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February 18, 2020 8:00 am

Why Student Agency Matters

Agency is both a skill and a mindset that involves goal setting and self-reflection. As teachers, we can build agency through our interactions and relationships with our students.

Student in classroom resting on a stack of books

Student agency — what is it?

Surprisingly, there is no one definition for this term, but we can liken student agency to students having the “it factor”: they have “it,” they know how to be successful, and they go after “it.”

In essence;

Student agency requires students to take responsibility for their learning. Although not a new concept, the term is evolving simply because students and the learning process are also always evolving. Students with agency know how to work hard and focus.

They take an interest in learning, work through any difficulties along the way, and in the end, do not give up.

As educators, we often measure our success by watching our students leave school with the ability to accomplish their goals and be successful in life. We aspire for all our students to be successful, but we also know that some students are easier to work with than others.

These particular students often have an ingrained sense of agency and can work through difficulties on their own. Sometimes we even see ourselves in these students. They can mimic our feelings (as teachers) about learning and achievement.

But what about meeting the needs of our struggling students?

Research suggests that agency is such a fundamental human desire that people only lose agency when they’re unable to make relevant connections to the activity, task, person, etc.

In other words:

Agency, in the most literal sense, is about relationships with others. We already know the importance of making connections in the classroom to pique student interest, but isn’t it more than that?

An in-depth study of the psychology of coping researched stress and resilience during adolescence and children’s ability to self-regulate. This study discovered that a child’s ways of dealing with challenges fit into one of the following categories:

  • problem-solving
  • support seeking
  • distraction
  • escape
  • opposition
  • withdrawal

In simple terms, this means that some students handle their issues better than others. As educators, we need to remember that students who lack agency can doubt themselves and their abilities, and that behavioral responses such as withdrawing, appearing apathetic, and even acting out are coping mechanisms to regulate emotions.

In school, these students are often slumped over in the back of the classroom, refusing to participate and unable to concentrate.

Sadly, they often also participate in self-talk in which they reinforce their feelings of incompetence.

How Can I Help Increase Student Agency?

There is hope for students like this. As teachers, we can build agency through our interactions and relationships with our students. One way to do this is with conversation.

A few well-placed words can work wonders on a student’s self-esteem, and lead to increased agency. For tips on how to do this with ease, check out this list of 101 ways to say good job.

Another way to build agency is to teach students how to reflect using metacognition.

Reflecting on experiences (whether behavioral or academic) helps students move forward from a setback and furthers their growth toward student agency. Encourage students to reflect on their learning experience by simply asking the question, “What did I learn from this?” after completing each lesson, unit, and project.

Doing this will help students start to gain a sense of awareness so they can make appropriate changes in their lives and learning to achieve better outcomes.

Additionally:

There are lots of questions you can ask your students to help in building agency, including the following:

  • How did you figure that out?
  • What problems did you come across today?
  • How are you planning to go about this?
  • Which part are you sure about?
  • Which part are you not sure about?

Agency is both a skill and a mindset that involves goal setting and self-reflection.

By understanding our students better, we can help them build a growth mindset and, in turn, build their confidence. When students believe they can succeed, they are less likely to feel helpless in times of struggle.

As educators, we can help our students develop these lifelong skills that will propel them into successful futures

SOURCES

101 WAYS TO SAY “GOOD JOB.” CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION PUTNAM COUNTY. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://PUTNAM.CCE.CORNELL.EDU/RESOURCES/101-WAYS-TO-SAY-GOOD-JOB

BROOKMAN-BYRNE, A. (2018, JUNE 22). THINKING ABOUT THINKING: WHAT IS METACOGNITION AND HOW CAN IT HELP STUDENTS LEARN? BOLD. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://BOLD.EXPERT/THINKING-ABOUT-THINKING/

DARLING-HAMMOND, L., AUSTIN, K., CHEUNG, M., & MARTIN, D (N.D.). ACTIVITIES FOR METACOGNITION. DEPAUL TEACHING COMMONS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://RESOURCES.DEPAUL.EDU/TEACHING-COMMONS/TEACHING-GUIDES/LEARNING-ACTIVITIES/PAGES/ACTIVITIES-FOR-METACOGNITION.ASPX

