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    December Resource of the Month: Student Ownership of Learning: A Year End Reflection


    "Students reflect on and understand how they learn effectively based on their readiness, learning preference/style, and interest."
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    This month, YOU are the student in this Look For taken from our Personalized Learning Components and Look Fors resource. As this calendar year closes, we encourage you to reflect on your professional growth. 

    Overview: ​

    Choose from the following questions and find a place to write, type or sketch your thoughts. 
    • ​What changes did you make in your practice this calendar year that supported the shift to personalized learning? 
    • Did you see an increase in student ownership this calendar year? Where? How? If not, why? 
    • Based on your interest and readiness, what goal(s) will you set for the rest of the school year? Use the Personalized Learning Components and Look Fors resource to help you define your next steps.
    • Who do you need or want to talk to, connect or collaborate with in the new year to help meet your goal(s)?
    • Based on your learning style, what resources will you be most interested in this year? Podcasts, videos, white papers, other?

    Want to take this exercise to the next level? Get student feedback!

    Create a simple Google or Microsoft Form and ask your students to share feedback to influence your growth. Page 36 and 37 (we are referencing the page numbers on the actual document, if viewing page numbers on side bar they line up with page 38/39 from that view) of Informing Progress Personalized Learning from Next Generation Learning Challenges, has some great questions that can be used/modified in a student survey to elicit informative feedback. Here are some additional reflection prompts or questions you can pair with a student survey. 
    • The most surprising information from the student survey was…
    • Which two takeaways do you most agree with and why?
    • Which two takeaways do you most disagree with and why?
    • How will this information impact the goal(s) you set for the remainder of the school year regarding personalized learning? 

    Don't Forget!! ​

    1. Share your student surveys, podcasts, video learning resources, recommended white papers, etc., and your reflections in the comments below!
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    Nov Resource of the Month: Assessment Retakes-Four Keys To Supporting Personalization

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    Overview:
    As you shift your classroom to allow for students to have some control over the pace of their learning, building in accountability and embedded assessments are essential for two reasons. 
     
    ​1. Your students need to know you are holding them accountable for engaging in and understanding learning experiences- not just going through the motions. 
    2. You need evidence that students are actually learning, making progress, and mastering learning goals so you can personalize.  

    ​    We get the “retake” question often. 
    Giving students multiple attempts to show mastery is important. It promotes growth mindset,  learning as a process, and motivates students to continue learning. Traditional one-shot, end of unit assessments leave many students feeling defeated and further unmotivated.  

    Here are 4 keys to setting up your assessments and retakes to promote learning & student ownership instead of compliance:
    1. Analyze your assessments
    Your evidence of learning is only as good as your assessments. (Remember we are collecting formative assessment data as students are learning so we can personalize)   
    • What evidence of learning are you collecting? 
    • Does it reflect the depth of the standard or learning target?  
    • Will the results provide students with information about what they know and still need to learn? 

    2. Use a pre-assessment
    Pre-assessment gives you and the student information about where students start in a lesson block or unit
    • If students already know the content or have mastered a skill, they can then engage in a learning experience that requires them to transfer and apply in a more complex way. If a student needs remediation, you will have the evidence and can meet with them in a small group to close the gaps.  

    3. Build in accountability
    Avoid the retake “game” (ie....I will keep taking this assessment until odds are I get the right answers- we have all had that experience!!)  
    Set parameters such as students can not retake a check-in/assessment until they have engaged in additional learning.   (They have to put forth some effort and time!)
    For example, after each check-in have students complete a google form (This will give you an ongoing spreadsheet to manage student progress) Here are some sample questions:
    • What do you still need to learn?  
    • What will you do to learn this? (You may give ideas here- students usually need to go back and reengage in their notes/resources, practice or meet with the teacher) 
    • What questions do you have? 
    • Would you like to retake the check-in after learning more? 
    You can check in quickly with students and meet in small groups to close gaps. 

    4. Don't give the same assessment for retake.
    ​Students quickly learn that it is important to engage in learning vs just getting and giving the right answer. 
    • Create a couple of versions of a check-in/assessment with different scenarios or questions in different order focused on the same learning targets. 
    • And/or use embedded  assessment by modifying a learning task to give evidence of learning.  ​
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    October 2022 Resource of the Month: Student Self Direction

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    A student-centered, teacher-supported learning environment is a critical component of personalized learning. This environment supports students to become actively engaged in THEIR learning through various methods like; 
    • setting learning goals
    • ​suggesting or making important learning choices
    • reflecting, and modifying learning paths based on needs, readiness, growth, progress, and more. 

