Monday, January 20, 2020

Flexible Pathways, Community Partnerships, and Micro-Credentialing


We were joined by the Tarrant Institute’s Susan Hennessey for a rich discussion that provided many insights into the possibilities of flexible pathways and what educators need to be doing to prepare students for a future that includes community and work-based learning, early college, online learning, and dual enrollment. 

This discussion was particularly important as in my classroom, at Main Street Middle School in Montpelier, we were joined the following day by students from Montpelier High School who are currently engaged in work-based learning programs. To learn more about that program, check out the website. 

My question, as always, is how can I most effectively prepare students to take advantage of these opportunities and what skills do students need in order to 1) develop an understanding of the opportunities available and 2) to be able to engage in these opportunities to expand future work and learning opportunities.

As our discussion progressed, it became apparent that there are some key factors that educators should consider when thinking about flexible pathways and the role they may play in the middle level classroom.

Task Neutral Learning Targets and Proficiency Scales
When developing priority standards, learning targets, and proficiency scales, educators should consider whether the standards, targets, and scales are task neutral, or whether they are designed to evaluate content specific proficiencies. As students expand their learning opportunities outside the classroom, standards, targets, and scales that can capture proficiencies achieved through non-traditional methods may encourage and motivate students who might not be engaged in classroom activities. Additionally, these will permit students to collect evidence of their growth and learning from a much wider spectrum of experiences.

A Robust PLP Program
Personal learning plans are an essential element of a productive flexible pathways program. PLPs provide a structure for students to collect, curate, and reflect on evidence that demonstrates proficiency. When students are working in alternative programs, in the community, or online, a central platform for showcasing evidence that brings educators, the community service provider, and families together can help communicate student advancement effectively and regularly. Finally, the PLP can also provide a record/archive of student achievement over time.


Community Partnerships
Building flexible pathways opportunities within the classroom can be overwhelming for teachers. To solve that challenge, we recommend nurturing community partnerships with organizations that can bring learning to your classroom. There are numerous organizations around the state that have standards-based curriculum ready to be employed in the classroom.

Great examples that I’ve connected with in the classroom include the Vermont Energy Education Program (VEEP), Try for the Environment, and the Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District. Each of these organizations, with whom we’ve worked for multiple years, have provided expert learning experiences and highly developed curriculum, while also supporting project-based learning outside of the classroom. 

Experience in Micro-Credentialing
With the availability of Google Forms and add-ons such as Certify’em, teachers can develop in-class, micro-credentialing experiences that provide students with the experience of online learning combined with traditional classroom support. Not only does this give students a great opportunity to explore a wide range of their interests, it also gives them an understanding of the skills required to be successful.

Self-direction, organization, and problem-solving are just a few of skills that students can practice as they hone their online learning skills. Moreover, students capture certificates and credentials which can be posted to the evidence page of their PLP as proof of their learning.

Equity
As our webinar came to a close, participants returned to a topic that has permeated much of our discussions this year: equity. As educators, we need to ensure that all of these opportunities -- work and community-based learning, personal learning plans, work with community partners, micro-credentialing, and skill building specific to online learning are available to ALL students. If we do not provide these experience to every student, we are quite possibly ignoring the chance to engage and work with the students in our system who most need these learning opportunities.

Flexible pathways can be a great pathway to help all students explore and practice skills, to provide evidence of learning, and to bring a plethora of vibrant learning experiences into the classroom.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

PBL: Our Year in Review

As we come to the close of another year and it seems like everywhere I look I am seeing the best-of lists. Spotify is full of year in review playlist and Instagram is flooded with decade challenge posts.  We are surrounded by messages pointing us in the direction of reflecting on growth and looking towards the future. Turning the calendar to 2020 has even greater significance for Vermont schools. 2020 is the year we have been thinking about since the passing of Act 77 in 2013 and we have been in the change process working to build systems to support personalization, flexible pathways, and proficiency-based learning.

On our next webinar, we will be focused on proficiency-based learning and reflecting specifically on our best of’s. The things that excite us, the places where we have seen students engaged in meaningful and personalized learning and the practices that have been implemented that have resulted in growth. We will also be spending some time thinking about the future, what are the next steps for us on this journey, what are some things that don’t quite feel right yet, and where does it feel like we are stretching too far. 

Building a proficiency-based learning system requires a commitment to equity as schools and communities are working through a process of designing systems rooted in developing student agency to ensure the success and identify the potential of all. As schools are on this journey, it is important to examine closely the systems that are being created: are they working with the intentions of the design?
To guide us in our reflection and conversation this week, we will be using the Equity Principals Framework from the white paper Quality and Equity by Design: Charting the Course for the Next Phase of Competency-Based Education that was published in October of 2017 by CompetencyWorks and iNACOL.  We hope that you will join us in our conversation about Proficiency-Based Learning on Thursday, December 12 at 3:30. 