JOHNSTON, P. H. (2004). CHOICE WORDS: HOW OUR LANGUAGE AFFECTS CHILDREN’S LEARNING. PORTLAND, ME: STENHOUSE PUBLISHERS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.STENHOUSE.COM/CONTENT/CHOICE-WORDS

SKINNER, E. A., & ZIMMER-GEMBECK, M. J. (2007). THE DEVELOPMENT OF COPING (PP. 120–144). PORTLAND, OR: PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.ANNUALREVIEWS.ORG/DOI/ABS/10.1146/ANNUREV.PSYCH.58.110405.085705

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November 20, 2019 8:00 am

Teaching Students to Persevere

How can we encourage students to “stick to it” when they are in a world full of more interesting distractions?

Whether they learn in a virtual or traditional classroom, students have to actively choose to work toward the long-term goal of building knowledge instead of playing or watching TV, both of which can be more appealing than schoolwork. And knowing the long-term benefits of completing an activity is not always enough for children (or adults) to make the right choice.

That’s why teaching students to persevere is so important, and one way to do that is to teach them about self-distancing. This technique encourages students to take an outsider’s perspective of the task at hand. Encouraging students to think about their situation differently helps to remove the emotional connection to the decision-making and situation. So instead of making a decision based on what looks to be more fun and exciting, students can make a decision based on what their favorite character, hero, role model, etc. would do.

Student cheering themselves on their achievement

Teaching Students to Persevere with Self-Distancing

1. Start by teaching students to take an outsider’s perspective.

Younger students, in particular, benefit by imagining themselves as their favorite hard-working character or superhero. Because younger children already love to pretend and role-play, doing this is pretty natural and fun for them. Another way to refer to this is the Batman Effect—to remember what self-distancing is, just ask yourself, “How would Batman solve this problem?”

Older students find it helpful to talk to themselves in the third person. Instead of using personal pronouns like I, you, and me, switch to using first names or third-person pronouns. Instead of, “I am so bored by Algebra class,” try, “Is Ashley focused and working hard?” This strategy is often referred to as self-talk; you can even try it for yourself!

2. Have students pretend they are giving advice to a friend.

Ask students to think about what they would say to a friend in the same situation. If their friend was struggling to complete their homework, would you encourage them to browse social media instead? Probably not!

3. Ask students to think about how they would feel about the situation in the future.

Choose a time frame that makes sense for the situation, and ask students to consider how they might feel about the decisions they are making tomorrow, next week, a month from now, etc. Sometimes remembering that the negative emotions we are experiencing now are not permanent helps to put things into perspective. Using one of these simple shifts in language is often powerful enough to help students see challenging situations as conquerable instead of threatening or insurmountable.

Self-Distancing in Action

Self-Distancing in Action Table

Why Teach Students Self-Distancing Techniques?

Students who can self-distance are better able to focus on long-term goals and resist distractions when working to reach those goals. This is true not just for their school lives; it helps in their personal lives, too. By distancing themselves from the emotional implications of a situation, students learn to cope with negative reactions in a much more productive way.

This technique allows students to better understand their own reactions and decisions, and being able to exhibit self-control in situations helps to build both perseverance and self-esteem. Encouraging students to practice self-distancing also helps them to understand their emotions without letting the emotions take over. That’s why teaching students to persevere by practicing self-distancing is a great way to shape students into people who can be counted on by others.

SOURCES

EVA, A. L. (2017, SEPTEMBER 12). FOUR WAYS TO GAIN PERSPECTIVE ON NEGATIVE EVENTS. GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://GREATERGOOD.BERKELEY.EDU/ARTICLE/ITEM/FOUR_WAYS_TO_GAIN_PERSPECTIVE_ON_NEGATIVE_EVENTS

HARRIS, S., ABDULLAH, M., & WHALEN, K. (2019, AUGUST). HOW TO NURTURE STICK-TO-ITIVENESS IN KIDS. GREATER GOOD MAGAZINE. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://GREATERGOOD.BERKELEY.EDU/VIDEO/ITEM/HOW_TO_NURTURE_RELIABILITY_IN_KIDS

