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.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step 10: Self-evaluation of Writing

The first time they used the rubric on their own work, we reviewed it before they finished the writing so they would have it to use as a guide. I decided the second time we used it, to hold off on having them complete it until a few days after they finished the writing. With a break, the writing would seem new to them. That seemed to be the key. They had to go back to read what they had written; it wasn’t so familiar. When they were finished, more of them seemed proud of their work. They were happy to be given the opportunity to make improvements when they realized that they hadn’t earned the score they wanted. I’m already planning to start this earlier next year. I love the results and the pride of ownership.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step 9: Making Rubrics for Writing

Our next step was to create the rubric for our writing assessment. I wanted to give the students a legitimate reason to check their work. Students don’t like to check their work, especially writing. I called the students to meet with me in small groups to get their input. I explained the objectives and had them tell me in their own words what it looked like. I filled out a blank rubric with each group. In the end, the students’ words were merged to create our writing rubric so they could understand it. We practiced using the rubric with work that was not their own so they wouldn’t feel critiqued. It was beyond powerful having them discuss their choices with a partner and then check for agreement with another partnership. Now not only did they know how to use the rubric appropriately, but they could articulate their findings. It filled my heart.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step8: Choosing Seating

When the students returned after winter break, they found the room rearranged. I listened to their ideas when polled so that we had more short desks than tall ones. Also, we had desks arranged in groups of 6, 4, 3, 2, and single islands. In addition, I removed a few desks to make room and offered space on the class carpet with a clipboard. Students loved choosing daily. For some students, they needed to know they had a seat away from others so they made requests for specific assigned seats. After reminding some students daily that they needed to choose appropriately so that they could work efficiently, they earned assigned seats away from buddies. For most, it has worked out well with daily choices, but it is interesting because even with the choice being theirs, they demonstrate preferences for types of seating. We did have one set back when the students told a substitute that she couldn’t assign their seats. We dealt with that and are back in a rhythm. I do want to point out that everyone else who enters our classroom asks “why” the desks are so short. Being different is difficult to accept for some people, but we love it.

Personalized Learning in 13 Blogs-Step7: Changing the Environment

I was feeling comfortable with the steps we had taken for student ownership. It was time to change the learning environment. Again, I gave thought to how to transition so that we could have a sustained success. It couldn’t be a drastic change that would disrupt our learning or push us too far outside our comfort zones. I decided to step into the changes gradually giving everyone an opportunity to experience the differences in little pieces. Now that being said, I also decided to make the changes in December which I knew was going to be crazy because of the anticipation of the holidays. It played out wonderfully because it kept the students on their toes throughout the month. First, I kept my teams together, but rotated them around the room to different tables. This threw the students off balance. Then, I continued rotating the teams, but I changed some of the desks so that they were as short as possible by removing the holding screw. For those desks, I let the students use carpet squares on the floor or sit on the desk. During independent working times, some students like to work under the desk so they are isolated. We discussed rules and appropriate choices before making any permanent changes. The last two days before winter break, I let the students choose their seats and took a poll for favorite seating. They were excited about the changes to say the least.