Personalize Learning (#plearnchat)

When you move to a personalized learning ecosystem, you are not in Oz anymore!

Virgel Hammond, former Superintendent of RSU 2 in Maine, shares the journey his community took to establish "a learning ecosystem that embraced learner voice and choice". He describes the process this took and how "children to the senior town spokesmen" were invited "to discuss how all RSU2 community members could support each child in meeting their desired personal and professional goals."

Be amazed by the journey this community took to create this highly personalized learning ecosystem in Maine. 

Introducing the Educator Competencies for Personalized, Learner-Centered Teaching interactive site,  These new Educator Competencies are build on and push beyond the best existing teaching competencies and standards to capture what educators need in order to create and thrive in personalized, learner-centered systems. The competencies are organized into four domains: Instructional, Cognitive, Interpersonal and Intrapersonal.

The Institute for Personalized Learning asked some middle and high school students from their member districts to reflect on what learner agency means to them and to answer a few questions on the topic. 

This brings our collaborative series on learner agency to a close. As we stated in the first blog post, Learner Agency: The Missing Link, “Learner agency often gets missed in conversations on transforming the educational system.” It is clear from the responses that kids have a sense of ‘agency’ when they feel in control of things that happen around them. They want to feel like they can influence events, especially how and what they learn. 

In this November Issue of Insights on Personalized Learning, the focus is on learners, learning and learner agency. Included in this issue are:

• The CSSR guide, "Ecosystems of Student Driven Learning", developed from their i3 Grant work with schools over the last five years.
• Chris Watkins' Learning: A Sensemaker's Guide that provides a framework on having learners talk about their learning.
• The collaborative blog series on Learner Agency written by Personalize Learning, LLC and The Institute for Personalized Learning.
• Work by Alden S. Blodget on Learning, Schooling and the Brain. 
• A free webinar by The Danielson Group.

Sign up for future issues of Insights to PL and our quarterly newsletter at www.personalizelearning.com

It's not about technology. It's really not about school. It's all about the learner, the "person" in "personalization" and how they learn best and that what they learn is meaningful and for a purpose.  It is all about the relationships that learners make and need to support their learning. It is also about the teacher - a valuable person in the relationship. Teachers and learners can work together to develop learning goals and design activities that are authentic and relevant for the learner so they are engaged in learning. Learning has to have a context that learners can grasp and understand. - See more at: http://www.personalizelearning.com/2015/10/put-person-in-personalization.html#sthash.qyM0Grkz.dpuf

Discover Wildlands School who began their journey 10 years ago to create a school that would be learner-centered. They have written about this journey in their book, An Improbable School. Here is what they say in how they personalize learning.

"When it comes to personalized learning, Wildlands emphasizes personal relationships with individual students. We have learned it is more important to provide opportunities for students to be heard, be involved, be connected, find relevance, and play an important role in the school, than to tell them what we (or some far away committee) think they need to know. Honest conversations build relationships. Quality relationships build supportive and open learning environments where learners feel valued, connected, and are willing to take part." - See more at: http://www.personalizelearning.com/#sthash.mW9W4SSq.dpuf

Both of us are advocates for the use of technology to support instruction and to help learners gain independent learning skills. For years, as coaches consulting on technology integration, we observed classrooms where technology sat idle or to present lessons using new tools but the same way they teach: teacher-directed. The current system seems to encourage the use of technology for traditional teacher-directed methods.

The system needs to change from focusing on problems to rethinking the design of teaching and learning around how learners learn best. Personalized learning starts with the learner, not the technology!

Jump start "Back to School" with these incredible resources that Rich Cryz has shared from his blog, "Four O'Clock Faculty". 

Discover why it is important for learners to discover their passion through play so that they can find their purpose.

As education continues to change, educator roles will need to adapt to expanded learning environments in which learners learn in new ways. Explore the new 7 roles that educators may have in the future to support personalized learning environments

Discover the conversations we had in the #plearnchat on Dec 14th with Jim Rickabaugh, Executive Director of the Institute for Personalized Learning, co-moderating the discussion on Learner Agency. This #plearnchat followed a six-part blog series between Personalize Learning, LLC and the Institute for Personalized Learning on Learner Agency. Refer to the links in this graphic to access those blogs that dove deep into learner agency.

We want to thank all the wonderful educators who joined in the conversation in #plearnchat. 

As the fifth post in our blog series on Learner Agency, Jean Garrity shares about a visit to an elementary classroom in an urban district in southeast Wisconsin where she was drawn to an eight year old boy named William. 

Jean reflected and provided strategies for teachers on the following questions:

• How can educators support learners like William and increase their sense of ownership? 
• How can educators help learners become more independent? 

Giving learners voice encourages them to participate in and eventually to own and drive their learning. This means a complete shift from the traditional approach of teaching compliance that develops a “learned helplessness” to encouraging voice where there is authenticity in the learning. 

In this October Issue of Insights on Personalized Learning, the focus is on learner-centered environments and the national models that place learners at the center. Take a look at the deep conversations around the two-part series on Personalized Learning that Larry Ferlazzo introduced in EdWeek and the article from Amber Sawyer who looks closely at the soft skills learners need to be successful in a personalized learning environment. Finally, we included a new grant announcement from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.

If you would like to get Insights on Personalized Learning in your email, go to www.personalizelearning.com, locate the QR Code to the right and subscribe to receive Insights and our quarterly newsletter.

In 2014, CMS developed a clear definition of what Personalized Learning is in their district:

Jim Rickabaugh shares the wisdom contained in Henry Ford’s quote in the image above. He states that Ford's statement captures the core of what we call "self-efficacy." The idea of believing in yourself if you can or cannot do something holds significant implications both for learners and for us as educators in our journey to nurture high levels of skill and knowledge. Jim eloquently explains how learners can develop a sense of confidence by developing good strategies, practice smart persistence and utilize the full range of resources available to them, they can and will succeed.

Learner agency often gets missed in conversations on transforming the educational system. We have a sense of ‘agency’ when we feel in control of things that happen around us; when we feel that we can influence events. This is an important sense for learners to develop. Learners must understand:

• when they need new learning and how to learn what they need
• when they need to unlearn what will no longer serve them 
• when they need to relearn what they need to be successful 

- See more at: http://www.personalizelearning.com/2015/09/learner-agency-missing-link.html#sthash.WbCFgqKN.dpuf

Pernille Ripp shares how she builds community from the beginning of the year in her 7th grade classes. Some of her strategies include letting her learners chose where they want to sit, having them create the rules and listening to each other. Trust and communication are the hallmarks of a learner-centered environment.

Vicki Davis starts the school year off with some great ideas on how to bring passions back to learning.