WHITE, R. E., PRAGER, E. O., SCHAEFER, C., KROSS, E., DUCKWORTH, A. L., & CARLSON, S. M. (2017). THE “BATMAN EFFECT”: IMPROVING PERSEVERANCE IN YOUNG CHILDREN. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 88(5), 1563–1571. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://SELFCONTROL.PSYCH.LSA.UMICH.EDU/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2016/12/CDEV12695.PDF_JSESSIONID9A14126FF0E062AD942DD3C3CEE26155.F04T03.PDF

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September 26, 2019 8:00 am

Defining Personalized, Differentiated, and Individualized Instruction

Each of these terms has been in the education lexicon for a while now, but what do they mean? More importantly, why do they matter to educators?

Personalized, differentiated, and individualized learning — each of these terms has been in the education lexicon for a while now, but what do they mean? Are they three different ways of saying the same thing? If not, how do they differ? In this What’s Up With piece, we go over these three terms, and why they matter to educators and students.

3 students and a teacher engaged in a lesson in a classroom

Differentiated Learning

Perhaps, the oldest concept of the three, differentiated learning involves “address[ing] the needs of all students, who may be at varying levels, within a single classroom,” according to eSchool News. This can be done by grouping students by their level of understanding or ability, and then providing each group of students with a lesson that has been adapted to meet their skill level.

Personalized Learning

According to iNACOL, when educators personalize learning, they are “tailoring learning for each student’s strengths, needs, and interests — including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when, and where they learn — to provide flexibility and supports to ensure mastery of the highest standards possible.”

Put simply, personalized learning takes a student’s needs, skills, and preferred learning style into consideration, and gives them more control over and say in their learning.

Individualized Learning

Individualized learning is exactly what it sounds like — instruction that is built to an individual student’s specific needs. A good example of individualized learning is extra help in the form of tutoring. Typically delivered one-to-one, tutoring is highly customized to address a student’s specific questions, some of which may result from their ability or skill level. Another common way educators and students experience individualized learning is with IEPs (individualized education programs).

How Are They Similar?

Personalized, differentiated, and individualized learning are all ways of customizing learning to better meet student needs. They all take into account that students are different and have varying levels of skill and ability, and aim to alter instruction and the learning experience to better cater to students.

How Do Personalized, Differentiated, and Individualized Learning Differ?

The biggest difference between each of these terms is the degree to which instruction is customized for the individual student.

Think of it as an upside-down pyramid. Differentiated instruction would be at the top, with the least amount of customization. Next would be personalized instruction, with more customization. Finally, at the bottom would be individualized instruction, which is highly customized to the individual student.

Another difference between these concepts is in how much involvement the student has in directing their learning. With both differentiation and individualization, the student is more of a participant in their learning than a leader, whereas in true personalization, the student works together with the instructor to design a learning system and path that works specifically for them, their interests, and their abilities.

How Can You Incorporate Personalized, Differentiated, and Individualized Learning into Your Teaching?

In a perfect world, every student would get one-to-one, highly individualized instruction from an excellent teacher. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, so innovative and creative educators have found ways to customize instruction, both with and without the use of technology.

The first step in differentiating, personalizing, and individualizing instruction is to determine your students’ individual skill levels and abilities, as well as if they need any special accommodations to promote and support their learning. Once you’ve been able to determine that, you can then group students together by ability or skill level (differentiation), adjust your lesson plans and the way instruction is delivered to better align with student needs and learning styles (personalization), and highly customize both the content and your instruction as students need (individualize).

Being able to use technology to identify where students are thriving and struggling, group students together, monitor their progress, and formatively assess them can make personalizing, differentiating, and individualizing instruction not only possible, but easy.

