Personalize Learning (#plearnchat)

Patrick tells his story as a cognitive coach in Kentucky where he has planted seeds of personalized learning and has grown a safety net for his Teacher Leaders for them to thrive and grow in a personalized learning environment.

Here is one story that he shares about a special 7th grade teacher, her learners and how the PL seed has grown:

"For Ms. Morris and her learners, the learning taking place in this seventh grade classroom was an amalgamation of learner-centered, curiosity-provoking activities, galvanized in the fires of learner passions, that transcended even the most stubborn traces of teenage apathy. In essence, this Learner-Centered Environment was the maturation, the development of one tiny seed planted in the fall of 2014. The seed of personalized learning… " - See more at: http://www.personalizelearning.com/2016/01/growing-personalized-culture-of-learning.html#sthash.CTJGCRlD.dpuf

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. 

Elmbrook Schools in Brookfield,WI embarked on personalized learning. This video gives you a glimpse on what it looks like at various grade levels and what it means for teaching and learning.

Congratulations to Elmbrook Schools in giving learners voice and choice in their learning!

Chris Liang-Vergara shared out several personalized learning frameworks including Personalize Learning, LLC's, The Institute @ CESA#1, Montessori, CAST and others. Here is how he described the Personalize Learning framework:

What’s their framework or frameworks? Their framework merges UDL, learner voice and choice, creative environments, intrinsic motivation, and educational technology in a cohesive approach that builds off of learner profiles.

Why would I use this framework over others? Kathleen and Barbara pull apart personalized, differentiated, and individualized learning in very articulate ways that will help you and your team be more clear in your communications. Their incorporation of UDL and learner voice and choice will also help you understand personalized learning in a very concrete, classroom-applicable manner.

Thank you, Chris!

The Nellie Mae Education Foundation envisions an education system where learning transcends the traditional school calendar and setting. They envision a system where learners progress based upon mastery of a skill or topic, rather than time spent in a classroom.

And hey - learners shouldn't be bored in the classroom. Let's reshape our system so that learning is personalized, and learners have a true voice in their education.

Katherine Prince Senior Director, Strategic Foresight of KnowledgeWorks shares her personal vision for the future of learning as part of TEDxColumbus.  Her talk, “A Vision for Radically Personalized Learning,” explored the possibility of truly putting students at the center of the expanding learning ecosystem.

Pernille shares some pointers on how to begin on the path of personalized learning.  She advises educators to look at what you are already doing that would count as a step toward personalized learning. Here are the six changes she suggests:

> Change the way they sit.

> Change the way they work.

> Change the knowledge they have.

> Change the expectations for all.

> Change the timeline.

> Change the conversation.

Don't miss these top 10 blog posts from 2015, the year of the learner! Topics that put the learner at the center of education attracted thousands of readers worldwide. Enjoy and share!

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

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!

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

Rik Rowe takes us on his personal learning journey in his HS math class where he has created learning environments where every learner is valued. He notes that they start building a strong Culture of Learning in the 1st 5 days (#1st5days) that enables everyone "to respect each other, depend on each other, challenge each other and value each other's contributions."

Discover how he personalizes the learning for every learner by giving them voice and choice and where learners take responsibility for their learning. Join Rik in the 5 W's of Personalized Learning eCourse this fall.

What could an innovative learning system look like through the eyes of 20 current high school learners?

Discover the insights these learners had when re-imagining learning structures. Here are just 2 out  of 11 insights these learners had:

Put students in charge of their own learning. While the teams recognized the importance of teachers, guidance counselors, parents and guardians, they wanted to offer learners more control over their education experience. In their new systems, learners would have the opportunity to build individual schedules and explore interests.

Tailor learning to students’ interests. One team specifically talked about learning different subjects through their own interests. For example, if a student really likes extreme sports, such as skydiving, he could study math, physics or meteorology through those activities. This would make learning more fun and relevant in their re-imagined system.

Jackie shares some important pointers in this guest post about guiding learning and the importance of context when learning.

The more you can apply what you're learning to your every day, the more it'll stick in your head. The reason is simple. When you're learning by doing, you're implementing everything that makes our memory work. When you're able to connect what you're learning with a real world task, that forms the bonds in your brain, and subsequently the skills you're learning will stick around. 

We learn best when we have context, and that applies to new skills as much as it does random facts in school. That's why something like the transfer of learning is helpful when you’re learning a new skill. This means you're applying your new skills in your day to day life in a context that matters.

Purposeful play should be the central learning experience in early learning classrooms. It is a natural way of learning that supports creativity and imagination. But why should play be limited to primary classrooms only? It doesn't matter what age we are; we all like to play. 

This is Trend #7 in the 10 Trends to Personalize Learning in 2015. The focus of the conversations was around the big question.