Friday, November 22, 2019

Student Led Conferences


Today’s blog post is from PLP Pathways Contributor Kevin Pioli-Hunt of Williston Central School’s Swift House.

Student-Led Conferences.....

…this practice is the biggest breakthrough in communicating about student achievement in the last century. When students are well prepared over an extended period to tell the story of their own success (or lack thereof), they seem to experience a fundamental shift in their internal sense of responsibility for that success. The pride in accomplishment that students feel when they have positive story to tell and tell it well can be immensely motivational. The sense of personal responsibility that they feel when anticipating what it will be like to face the music of having to tell their story of poor achievement can also drive them to productive work." Rich Stiggins, Phi Delta Kappan, November 1999.

Last Thursday, the PLP Pathways group had a webinar focusing on student-led conferences. During our conversation, we discussed systems for preparing (specifically the role of the teacher, student, and parent) and systems for conducting these conferences. As always, I left the webinar with more thoughts and useful ideas that I can apply to my own practice than what I entered with. 
Here are some of my big takeaways:

Reflection, Reflection, Reflection

We spent quite a bit of time talking about student reflection and the role it plays with having a productive student-led conference. The PLP Pathways cohort shared examples and anecdotes of how they provide time for reflection, practice reflecting, and provide multiple ways of reflecting. 

Time: A big takeaway I had from the conversation was how important it is for teachers to make time in their schedules for students to reflect rather than find time for it. 

As we were talking about the various methods that we use to engage our students with reflecting (check out the webinar to hear about weekly goal reflections, mentor/mentee check-ins, and weekly emails!), there was one common thread amongst all of us, making the time for it. 

Most teachers see the value and importance of reflecting, but have trouble finding time during the day or feel stuck in determining what needs to be ‘lost’ in order to have time. To those teachers who are feeling this way, my advice would be to give it a try. 

Shave off 5 minutes of Math, Social Studies, or Science at different parts of the day to provide a weekly 15-20 minutes for students to reflect on their progress of their goals, and see if the end justifies the means. 

Positive Outcomes: you’ll develop stronger relationships with students, provide them with time to practice a meaningful, life long skill, allow your students to get to know themselves better as a person and as a learner, and prepare them for leading their student-led conference. Negative outcomes: 5 fewer minutes of a core class. 

Celebration vs. Event: During our discussion about student-led conferences, the conversation shifted to how we communicate what they are to students and families. The question at hand was do we view student-led conferences as a celebration of growth and learning or as an event, something that is on the calendar that we have to do? 

This conversation really got me thinking about the power of language and how much weight someone’s perception of something can have. If we are preparing our students for their conferences and it feels like this big culminating event that must be completed, we are putting a great deal of pressure on our students and most likely causing unnecessary stress and anxiety around something that should be a joyful occasion. 

We should be asking ourselves, “What’s my purpose for this conference and the conversations that I will have with my students and their families?” Most teachers would see this as an opportunity for their students to celebrate their growth and have the chance to advocate for themselves in a safe setting with a group of people who care deeply about them and are willing to listen to them. 

If that is our purpose for conferences, we need to be mindful about how we are communicating that purpose with families and how we are setting our students up for success with this. 

One easy to set students up for success is mentioned above: providing time for weekly reflections. By the time students get to their conference, it should feel like a conversation rather than a presentation because they have had ample practice with reflecting on their growth and finding evidences to show their progress. 

What can teachers do?

Give students a voice in conferences as early as possible (ideally at the beginning of the year for goal setting). Always keep the conversation coming back to them, offering prompts such as “What would evidence of that goal look like for you?” “How do you feel about this goal?” “What went well with this goal? What was challenging.”

Make time for students to reflect and practice reflecting with them. Don’t turn reflecting into a long, laborious assignment. Let them use multiple means of reflecting (quick writing blurbs, Screencastify, voice recording).

Keep the conference about the goals and progress. If you want this to be a meaningful conference, give your student an opportunity to talk openly about their progress and listen. The PLP team (student, teacher, guardian/trusted adult) should all be able to contribute ideas and thoughts, but in the end, it is the student’s PLP and it needs to make sense and have meaning to them. 

Use a consistent platform to create a portfolio of students’ evidence of growth toward goals. Provide students with ample time to familiarize themselves with the platform so they can easily navigate during their conference. 

Be willing to be flexible with time. Meaningful conferences and conversations will not happen in 10 minutes. 