SOURCES

ABEL, N. (2016, FEBRUARY 17). WHAT IS PERSONALIZED LEARNING? INACOL. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.INACOL.ORG/NEWS/WHAT-IS-PERSONALIZED-LEARNING/

BASYE, D. (2018, JANUARY 24). PERSONALIZED VS. DIFFERENTIATED VS. INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING. ISTE BLOG. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.ISTE.ORG/EXPLORE/EDUCATION-LEADERSHIP/PERSONALIZED-VS.-DIFFERENTIATED-VS.-INDIVIDUALIZED-LEARNING

FREELAND FISHER, J. (2017, APRIL 25). WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLENDED AND PERSONALIZED LEARNING? CHRISTENSEN INSTITUTE. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.CHRISTENSENINSTITUTE.ORG/BLOG/WHATS-DIFFERENCE-BLENDED-PERSONALIZED-LEARNING/

STEDKE, A. (2017, AUGUST 1). DIFFERENTIATION, INDIVIDUALIZATION AND PERSONALIZATION: WHAT THEY MEAN, AND WHERE THEY’RE HEADED. ESCHOOL NEWS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://WWW.ESCHOOLNEWS.COM/2017/08/01/DIFFERENTIATION-INDIVIDUALIZATION/?ALL

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September 11, 2019 12:00 am

Implementing Personalized Learning in a Virtual School

Read how Caddo School District is reaching more students and helping them achieve success by personalizing a virtual school model.

Educator sits in front of a laptop with a pen in hand

Faced with declining graduation rates, Southwood High School in Louisiana enlisted its then Assistant Principal Tyron Lacy to create an online credit recovery program that would allow students to recover credits so they could graduate on time.

As a result, Southwood’s graduation rates went “through the roof,” says Lacy, who later facilitated the district-wide expansion of the program.

That program has now been up and running for over 10 years, and has expanded to offer initial credit and summer school options for Caddo School District students. After seeing how online courses can help students, Lacy decided to offer more options for Louisiana students, and in the summer of 2016, he opened the Caddo Virtual Academy (CVA).

By implementing personalized learning in a virtual school model, Caddo School District is reaching more students, and helping them achieve success.

Strategic Design

Now, barely three years after CVA was founded, it’s an A+ school and was recently given the Top Gains Honoree Award. But this success wasn’t by accident.

Lacy, now the principal of CVA, emphasizes the strategic, data-driven decisions he and his team made to create this powerful learning environment.

“We were purposeful in the things that we did. We didn’t just throw it in the air and hope it worked,” Lacy said.

They used strategic hiring practices to ensure students have quality instructors, and fostered relationships with local universities to provide students access to dual-enrollment courses, as well as AP® classes and SAT®/ACT® prep courses.

This level of care and attention to detail contributes to the success of the independent high school, which functions exactly like any other school in the district. And unlike other virtual schools across the country that act as alternative programs within traditional high schools, CVA has its own campus, extracurricular activities, and even PTA, which helped get some of the first parents on board with this new program.

“All students learn differently, and every environment is not good for every student. [But] with proper support, students can achieve at their own rate.”

Tyron Lacy

Personalized Learning in a Virtual School

When students first enroll in CVA, they go through a series of questions to set up an individualized graduation plan based on their specific needs.

In fact, “We make it personal!” is the school’s motto, emblazoned on their website and at the core of all they do.

“All students learn differently, and every environment is not good for every student,” says Lacy, who believes that, “with proper support, all students can achieve at their own rate.”

Furthermore:

Teachers customize their courses to match the Louisiana Department of Education’s requirements while also pushing the students to think critically and not just blow through their assignments.

With students ranging from those who are academically gifted and looking for a challenge to those needing asynchronous schedules due to demanding extracurricular activities to those who have been traditionally homeschooled, CVA’s unique hybrid format provides support, structure, and plenty of student-teacher interaction.

READ MORE: Defining Personalized, Differentiated, and Individualized Instruction

Unique Format

“Even though we’re an online school, the majority of our students come to school every day,” says Lacy. “I think it’s the personal touch.”

Unlike some online schools where students receive minimal personal interaction, CVA students get support immediately from their teachers as they complete their coursework.

This feedback is available online through messaging or video streaming, and teachers are also available for office hours.

This personalized learning in a virtual school helps students to “see the passion behind our educators,” which in turn “builds a culture of excellence that students want to be around,” says Lacy.

Additionally, students are required to attend weekly live lectures from their teachers either virtually or in person.

“It’s just like a normal class,” Lacy says. “Teachers take roll, ask interactive questions, break students into groups,” and present the topics students will cover that week.

Then, students have the rest of the week to complete their coursework in Edgenuity® at their own pace. “No student is left behind, but no student has to wait either,” says Lacy, and he points out that the coursework is rigorous enough that no one is ever significantly ahead of the teacher.

