A deeper dive into personalized learning Clarifying Vision allison@allisonzmuda.com

Design challenges Develop a visual metaphor Create illustrative examples Article questions and draft responses for FAQ document

Capturing your thinking TodaysMeet: https://todaysmeet.com/greenwich Text: 203-565-1123 Face-to-face: mutterings, small groups, design challenges

TODAYS MEET WARM UP What are 1-2 “tweetable moments” that resonated with you? What are 1-2 burning questions that you need answered in order to move forward? What ideas were you/are you inspired by?

My responsibilities Explain key principles around personalized learning Work shoulder to shoulder to articulate broader aims of schooling Encourage next level of work through vision and action

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How do we design “space” in our classrooms, our schools, and our homes to help all children develop and achieve their dreams?

DEFINITION OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING “Personalized learning is a progressively student –driven model where students deeply engage in meaningful, authentic, and rigorous challenges to demonstrate desired outcomes.” — Zmuda, Curtis and Ullman (2015)

KEY DIFFERENCES INDIVIDUALIZATION DIFFERENTATION Student controls the pace of the topic as well as when to demonstrate mastery. Teacher drives instruction through teacher-created tasks and related lesson plans. Student selects from a range of content, process, and/or product options to meet the requirements. Teacher tailors instruction based on individual student need and preference. Individualization: Teacher develops playlists. Teacher assigns or student independently uses a digital tool to focus on fluency (e.g., Khan Academy). Teacher/ adaptive computer program assigns problems based on student data online independent study or intervention program (e.g., Dreambox or Compass Learning). Differentiation: Teacher creates literature circles around different texts but same theme. Student develops a learning contract with the teacher. Teacher develops choice board or menu to provide student choice.

Learning in a Contemporary World Capacity to think and work interdependently Focus on complexity of a problem Grounded in authentic tasks Interdisciplinary in nature

“We have to stop thinking of an education as something that is delivered to us and instead see it as something we create for ourselves.” — Stephen Downes

Personalized learning Students are no longer bystanders in their own education Teachers are no longer doing the heavy lifting Assignments are no longer bureaucratic exercises

PERSONALIZED LEARNING FILTERS

GOAL CLARITY Why is personalized learning a better way of doing school?

Keeping end in mind “The goal of schooling is not to get good at school. The goal of school is to get good at the demands of life.” — Grant Wiggins

Content is a tool...

TOWARD WHAT END?

VISION OF THE GRADUATE Advocate for ideas, causes, and actions Generate innovative, creative ideas and products Collaborate with others to produce a unified work and/or a heightened understanding Contribute to community through dialogue, service and/or leadership Pursue their unique interests, passions and curiosities Respond to failures and successes with reflection and resilience Pose and pursue substantive questions Critically interpret, evaluate and synthesize information Explore, define, and solve complex problems Communicate effectively for a given purpose Conduct themselves in an ethical and responsible manner Recognize and respect other cultural contexts and points of view Be responsible for their own mental and physical health

IN ALIGNMENT WITH STANDARDS CT Core E/LA and Mathematics Next Generation Science Standards Revised History/Social Studies Standards using C3

POWER OF AUTHENTICITY Authentic problems, challenges, issues, ideas Authentic forms for performance Authentic audiences for presentation and refinement

From Douglas County Capstone project requires students to “be the change” by designing a solution to a problem. Become experts in a topic of their choice and identify issues related to that topic (empathy). Look for greater understanding of issue by examining it from different perspectives and through the lens of a variety of disciplines (definition / integrated thinking). Brainstorm ideas for solutions and evaluate each of the solutions for reasonableness and potential of success (ideation). Select a solution to try and create a model (prototype). Put idea / prototype out to others (colleagues, experts, stakeholders, etc.) for feedback (testing). Using feedback, prototype and implementation plans are revised and then implemented.

It’s personal You are deeply worried about _________ because the disease or condition runs in your family and is affecting a loved one. How do you get good information about: seriousness of the disease or condition preventive measures healthy ways of coping providing support to loved ones

Value added Collaborate to develop and execute an idea that will contribute to the aesthetic beauty and health of a place or community. This development process includes: survey of the area/neighborhood to determine current condition interview people who use the space to find out their concerns and ideas propose and get approval for the project develop a plan of action and complete the task Some examples are: cleaning up a common space, creating a community garden, providing trustworthy health information in connection to a community concern.

