Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step 13: From Here

So,…last week we were a stop on the Design Fellow Tour. The students were showing off how they self-evaluate their writing. They explained to our guests why they made the choices that they made about seating, graphic organizers, and use of the writing rubric. It was a stellar day. The students were excited that someone outside of our school wanted to ask them questions and attentively listen to their answers. Then, Monday was the final Design Fellow meeting. We did a lot of reflecting on our progress and sharing our journey. We started to speculate on what our next steps would be…because our journey has only just begun. Wednesday, I updated the school staff and offered my assistance as they join the journey. I am looking forward to the exciting changes in our future that are going to enhance the student’s learning.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step 12: Learning Zone vs Performance Zone

A crucial part of learning is recognizing that there are times when we are focused on the learning and times when we are performing what we have learned. I hadn’t realized this until I watched: Eduardo Briceño: How to get better at the things you care about. This TED Talk got me thinking and talking to my students about the idea. To introduce it to them, I wrote a 2Voices poem to read at morning meeting. It sparked a great deal of discussion. As students, they are always in the learning zone with short visits to the performance zone. We, as teachers, recognize that the pressure to assess everything, often feels like, we are in the performance zone way too much to be learning anything. But, as my students see it, the performance zone is just part of the learning zone because it helps us to reflect on our level of proficiency. When we embrace it as an opportunity to learn about ourselves, it doesn’t seem so scary. At least not, according to my insightful students. It is interesting how “performance zone” and “learning zone” have become part of our everyday language now that we understand their importance.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step 11: Growth Mindset

An important part of learning is believing that you CAN learn. We spent quite a bit of time at the beginning of the year preaching the importance of a growth mindset and GRIT. As with most things, what you “THINK” is going to highly impact what you do and how well you do it. When we completed our mid-year survey of growth mindset, we discovered that the students thought they were synonyms. To help clarify the difference, I wrote a 2Voices poem Growth Mindset vs GRIT for the students to practice fluency. I explained GRIT as a puzzle piece needed to complete the Growth Mindset puzzle and made a representative puzzle for the students to put together. Then we read some quotes to determine if they represented Growth Mindset or GRIT or Fixed Mindset. All three activities were engaging and helped us to develop more of a growth mindset. Mistakes just aren’t as scary now because we know they’re learning tools and we know GRIT will help us keep learning until we are successful. These life lessons empower students to find their path and fulfill their lives. As a student, the joy of knowing they CAN learn brings smiles and pride. As a teacher, seeing their smiles and showing them the evidence of their learning keeps me soaring.