    Student ownership requires a shift of less and less direction from teachers are more self-direction from students.

    Overview: 

    Self-direction is a growing expectation of daily living, a necessary skill in today’s fast-paced, information-filled world.* A student who practices the skill of self-direction over time eventually feels confident to “draw on experience, long-term goals, and aspirations to analyze learning opportunities and initiate collaborative approaches, to maximize their learning and development.”*

    Whether you are just beginning or need a nudge to take your next steps to support students in self-direction, we have some great resources to get you started. This month, we have curated 5 strategies For Self-Directed Learning To Support Student Ownership. Open the link to the image to interact and explore the resources.  
    What strategies do you use to support students to be self-directed learners? Share your thoughts, goals, links, resources, and ideas in the comments below!

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    Don't Forget!! 
    1. Students won't be equipped (and sometimes aren't too thrilled) to be suddenly self-directed. Talk with them about why it's important and how you will support them to do this shift over time. 
    2. With honesty, no matter how much we educators agree that self-direction is important, we don't always feel equipped for this change. Set some goals, and make a simple plan. Try, Reflect, and Modify. Share with students your reservations, challenges, and goals in making this shift. Discuss ways you can respectfully hold one another accountable.
    3. Share your strategies in the comments!
     
    •Essential Skills and Dispositions

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    September Resource of the Month: Get Started With Small Groups!

    Get Started With Small Groups!

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    The first day of school has come and gone, and you are undoubtedly in the depths of getting to know your students. If you are like most teachers, you are noticing that your students are all over the map.  How can you even begin to meet their needs???  

    ​We say leverage small groups in your classroom! This gives you a chance to work with rotating small groups of students and target their needs    .  
    But where do you start? Buy-in and student ownership are critical to engaging and productive small groups.  Group roles help to promote organization and accountability in small groups. 
    Check out this great new webpage, “Give every student a stake in group work”.  Common Sense Education has created this webpage to provide several resources to promote shared ownership as students own their roles in their small group settings.  Don’t miss the free download of “Group Work Roles That Promote Shared Ownership” - it's an excellent resource to begin conversations with students about group work expectations.
    The image below from Education Week can help you to get the big picture of making small groups work in your classroom     (Visit Education Week article here)
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    August Resource of the Month: Authentic and Active Learning: Start The Year On A Creative Note

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    A new school year- a blank slate! Whether your mind is inching into Back To School mode or still completely in denial (It's OK), this month's resource is meant to get the creative juices flowing. In our March 2022 Resource of the Month, we highlighted Authentic and Active Learning (with a unit planning resource). This month we bring this topic back into the spotlight. 

    We know that effective lessons help students ​1"make authentic connections, allow them to actively learn, and are personalized to their needs and interests." Without authentic and active work, we have compliance-based learning where students march through sequenced steps of disconnected content, skills, and activities leaving little room for understanding, retention, interest, or joy. For many reasons, we’re often willing to take on creative projects at the end of the year. But this year, why not take a creative risk and START the year off with an authentic project? This month we share John Spencer's
    Overview: In his article, Mr. Spencer challenges us to ask, "What is a creative risk I can make as an educator?" and "What is a creative risk my students can make?" Spencer's Starting the Semester On A Creative Note  shares ten innovative, yet simple ways to take a creative risk as we START the new school year (something here for everyone K-12). His ideas include everything from implementing Genius Hour, Design Thinking, Divergent Thinking and Maker Projects! Intrigued? We were. Check it out, make your adaptations and take your creative risk! Share your ideas for starting the year off with an authentic project this school year in the comments below!

    Don't Forget!! 
    1. If this makes you a little nervous, remember just because you start the school year this way doesn't mean you are committing to the entire year. Sometimes just trying it out, stepping out of your comfort zone for a short trial period is better than never starting!
    2. You can still (and should) co-create beginning-of-year norms, routines, and procedures with your students - creativity does not equal "free for all."
    3. Everything is always more fun with a friend. Do you have a colleague (any grade level) you could enlist to join you?
    4. Take time to reflect at the end of this experience - What went well and why? What didn't and why? What changes would I make? 

    1. https://authenticlearningllc.com/trifecta-of-learning