S1 E16 Recap: Personalized Learning Part II – Strategies & Tools for Personalized Learning

Season 1 Episode 16 is a (kind of messy) follow-up to our discussion about the three Ps of personalized learning. In this episode, we highlight some strategies and tools for actually making personalized learning experiences work for your students.  Links have been provided for additional study.

Strategy #1 – Use assessment data to customize the student experience.

• Whether that is a pre-assessment to gauge need or group students, formative assessment to inform next steps, or summative assessments to measure learning, this data and the decisions made based on the data are essential to effective, efficient personalized learning experiences.
  • Use tools like Formative, Schoology assessments, Gimkit, or Master Manager to gauge student progress.
  • Once you have your data, how are you going to use it to guide students to the correct learning activity?

Strategy #2 – Give Students Choice!

• Allowing choice in path, pace and place can improve student motivation and engagement.
  • You could go all in with project-based learning experiences or just find smaller opportunities for students to have a voice in what, how, where, and how fast they are learning.
  • Revisit episode 15 for more information on this strategy or check out this ASCD article from Catlin Tucker entitled “When Students Drive the Pace, Space, and Path“.

Strategy #3 – Use technology to organize the learning experience.

• Use your Schoology course pages (or other LMS tool) to “hub” the learning materials.
• Set expectations and procedures with your students about using the LMS as a starting point to improve efficiency both in and out of the classroom.

Strategy #4 – Build personalized learning playlists.

• Structure the material using Choice Boards or the Grid Method
  • For each learning target or standard, students have options for how they want to learn and demonstrate understandings.
  • Consider how many of tasks or experiences students need to complete in each area.
  • Also consider how Bloom’s Levels of Understanding may be scaffolded through the experience.
• Structure the learning experience using HyperDocs (check out the blog post for episode 13 for more info.)
  • HyperDocs can mimic various learning cycles
    • Explore, Flip/Explain, Apply
    • Hero’s Journey: Call to adventure, entering unknown, meeting mentory, transformation (new challenge/apply), mastery
    • Workshop Model: Connect, Teach, Engage, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate
    • 5E Instructional Model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate
    • HyperDoc Model: Engage, Explore, Explain, Apply, Share, Reflect, Extend
  • HyperDocs can be created for full units, multi-day lessons, or for one-day lessons.
  • HyperDocs are NOT webquests
  • Don’t forget to build in assessments, choice, in-class & out of class expectations, and stopping points. HyperDocs don’t have to be fully open; create restrictions where they’re necessary
• Symbaloo Learning Paths
  • Creates a game board like pathway of activities and assessments that students can work through and teachers can use to track progress.  Options can be included to allow students the opportunity to pick their own path.

Strategy #5: Use ed-tech to create flipped and personalized learning experiences.

• EdPuzzle
  • Great for flipping content and formatively assessing understanding.  Allows students to watch the lesson at their own pace and allows teachers access to progress.
  • EdPuzzle experiences can be assigned and monitored through Schoology. Stop in to the LRC Clubhouse for our REALity Check Tech session on March 18th to learn more.

• Consider creating learning centers or using the station rotation model that includes tech-based stations
  • Which ones need the teacher?
  • Which can be flipped?
  • Which can the students complete independently?

Strategy #6: Allow students to take a more active role in their learning.

• Include students in goal setting and progress tracking for their own learning.
  • Use shared docs, google forms, exit/entrance tickets, journals, etc. to monitor progress and celebrate successes.
• Consider using assessment windows that allow students some choice in when they are ready to take or turn-in their summative assessments.
  • What needs to be done before the assessment to show readiness?
  • Is there time for feedback and revisions within or after the assessment window?