Element: task Minimal Student Input Some Student Input Student-Driven Teacher, curriculum, or computer generated Teacher guides definition and articulation of the problem, idea, design, or investigation Student independently defines and articulates the problem, idea, design, or investigation Pivotal to student success How we feel about the work

Element: AUDIENCE Minimal Student Input Some Student Input Student-Driven Teacher is primary audience for student product or performance Student has input into or choice in audience Student engages with authentic audience to demonstrate learning and to add value through contribution Pivotal to student success How we feel about the work

HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER Create a tribute to a personal (or fictional) hero through artwork, poetry, letter, eulogy, or another form of acknowledgement. Design better furniture that can fit in a predetermined space (e.g. dorm room, classroom, living room). Investigate conditions in an area devastated by war or a natural disaster to determine effectiveness of relief efforts. Take action to provide assistance either through communication or fundraising.

REFLECTION What attributes or dispositions would students need to be successful on these tasks? What attributes or dispositions would teachers need to support student work on these tasks?

Teacher generates a score and provides explanation of performance Element: evaluation Minimal Student Input Some Student Input Student-Driven Teacher generates a score and provides explanation of performance Student rates performance based on given outcomes to inform teacher evaluation Student and teacher interpret evidence of achievement in relation to key outcomes and goals Pivotal to student success How we feel about the work

Grades 4-8 speaking rubric

Element: FEEDBACK Minimal Student Input Some Student Input Student-Driven Teacher provides formal and informal feedback to help students revise and refine the task Teacher and others (e.g., peers, experts in the field) provide feedback to help students revise and refine Student seeks and uses feedback from teacher and others to guide performance Pivotal to student success How we feel about the work

REFLECTION What attributes or dispositions would students need to be successful on these tasks? What attributes or dispositions would teachers need to support student work on these tasks?

CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS PERSONALIZED LEARNING Self-Efficacy Growth Mindset Relevance Sense of Belonging

Four Academic Mindsets Relevance: This work has value for me. Growth mindset: I can succeed at this. Self-efficacy: My ability and competence grow with my effort. Sense of belonging: I belong in this academic community. Relevance – opportunity Feedback – Growth mindset, self-efficacy Sense of belonging is part of everything

Element: MINDSETS Minimal Student Input Some Student Input Student-Driven Teacher creates a classroom culture that uses four mindsets (relevance, growth mindset, self-efficacy, sense of belonging) Teacher guides students to use four mindsets to strengthen performance and development Student uses mindsets to work harder, engage in more productive behaviors, and persevere to overcome obstacles to success Pivotal to student success How we feel about the work

CLASSROOM-LEVEL Tensions Encourage talented learners and struggling learners in the same classroom Demanding teacher workload and making time to connect with individual students Orderly classroom structure and messiness of learning Step-by-step instructional progression and problems or challenges that can be approached numerous ways Coverage of material and deep learning

SYSTEM-LEVEL Tensions Your turn…. Draft using the model on the slide before. Balancing act where both are necessary. _________________ AND _______________

Telling the story

Problem: We are training our students as if we live in a predictable world. Training them to focus on getting the right answer Training them one discipline at a time Training them to function only as individuals Training them to see knowledge as static Training them to see school as a hurdle

Efficiency trumps everything Knowledge is a collection of facts about the world and procedures for how to solve problems. The goal of schooling is to get these facts and procedures into the student’s head. Teachers know these facts and procedures and their job is to transmit them to students. Simpler facts and procedures should be learned first. The way to determine the success of schooling is to test the students to see how many facts and procedures they have acquired. Legacy of Frederick Winslow Taylor

“If you do a job where someone tells you exactly what to do, he will find someone cheaper than you to do it. And yet our schools are churning out kids who are stuck looking for jobs where the boss tells them exactly what to do.” — Seth Godin Ideas for revolution: Homework during the day, lectures at night Open book, open note, all the time Access to any course, anywhere in the world Precise, focused instruction instead of mass, generalized instruction The end of multiple-choice exams Experience instead of test scores as a measure of achievement The end of compliance as an outcome Cooperation instead of isolation Amplification of outlying students, teachers, and ideas Transformation of the role of the teacher Lifelong learning, earlier work Death of the nearly famous college   No, we do not need you to create compliance. No, we do not need you to cause memorization. And no, we do not need you to teach students to embrace the status quo.

OPENING UP THE FLOODGATES Your time to play, problem-solve, and create. Focus on idea generation (not management) Focus on what is fascinating for you (not staying seated in those comfy chairs) Focus on what’s needed to move your school / this system forward (not what’s easy to describe and implement)

Design challenges Develop a visual metaphor Create illustrative examples Article questions and draft responses for FAQ document

May the force be with you

TODAYS MEET EXIT TICKET What are 1-2 “tweetable moments” that resonated with you? What are 1-2 burning questions that you need answered in order to move forward? What ideas were you/are you inspired by?

Want more information? Website: www.learningpersonalized.com Email: allison@allisonzmuda.com Twitter handle: allison_zmuda Most recent books: Learning Personalized (Jossey Bass, 2015); Real Engagement (ASCD, 2015)