Looking Ahead

As word spreads of their unique model, support structures, and student success, enrollment at CVA has tripled. Seniors have been awarded millions in scholarships and are earning college credit, and students who had previously struggled are now graduating on time.

The district is taking notice of their success, and considering ways to provide additional space and support for the increasing number of students electing to enroll.

“I’m excited about what we’re able to do for families and students,” says Lacy, as he continues to dream of bigger and better ways to enable student success through the use of technology.

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July 17, 2019 8:00 am

Six Keys to Effective Professional Development

Engage your teachers and staff in effective professional development with these simple and research-backed tips.

As the library begins to fill up with your colleagues, you wonder, “Will we get out early today? What is this professional development about anyway? I’ve got too much to do in my classroom to focus on this.”

This may sound all too familiar to educators taking part in professional development. Naturally, one wonders how to make professional development effective for teachers, and the simple answer is by making sure to both engage teachers and allow time for reflection. But how we get there is a bit more detailed.

In a 2009 study, over 90% of teachers reported having participated in professional development that was not useful. Professional development, of course, is intended to benefit all the educators who participate in it, so what are the keys to effective professional development sessions for teachers?

Students in a classroom all raising their hands to answer a question

1. Administrative Support

Before any PD sessions occur, it is imperative that the district’s primary point of contact be available for a meeting or phone call with the PD specialist. This call may be the only opportunity for the parties to touch base about topics related to the agenda, the level of experience of the teachers participating, and logistics.

During the session, it is important for the overseeing administrator to be present and active. Often, questions or topics arise that are unique to a school district’s policy. While PD specialists can offer suggestions, ultimately the school’s or district’s administration must be present to make decisions or establish guidelines for their staff. A delay in decision-making can impact a teacher’s ability to deploy what they have learned right away.

Beyond the initial session, sustained administrative support is essential to a teacher’s success since implementation of some new practice, policy, or technology is a big challenge. Therefore, support from administration, other teachers, and PD specialists during PLC or instructional time can provide this important layer. 

2. Teacher Buy-in

Teachers deserve PD that is relevant for them and their students. One way to achieve this is to have them play the role of and see the content through the lens of a student. As they learn new content and skills during the day, reflection can help guide them in understanding how their students can apply the new skill.

Another way to create buy-in is to elicit input about their learning objectives for the session. Having a greater stake in the desired outcomes can be very rewarding for a teacher who struggles to see the result.

3. Say–Show–Do

Central to any classroom is the concept of modeling. We first tell students what they will do, then carefully model the skill, and finally expect them to replicate the skill independently. This same concept should apply to PD sessions. Participants are more willing to apply a specific tool or skill once they have been presented with clear instructions and modeling on how to do that.

4. Collaboration Among Peers

Teaching is a collaborative profession, so isolating teachers during a PD session is counterintuitive to that. Finding opportunities for collaborative activities can keep participants engaged and tap into different ideas and perspectives around an idea or philosophy. Broadening teachers’ perspectives can, in turn, lead to increased engagement with their students.

5. Differentiation

Educators are expected to do this for their students in the classroom, so why wouldn’t we do the same thing for teacher professional development? There are a few ways to make this happen:

  • Having participants complete a survey ahead of time that gauges their level of expertise/experience is the first step to effective differentiation. Interpreting these results should guide the day’s agenda, and will hopefully enable the session leader to activate teacher interest by including topics that they would like to learn more about.
  • Teachers who have advanced skills or experience can guide a breakout session using their expertise to build their colleagues’ knowledge base. Additionally, teachers may be more willing to listen and engage with someone they already know.

6. Bringing Content to Life

Humor and fun are not just for the playground and classroom! Sharing humorous, real-world examples can be an effective way to engage participants and promote a safe and comfortable environment where meaningful professional development can take place. Bringing in humor and real life can also help keep teachers engaged and create memorable experiences.

When you’re planning out your PD sessions, keep these things in mind. PD should be beneficial for all educators, and students, too, so consider which way and when is best for your teachers to participate in PD. Incorporating these keys to effective professional development sessions is important to teachers’ personal growth and should be approached with careful consideration.

