Personalized Learning Going Forward

By this point, all staff have experienced some version of Personalized Learning Academy 1.0 and have a basic understanding of the philosophy that underpins the concept and what some of the over-arching implications are.  In addition, all staff have at least explored the Kaneland Learner Profile.

So what's next?

Throughout the remainder of this year, we will look to embed opportunities for deeper questioning of the philosophy, exploration of the Learner Profile, glimpses into what the application of this philosophy looks like in classrooms both here and in other districts, and a review of what this year has been like for our staff.  These opportunities may look like like cohorts led by your peers, twitter chats or other electronic conversations, after school opportunities to get together to talk, or visits to schools to hear questions, concerns, and celebrations.

Also, don't forget to access your instructional coaches; they are here for you to help you as you explore and begin to implement pieces of this philosophy in your classroom!

We will also begin planning Academy 2.0--which will focus mainly on reviewing concepts we've explored this year, cementing our approach to the use of the Learner Profile (and logistics surrounding its use), and an exploration of the Proficiency Based Progress core honeycomb cell.  Our goal is to once again lean heavily on staff who have begun exploring this cell or have an interest in being "pioneers" in its exploration to help us craft the learning experience for their peers.  If you are one of those leaders, please be on the lookout for invitations to town-hall type meetings to begin discussing and planning our approach to next year. 

We will also once again invite the Institute for Personalized Learning onto campus for our March county-wide in-service day.  After reading feedback from those that attended their sessions last week, we are planning to lengthen the sessions to two hours so time for teams to work together and plan classroom activities that utilize the ideas they hear right then and there.  In addition, all sessions led by the Institute for Personalized Learning will also include classroom teachers from the Southeastern Wisconsin area who have found success in implementation.  They will be there to discuss their struggles and triumphs and to serve as a classroom-based resource for those with questions about what this might look like in their own classroom.

Oh, and we will make sure that the sessions are NOT housed in the cafeteria! 😉

Sarah and I would strongly urge you to attend at least one of the institute's sessions, especially one that is tied to the proficiency based progress cell, so you can begin to hear that part of the philosophy more specifically and begin to think about implications for you and your students.  Again, this will serve as the major area of exploration for us next year, and will be a main component of Academy 2.0 here in Kaneland.