Engagement Based Teaching and Learning

Blended learning means offering a combination of face-to-face and online learning opportunities to learners. Blending these learning opportunities can contribute to personalizing learning. However, blended learning is not the only approach that personalizes learning. Personalizing learning starts with the learner. This means that learners have a stake in their learning by taking responsibility for their learning. When they own and drive their learning, they are more motivated to want to learn. In a learning environment that starts with the learner, teacher and learner roles change.

The research at the Students at the Center (studentsatthecenter.org) wrote nine reports on student-centered learning. Eric Toshalls, Ed.D., and Michael Nakkula, Ed.D. in one report, wrote the research on “Learning Theory: Motivation, Engagement and Student Voice” that described:

The Trifecta of Student Centered Learning

Motivation - Without motivation, there is no push to learn
Engagement - Without engagement, there is no way to learn
Voice - Without voice, there is no authenticity in learning

“For students to create a new knowledge, to succeed academically, and to develop into healthy adults, they require each of these experiences.” -Toshalls and Nakkula

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Personalized learning as described in the research at Brown is built on the framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) that is based upon decades of brain-research and neuroscience of individual differences, human variability and on how we learn. UDL is often thought about how it relates to special education, but to dispel that myth, the UDL principles is about how we understand how every learner learns.

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This has been a very busy fall with many requests for our process to build sustainable personalized learning environments for the Race to the Top - District proposals. On top of that, we are leading webinars, participating in panels, speaking in keynote addresses, doing workshops, creating eCourses, setting up Communities of Practice (CoP), interviewing thought leaders, and important research on motivation, engagement, and voice. This means we continue to create new resources, refine the process, and personalize our services to meet your needs.

Roles change for teachers and learners when personalizing learning in all three stages. Moving to Stage One where learners have a voice and choice takes time, a shared vision, and a Community of Practice (CoP) supporting each other. This chart above provides how roles change for teachers and learners in Stage One.

The research by Tashalis and Nakkula on Motivation, Engagement, and Student Voice from Students at the Center provides a great rationale for learners who have a voice in how they learn and are more motivated and engaged in the learning process. This is about learners having a stake in their learning. We highly recommend reading this research if you plan to personalize learning for your learners.

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