SOURCES

DARLING-HAMMOND, L., CHUNG WEI, R., ANDREE, A., RICHARDSON, N., & ORPHANOS, S. (2009). PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IN THE LEARNING PROFESSION: A STATUS REPORT ON TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES AND ABROAD. DALLAS, TX: NATIONAL STAFF DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL. RETRIEVED FROM HTTPS://STATIC1.SQUARESPACE.COM/STATIC/56B90CB101DBAE64FF707585/T/583C7FE720099E25D0B1BD24/1480359912004/NSDCSTUDY2009.PDF 

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June 19, 2019 8:02 am

Growth, Grit, and Gaming: Video Games in Education

How game-based learning engages students, improves academic outcomes, and helps to build grit and a growth mindset along the way.

Recent studies show over 90% of American children play video games. Ask a parent their opinion of children and “gaming” and you’re likely to get a response about the amount of time kids are wasting. Additionally, many educators express concern about the negative impact of gaming, but some researchers are working to change these perceptions, especially around the idea of gaming and education.

“Children tend to be more engaged in learning when we incorporate gaming into lessons,” expressed Patrick Efird, a curriculum game designer at educational technology provider Imagine Learning.

And Efird would know. A self-declared video game aficionado, Efird taught middle school for five years. “I incorporated video games into the classroom whenever possible,” he explained. “My students loved the gaming components of their learning and I believe it helped them dig deeper into the material, retain what was being taught, and develop a belief that they could learn if they worked hard at something.”

child learning on tablet

Growth Mindset and Gaming

Efird isn’t alone in his beliefs. Scholar Carol Dweck found that video games can play an important role in supporting growth mindset, or the belief that an ability to learn is not fixed but can grow with effort.

In Dweck’s research, students who played a video game with rewards for productive struggle stuck with the game longer, were more engaged, and used more strategies than students who received traditional “level completion” rewards.

Video game experts believe video games can support growth mindset in a variety of ways.

  1. Leveling up. Students are feel a sense of accomplishment when they reach goals, and are motivated to endlessly engage in video games as they advance, learn, and achieve in the program.
  2. Learning from mistakes. Games are a safe place for students to make mistakes, learn, and ultimately succeed over time.
  3. Visualize growth and progress. Games utilize features such as maps, treasure hunts, and statistics to show a player where they have the potential to progress. Visualizing where a player can go motivates them to continue trying.
  4. Experiencing growth. Students experience growth as they have opportunities to evolve, take on new abilities, or earn add-ons when they stick with their task in the game.
  5. External rewards. Students who persist at tasks receive rewards for trying, motivating them to keep striving.
  6. Real-life growth. Apps with game-like elements, such as Fitbit or Happify, transfer growth to real life by tracking progress towards physical, emotional, and cognitive goals that benefit users.

Grit and Gaming

Video games can also help students develop “grit,” or the passion and perseverance to work towards long-term goals as described by Angela Duckworth, PhD. Some argue that video games develop grit as players “follow the rules, acquire and practice skills, and apply those skills to achieve specific goals.”

Duckworth posits that “students may need help from supportive others to become comfortable with facing, accepting, and learning from failure.” Video games can play the role of the “supportive other” by incorporating positive messaging.

Efird suggests that positioning messages in educational video games that “praise effort despite outcomes, show evidence of growth, and acknowledge players for tasks accomplished or improvements made” can support students to persist in pursuing tasks. Additionally, live-supports—such as online, certified teachers available to students using digital instructional programs—can provide needed support while fostering perseverance and determination.

“Game-based learning engages students, and research indicates strong correlations between student engagement and student achievement across all levels of instruction and subject areas.”

Sherri Walker

Imagine Learning

Engaged Students Achieve

Ultimately, educators want to know students are learning and achieving.

Game-based learning engages students, and research indicates strong correlations between student engagement and student achievement across all levels of instruction and subject areas.

Studies have also shown that when students are engaged in their learning, they are more focused, more motivated, and have more meaningful learning experiences. Educators agree, ranking “student engagement and motivation” as the highest driver of achievement, good attendance, good grades, positive behavior, high school graduation, and readiness for postsecondary education.