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Reading Goals as a Means to Practice Goal Setting


Meg O’Donnell, Shelburne Community School

Starting out this year as a new team, with new teammates and new (to me) students, we had the opportunity and challenge of establishing our structure and organization systems, not the least of which was the goal setting process. We knew we wanted students to set personal goals that promote personalization in their learning.  But with students, teachers and families coming from a variety of experiences in this realm, creating cohesive systems and strategies to support this was overwhelming. We needed time to get to know one another and our processes first. 

For teachers who might have only had students set goals within their content area, setting goals for habits of learning, or a goal outside of a teacher’s discipline might seem daunting. Questions such as, How will I coach students on a goal area that I am not as familiar with? How will I know they are making progress if I only see them for a short amount of time each day? are legitimate questions, and required our team of teachers working together to set up manageable systems to support everyone in the process of setting goals, making progress on those goals and collecting evidence, to eventually celebrate learning with families. 

It made sense for our team to start small, and so we focused on practicing goal setting for independent reading. We started with gathering evidence first, a step typically saved once a goal was established. Each day, students recorded data on either the number of pages read or the number of minutes read, their choice.  This step put students in the driver’s seat, and required them to manage the process by recording daily progress. A table required them to write the date, the title of their book, and the number of pages/minutes read. A graph allowed them to visualize their progress. Teachers and students reminded one another of remembering to record each day, even on weekends. Our short but important prime group each day set aside time for this purpose. After two weeks, we asked students to reflect on their results, and based on their findings, craft a long term goal related to reading. 

Some students have opted to continue monitoring the number of minutes or pages read, having realized that sometimes just tracking their progress was a motivator in and of itself. I had one student comment that reading became a habit because he was collecting the data; he’d already read more books this year than all of last year. Now reading is more enjoyable because he feels successful at it. 

An additional element added to monitoring reading progress was to introduce students to a social identity audit of the authors and the characters they read. This not only allowed us to introduce the topic of social identities (a key part of our identity unit) but allowed students to reflect on the types of characters and authors they tend to read. A self-audit allows them to consider other possibilities.  Since our book reviews at the start of the year offered a diverse collection of authors and characters, students who choose this goal to pursue have several books to consider adding to their independent reading list.


Process for practicing goal setting: (Reading Mini-goal)
  • Collect evidence:
    • Look for patterns in the area you are focusing on - what do you notice?
    • Give yourself enough time to notice patterns, with specific systems in place to collect that evidence 
  • Reflect on Evidence
    • What patterns do you notice about your reading habits? What factors contributed to your results?
    • What surprised you?
    • Do you think this two week data collection accurately portrays your reading habits? Why or why not?
  • Based on Evidence, Set New Goal

We are now in the middle of our student led conferences where students are sharing highlights of their learning thus far this year; for many the mini-reading goal was a highlight. They are set up to establish a personal goal, meaningful to them, and have a model to follow for collecting evidence and reflecting on progress. 

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Setting Goals with Students: Tips and Strategies


Introduction


“Goals can have a powerful impact on how we live our lives. They require us to engage in the entire constellation of stances (empathy, flexibility, persistence, resiliency, and optimism) as we set and work towards a specific outcome. Yet perhaps, most importantly, they provide our students with an opportunity to develop their own agency and identity in our classrooms. (Mraz and Hertz)


Last Thursday the PLP Pathways crew got together for the second PLP Pathways webinar of the year. While our main focus was on student goal-setting, we also covered the following topics:
  • The goal-setting process;
  • Family involvement in the goal-setting process;
  • Different literacy strategies that can be incorporated into student goals setting;
  • Implications of equity with regard to student goal setting.  

As with many of our webinars, our discussion incorporated a variety of classroom observations that steered us into unexpected territory. Here are some initial takeaways from our conversation.


Goals Are Supported With Relationships

Our conversation started with a discussion on when to set goals with students and the process for generating those goals. Kevin Hunt of the Swift House at Williston Central School starts the year off with Hopes and Dreams conferences.

Because he has students for four years, Kevin’s knowledge of student strengths and challenges helps him assist students in the creation of meaningful goals based on their experience in the classroom. More importantly, Kevin invites families to participate in the process. As a result, student, family, and teachers are all engaged in the process from the very start of their Swift House experience.

Through these positive relationships, Kevin and his team create meaningful goals that can be monitored by students, families, and teachers.

Common Language Helps

Throughout our discussion, the idea of common language kept cropping up. When teachers and students are using the same language around goals, transferable skills, and habits of learning, students hear the message around goals in a consistent and meaningful way. Importantly, this also allows teachers across the curriculum to help students identify evidence that demonstrates their growth and learning.

