Inside each of our students there is a superhero waiting to get out. Unfortunately, many students spend years locked in an inflexible classroom environment without their strengths ever being recognized or appreciated. Personalized Learning offers students a chance to demonstrate these latent abilities. It offers teachers an opportunity as well. Finding our students' strengths first, before focusing on their areas of weakness, will help us see these students in a new way and will open up new pathways to success. Below, I have included several case studies from the 2014-2015 school year. While this sample is not a complete catalog of Personalized Learning projects for the year, it does include projects from students who represent a wide range of abilities and interests. Click the "Failing Superman" link below to learn more abut the rationale behind Personalized Learning.
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Student Store I have included this case study to illustrate how the learning environment can be viewed not only as a physical space, but also as a social space. The students involved in the Student Store project were inspired by school-wide fund raising efforts for our music program, and they wanted to participate directly in the process. After creating the video below, they visited all of the upper grade classes and presented the plan to their peers.
The students ran their student store for a period of two weeks. During that time, they were able to raise about $150.00 and contribute this money to help sustain our music program. Needless to say, the music teacher was quite impressed. View the video below to see how the project came to life.
This project, like the previous projects, allowed the students to escape the physical confines of the classroom. Unlike the other projects, however, it allowed them to explore a different social space as well. This is the kind of opportunity that separates Personalized Learning from a more traditional approach.
The Teacher's Role So what makes Personalized Learning more than just free time or exploration? And what role does the teacher play in making Personalized Learning something different? Well, to begin with, I insist that the students in my class set weekly goals for themselves. They list these goals on their Personalized Learning contract. The students agree to work in the chosen areas and prepare a class presentation on their main project each week. Choosing the areas of interests and following the contract are student responsibilities. My responsibilities are a little more subtle. It's my job to identify leverage points along the timeline of a particular project to introduce essential questions that will lead to a more complex examination of the concepts involved in the project. These essential questions are not generated before the project starts. The opportunities for these questions arise out of the work that the students do. For example, in the Student Store project above, there were two opportunities for essential questions; once, when Mrs. Morton asked the students how they would display their merchandise, and again when I asked them how they would keep track of their money. In each case, the students were challenged to deepen their understanding of how a business is run. They were able to meet these challenges while retaining their overall enthusiasm for the project.
You can view the Personalized Learning contract that I use with my students below. This contract is used with students who have demonstrated grade level competency in reading and/or math.
Open this file to see the "Playlist" that all students, regardless of skill level, fill out to participate in Personalized Learning.
Below, you will find examples of student playlists.
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Electrical Circuits The students involved in this project were reluctant to participate in any aspect of the traditional curriculum. When they were given the opportunity to work with electrical circuits, however, they were thrilled. During the year, they completed more than 100 intricate and complex circuits by following written instructions. They worked as a group and individually to innovate on these circuits as well. At the end of the year, the students prepared the following video for STEM Fest and demonstrated their circuits for all to see.
Student Websites Many students chose to build websites as Personalized Learning projects. Most of the websites accurately reflected the personalities and interests of the students who created them. One website, however, was a real shocker. The student who created it was extremely shy in the classroom, and I was concerned that she didn't seem to have a voice. Luckily, she was given the opportunity to create a website. Click the link below to view the site.
As it turns out, this student has a very strong voice in her written work. She also has a strong sense of humor and an impressive aesthetic sensibility that she demonstrates consistently throughout her website. I never would have known this if I had not given her the opportunity to engage in Personalized Learning. There was no indication of this student's talents on the registration card or on report cards from previous years. She was always recognized as a good student, but never as a superhero.
More WebsitesPersonal Pillow Here is an example of another student taking her pillow-building skills to the next level.
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