In the end, utilizing video games in education can be a powerful tool for teachers to engage students and help them learn and achieve. “I believe we can use video games in classrooms to help students learn that they can accomplish whatever they put their energy into,” shares Efird. “I know as a kid, I would’ve been even more engaged in what I was learning in the classroom if games were utilized. I’m pretty sure there are other students out there today who are just like me.”

Engage More Students

Give gaming in education a try with Imagine Math Facts, where students gain automaticity with basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

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December 13, 2017 8:00 am

What is Competency-Based Learning?

Explore the trending paradigm shift that is competency-based learning and incorporate more mastery-based techniques into your classroom, school, and district.

It seems that every day there is a new education buzzword that pushes teachers to change the way they teach, so when people began discussing competency-based learning, educators and policymakers were cautiously optimistic.

But as Illinois’ Department of Education joins New Hampshire, Michigan, and Ohio in incorporating competency-based learning into their policy, the buzz around this new learning strategy is gaining steam.

Here, we define competency-based learning and discuss how can you incorporate the techniques from this new methodology into your classroom, school, and district.

What is competency-based learning?

Seen as an alternative to more traditional educational approaches, competency-based learning (CBL) can completely redefine a school’s way of teaching and assessing students. Sometimes called mastery-based, outcome-based, performance-based, or standards-based education, instruction, or learning, CBL focuses on ensuring students are truly mastering academic content regardless of time, place, or pace of learning.

Traditional schools and classrooms utilize an efficiency-centered model, meaning students are classified by age and given a fixed amount of time to master a lesson before moving on to the next.

This can result in students skating by whole sections without fully grasping the material and the ways this material builds on the next unit.

How can a student truly be successful learning the area of triangles if he does not understand the concept of area?

What is Competency-Based Learning? graphic

The best way to define competency-based learning is by explaining what it is not.

CBL no longer advances students on an arbitrary timeline, but allows them to move onto the next concept when they have mastered the current one. This allows advanced students to move forward without having to wait for the designated time set in the curriculum, and struggling students can spend as long on a unit as they need to until they reach full understanding.

It does, however, pose some significant changes to the ways students are assessed.

Academic progress should be tracked and reported by learning standard, so educators and parents can know precisely what specific knowledge and skills students have acquired or may be struggling with.

According to the Glossary of Education reform, “instead of receiving a letter grade on an assignment or test, each of which may address a variety of standards, students are graded on specific learning standards, each of which describes the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire.”

How can I incorporate CBL into my school?

Administrators and teachers can incorporate competency-based learning methods right into the curriculum without completely rewriting it. Educators can break down the competencies that will drive student learning for each listed standard within the curriculum.

These competencies should move beyond content and address process and dispositions, too.

For example:

If one of the standards or outcomes of a geography lesson is to recognize how characteristics of regions affect the history of the United States, the competencies could be to first recognize cultural, economic, and physical characteristics of US regions, then to analyze the relationship between geography and history.

This takes a basic geography lesson beyond memorization and into a broader understanding of how geography has impacted our country and its ties to history.

Obviously, these example competencies will not be achieved in one week, or even one lesson, so it is important to strategically emphasize core standards and their related competencies throughout the year.

Analyzing the relationship between geography and history will be a competency that the class works on in every lesson, and something that students should be reminded of consistently so they can continue to practice to achieve mastery.

After identifying the competencies within the standards, educators must then translate this into student actions and create a rubric that clearly defines how a student can show mastery in that particular competency.

This may take discussion between administrators and curriculum developers, but the idea is that a strong alignment to the competencies is identified by more than a test grade. Rubrics, checklists, and reflection prompts can be extremely helpful in connecting competencies to the assignments within each unit.

Don’t be afraid to have students retake units if they have not fully mastered the associated competency, and help them understand that a retake is not punishment, but a way to ensure that students are the center of learning by allowing them to fully understand concepts before moving on.

How can teachers incorporate CBL into their classrooms?

Teachers may feel that they have little control since these decisions are made at the district or even state level, but there are ways to incorporate CBL into your classroom with little administrative involvement.

  1. Initiate conversations with school administrators about strategies for making education more learner-centered.
  2. Base grading policies on assessments of learning outcomes instead of participation points to truly identify if students are comprehending the subject matter.
  3. Use formative assessments to pinpoint students who need instructional supports.
  4. Allow students to resubmit work so they can learn from their mistakes and try again.
  5. Acknowledge students learn at different paces and advocate for differentiated student learning.
There are many ways to incorporate CBL into the classroom

How can technology help?

Transitioning to competency-based learning can be difficult, but definitely worthwhile as it creates a classroom that is truly focused on each student as an individual. Since CBL is aimed at ensuring more students learn what they are expected to know, incorporating this method provides educators with more detailed information about student progress.

This allows teachers to identify specific concepts and skills students have not yet mastered, and intervene.

And this is where education technology truly shines.

Programs like UpSmart® can meet students where they are and identify skills, concepts, and standards that they have not yet mastered. Detailed reports provide educators with a granular level of information about each student, much more than they would receive with a simple letter or number grade on a unit test.

Educators can then take that information and intervene to bring students to where they need to be.

Benefits of Competency-Based Learning

Proponents of CBL argue that this method improves the chances that students learn the most important information, concepts, and skills they will need throughout their lives.

It can also help reduce learning gaps or opportunity gaps and provide a more equitable approach to public education. This will reduce or eliminate students advancing to the next lesson, unit, or even grade without acquiring the knowledge and skills they should have to do so.

SOURCES
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January 17, 2017 9:50 am

Academic Language: What is It and Why Teach It?

Acquiring academic language is critical to the success of all students — but especially to those who are learning to read, speak, and write in English.

students working in a lab

Every day in American schools, teachers welcome more students whose first language is something other than English. According to the Pew Research Center, this demographic trend will only grow exponentially in coming years.

In fact:

Pew estimates up to 93% of our population will come from immigrant populations and their children by the year 2050. What do these numbers mean for schools?

Here’s the short answer:

Schools will need better ways to teach language generally, and academic language in particular. Why the importance? When students don’t master academic language, they’re at greater risk for falling behind or even dropping out of school.

The Language of Textbooks

Learning to speak, read, and write in English can be challenging enough.

But without knowing academic language (e.g., general-instruction words like “summarize,” math words like “times” as another way to say “multiplied by,” or science words like “hypothesis”), English language learners can quickly fall behind in their progress.

Teachers of ELLs should ask these basic questions before they integrate academic language into instruction:

  • Can students demonstrate understanding of instructional language in the texts they read (or in verbal instruction)?
  • Are students successful in the use of discipline-specific vocabulary during math, language arts, science, and social studies?

If not, it’s time to incorporate a strategic plan for academic language in the classroom.

Of course, each English language learner’s language proficiency is different. Once teachers understand a student’s level of language development, they’ve cleared the first hurdle.

For example:

An ELL may know how to speak a few words of English and use basic social greetings–but they make mistakes often. These students are at the beginning level of English development.

Those with intermediate skills have a better grasp of grammar and English pronunciation, but they’re missing a few rules here and there.

Finally, ELLs who are consistent in their vocabulary, use of idioms, grammar, and oral fluency are at the advanced level of language development.

How to Begin Teaching Academic Language

Beginning early in the primary grades, ELLs need to transition from social English to academic English. While informal discussion is always necessary, student growth and confidence depend on successfully understanding more sophisticated vocabulary.

But where to begin?

There’s no magic list of academic vocabulary words floating out in the ether. But you can follow these six tips:

  1. Use Tier 2 words that students frequently encounter in general instruction (e.g., “predict” or “assess”). Examples of these words can be found in state standards, including the Common Core.
  2. Introduce a wide variety of texts and teach students how to summarize what they read. If students are logged into a literacy supplemental program like Imagine Language & Literacy, they will automatically encounter both of these things.
  3. Teach key vocabulary associated with statewide tests (also common practice in Imagine Learning programs). Once students feel confident about prompts they’ll see later on tests, they are one step closer to taking action and solving problems with confidence.
  4. Reach out to other ELL professionals.
  5. Make sure you receive adequate time for professional development on teaching academic language.
  6. Devote a specific time block toward teaching academic English in your classroom.

By following these tips, you’ll not only help your English language learners become more proficient in the academic tools of the trade–you’ll also feel greater satisfaction at the end of the day.