Motivation, Engagement and Autonomy


Later in the conversation, Maura Wieler of the Lamoille South Supervisory Union emphasized the importance of what author Daniel Pink identifies as key elements of good goals: Purpose, Autonomy, and Mastery. When these are lacking, we move from student-driven goals that have relevance and meaning to goals created in a culture of compliance.

Maura also identified some key skills for successful goal setting and achievement with students. These included naming and noticing. When students are demonstrating growth, learning, and skill development teachers should name the behavior and help students and their peers notice the specific behavior that is leading to success. 


Importance of Reflection


As we’ve said many times, one of the most important skills relative to setting and achieving goals is the development of reflective skills with students. Only through carefully considered reflection can students develop the metacognitive skills that will help them to not only recognize the skills that have helped them achieve goals, but reflection gives students the opportunity to move from past performance back into the goal setting mindset.


Question to consider when goal setting with your students: How might enhancing goal-directed conceptualization and action among all of our students, particularly those that have historically been marginalized, ensure that all young people have access to the support and resources to actualize their goals?


A Resource to Read


Check out this great blog post from Life Legeros, professional development coordinator with the Tarrant Institute of Innovative Education. He provides some great tips for effective goal setting as well guidelines for implementation.

Resources/Events/Related Happenings 


  • November 1: Youth Environmental Summit - YES is an annual conference for middle and high school students to learn about environmental issues and get involved in local communities. The mission of YES is to inspire, encourage, and prepare youth for a life of environmental responsibility, service and leadership by increasing awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and fostering leadership skills.

  • November 1: Vermont Afterschool Annual Conference - The Vermont Afterschool Conference is an annual event that brings together hundreds of expanded learning programs, partners, advocates, and educators from around the state for a full day of learning, networking, and celebration. Stowe, VT
  • November 6 - 8: School Reform Initiative Fall Meeting - “Renew a fierce commitment to educational equity and excellence, and together, we’ll rekindle our passion for teaching and learning. Through our collective wisdom, we’ll find the courage and comfort needed to bring our best selves back to our schools and our students. Together with colleagues, we’ll access, engage, and be challenged through sustained conversation about what matters most – improving teaching and learning experiences, through a lens of equity, to make schools better places for every learner.” Boston, MA
  • November 7 & 8: Vermont School Boards and Superintendents Association Annual Conference - From Vision to Practice: Governing and Leading for Student Success. The conference this year will focus on strategies and tools from national experts and Vermont colleagues designed to help communities design a vision for student success, and most importantly, a plan to achieve that vision. (This relates directly to previous VTLFF-supported work with developing a Vermont Profile of a Graduate, with focus on equity, sustainability and joy). Lake Morey, VT. (early registration deadline October 7)
  • November 14: Today’s Students Summit - Advance Vermont welcomes stakeholders from across the state and sectors to support the transformation of postsecondary education and training in Vermont to better serve today’s students. Leaders from Pk-12 education, postsecondary education and training, business, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy are invited to attend. 8:30-4:00. Sugarbush Resort, Warren, VT.
  • November 19: VHEC Presents: From Equity Awareness to Equity Action: Instituting Educational Justice in Vermont Schools and Communities - Workshop #2: Girls, Women, and the Persistence of Gender Oppression in Schools
  • December 5-6: Youth Climate Leaders Academy - YCLA is designed to support youth in planning and implementing projects that make a difference on climate change. Youth-adult teams from around Vermont gather to learn, plan and begin implementation of year-long climate action plans tied to their individual learning goals.
Resources


Mraz, K., & Hertz, C. (2015). A mindset for learning: teaching the traits of joyful, independent growth. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.



Thursday, October 3, 2019

PLP Pathways Webinar 1 -- First Take

Introduction

PLP Pathways kicked off our fifth season of professional development by teachers, for teachers, with our first webinar on September 26. We focused on the implementation of Act 77 and personalized learning with a renewed emphasis on equity.

Our conversations began where it always does -- with a discussion of relationships, identity, and how important it is to get to know our learners so that we can create a supportive, equitable learning environment that meets the needs of our students. Check out this video on relationships if you want to take a deeper dive into what we mean.

Structures that support building these positive relationships were also identified including a strong advisory program, developing curriculum with students, and the use of PLPs to demonstrate student growth and learning.

We also reviewed the personal learning framework which can be used to help educators move students through the identity--goal setting--evidence process.

As well as discussing the nuts and bolts of starting the school  year, our panel reviewed Gorski’s Equity Literacy Framework and how that can be used by educators to grow their understanding of equity literacy and how it applies to our learning environments.

