.  The learners who move through at a faster pace, have time to go on to a challenge, extend their thinking, or have more time to process and go deeper into the content. Our class is organically evolving based on learners’ needs, interests, and relevancy.