Thank you to Jeanie Phillips from the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education who has created a document that aligns Gorski’s Equity Literacy Framework with Middle Grades Competencies. The guiding questions on this document are extremely helpful.

Classroom Happenings

After our initial discussions, panelists discussed curriculum development and the learning activities being utilized to build relationships, explore identity, and develop a strong start to the school year. 

At Williston Central School, Kevin Hunt is focusing on incorporating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into his program.  Moreover, Kevin reminded us that he builds strong ties to student families with the Hopes and Dreams conferences that take place at the beginning of the school year. By building student and family goals into the learning process, Kevin works to address the needs of students through personalized learning opportunities.

At the Shelburne Community School, Meg O’Donnell is exploring community and student identity. By building on a sense of place and the story of the town, Meg hopes to develop discussions and an exploration of identity. A fascinating element of Meg’s work is the study of historic photographs and maps with an inquiry approach that focuses on who is missing from those documents. 


Don’t forget, our next webinar will be on Thursday, October 17th. We’ll be looking at setting goals with students and the evidence that students can use to demonstrate growth and learning.

Professional Development



Resources/Events/Related Happenings 
(Thank you to Vermont Learning For the Future for these resources.)

  • October 8: VPA Equity Summit IV - This event is one in a series of "pop-up" summits hosted by the Vermont Principals' Association, where a mixed audience of school leaders, students, educational partners, and others can dive deep into an exploration of bias, inequity, marginalization and more. The Equity Summits are part of the VPA's larger plan to build equity literacy to create and sustain bias-free and equitable classrooms, schools, and institutional cultures. 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Jay Peak, Jay, VT. Contact: Linda Wheatley at lwheatley@vpaonline or (802) 535-8383 Register Here.
  • October 16: VHEC Presents: From Equity Awareness to Equity Action: Instituting Educational Justice in Vermont Schools and Communities - A series of free, on-demand webinars and low-cost, in-person workshops designed to prepare educators, educational leaders, and equity specialists to cultivate equitable and just learning environments. Graduate credit available. Workshop #1: Turning the Mirror on Ourselves: Equitably Connecting with and Serving Refugee Students and Families.
  • November 1: Youth Environmental Summit - YES is an annual conference for middle and high school students to learn about environmental issues and get involved in local communities. The mission of YES is to inspire, encourage, and prepare youth for a life of environmental responsibility, service and leadership by increasing awareness and knowledge of environmental issues and fostering leadership skills.
  • November 1: Vermont Afterschool Annual Conference - The Vermont Afterschool Conference is an annual event that brings together hundreds of expanded learning programs, partners, advocates, and educators from around the state for a full day of learning, networking, and celebration. Stowe, VT
  • November 6 - 8: School Reform Initiative Fall Meeting - “Renew a fierce commitment to educational equity and excellence, and together, we’ll rekindle our passion for teaching and learning. Through our collective wisdom, we’ll find the courage and comfort needed to bring our best selves back to our schools and our students. Together with colleagues, we’ll access, engage, and be challenged through sustained conversation about what matters most – improving teaching and learning experiences, through a lens of equity, to make schools better places for every learner.” Boston, MA.
  • November 7 & 8: Vermont School Boards and Superintendents Association Annual Conference - From Vision to Practice: Governing and Leading for Student Success. The conference this year will focus on strategies and tools from national experts and Vermont colleagues designed to help communities design a vision for student success, and most importantly, a plan to achieve that vision. (This relates directly to previous VTLFF-supported work with developing a Vermont Profile of a Graduate, with focus on equity, sustainability and joy). Lake Morey, VT. (early registration deadline October 7)
  • November 14: Today’s Students Summit - Advance Vermont welcomes stakeholders from across the state and sectors to support the transformation of postsecondary education and training in Vermont to better serve today’s students. Leaders from Pk-12 education, postsecondary education and training, business, government, nonprofits, and philanthropy are invited to attend. 8:30-4:00. Sugarbush Resort, Warren, VT.
  • November 19: VHEC Presents: From Equity Awareness to Equity Action: Instituting Educational Justice in Vermont Schools and Communities - Workshop #2: Girls, Women, and the Persistence of Gender Oppression in Schools
  • December 5-6: Youth Climate Leaders Academy - YCLA is designed to support youth in planning and implementing projects that make a difference on climate change. Youth-adult teams from around Vermont gather to learn, plan and begin implementation of year-long climate action plans tied to their individual learning goals.
  • For more opportunities, here is a link to a Vermont Professional Learning Collaborative Calendar, hosted by the VPA
SHARED RESOURCES and OPPORTUNITIES: