Authentic Learning

Students as Co-Designers

Who asks more questions in your classroom: you or your students?  In a learner-centered environment, students ask a majority of questions and use the questions to drive their learning.  Of course, it may seem overwhelming to unleash control and empower your learners but the benefits include student engagement, increased understanding, and ownership of learning makes the experience worthwhile.  As a teacher, it is essential to identify your target standards and learning goals prior to engaging students in this process. In addition, you may want to consider kicking off the unit with an essential or driving question.  In this type of environment, the teacher takes on the role of facilitator/coach to guide student learning. Check out the links below with protocols to encourage student questioning in your classroom!

Question Formulation Technique

Description:  Step-by-step routine for learners to formulate questions around a video, image, experience, or primary source and use their questions to become curious, self-directed learners.  

Take a closer look:

•  5 Tips for Blending the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) with NGSS
• Using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) to Rebrand School Libraries​​​​​​
• Creating a Culture of Questioning: Inquiry in Lower Elementary
• My QFT Journey: Putting Students’ Minds into Motion with Their Question
• Sparking Joy in the Classroom with Student-Formulated Questions
• Step-by-step: Question Formulation Technique (QFT) 

Keystone Media Resource:

Making Thinking Visible

Description:  Making Thinking Visible offers thinking routines to use in a variety of disciplines and contexts to evoke student depth of understanding, engaged thinkers and learners, and promote an open-minded, curious environment. 

Take a closer look:

• Think-Puzzle-Explore
• See-Think-Wonder
• I Notice, I Wonder...

Additional Resources:

• Project Zero Thinking Routines
• Think-Puzzle-Explore 2nd Grade Classroom Example 
• See-Think-Wonder Secondary Classroom Example
• Boosting Engagement with Notices and Wonders

References:

Take a moment to reflect on what life was like when you were in school.  What technological advancements have been made since then? Today, we have the internet which provides information at our fingertips. We can ask Siri and Alexa to send us reminders, set alarms or timers, and even answer questions for us!  Artificial intelligence (AI) is continually evolving. AI is now capable of detecting anxiety, depression, and language disorders in humans by listening to them speak and is more accurate in diagnosing certain diseases than trained professionals. Now, more than ever, we need to be able to augment what we know with adaptable thinking tendencies. 

We are now moving into what author Daniel Pink refers to as the Conceptual Era where human-only qualities will be essential skills for success.  In order to prepare learners for post-secondary success, we need to go deeper than content acquisition. The Institute for the Future has predicted that 85% of jobs that today’s learners will have in 2030 don’t exist yet.  Emotional intelligence, the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others, is predicted to be the most valued future job skill.  

You can begin fostering human-only qualities in your students by incorporating protocols and thinking strategies in your classroom.  Explore the link below to filter strategies based on intention/purpose, grade levels, and group size.  

K20Learn

Emotional Intelligence Resources 

Emotional Intelligence, Travis Bradberry
MackinVia

Activities Teaching Emotional Intelligence (Elementary)

Activities Teaching Emotional Intelligence (Middle School)

50 Activities for Teaching Emotional Intelligence (High School)

References

Bariso, J. (2018, February 28). 13 signs of high emotional intelligence. Inc. https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/13-things-emotionally-intelligent-people-do.html 

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Institute for the Future & Dell Technologies. (2017). The next era of human|machine partnerships. Dell Technologies. https://www.delltechnologies.com/content/dam/delltechnologies/assets/perspectives/2030/pdf/SR1940_IFTFforDellTechnologies_Human-Machine_070517_readerhigh-res.pdf

In a class period, there never seems to be enough time to get everything accomplished that we plan.  Peer feedback maximizes classroom time by offering students the opportunity to receive immediate feedback.  When engaging in this process, learners are operating in higher-order thinking and strengthening their communication skills.

The purpose of peer feedback is to assist the creator in improving their work by identifying strengths and offering suggestions for improvement.  Grading continues to be the responsibility of the teacher while peer feedback is supplemental. This process thrives in classrooms that have established a positive, respectful culture.  

Peer feedback can be successful at all ages when educators take the time to scaffold learning and set students up for success.  This can be accomplished by practicing how to give feedback in a structured environment. When students are given the same work sample, they can offer feedback in small groups then share whole-group to discuss effective statements generated. Question stems, similar to the ones below, are another effective scaffolding tool.  

When engaging in peer feedback, learners should have clear expectations in the form of a rubric or checklist to anchor their comments.  These can be established and shared by the teacher or better yet, co-created with students! As students progress and are ready to give feedback independently, teachers should circulate to offer comments on the practice.  

Helpful Resources

Austin’s Butterfly- First-grade students offer kind, helpful, and specific feedback to a drawing.  This video can be viewed as a class to begin a discussion on appropriate feedback characteristics.

Warm and Cool Feedback 

“I noticed, I wondered” - Fourth/fifth grade video example

20-Minute Peer Feedback System- Feedback protocol

Ladder of Feedback- Possible structure to follow when offering feedback

Praise, Question, Polish

• Praise- Explain strengths, why you like the piece
• Questions- Ask questions about what was unclear
• Polish- Provide suggestions for improvement 

Learner-Centered Collaborative: Provide Peer Feedback Protocols
Learner-Centered Collaborative: Use Discussion Protocols

References

Collaborative, L. (n.d.). Strategy: Provide peer feedback protocols. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/learner-centered-strategy-provide-peer-feedback-protocols/ 

Collaborative, L. (n.d.). Strategy: Use discussion protocols. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/strategy-use-discussion-protocols/ 

Education, E. (2012, March 9). Austin’s butterfly: Building excellence in student work [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/38247060 

Ford’s Theatre. (2020, September 29). The ford’s theatre approach to oratory | warm and cool feedback [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG_a4mIIncE 

Harvard Graduate School of Education. (n.d.). PZ’s thinking routines toolbox. Project Zero. https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines 

K20 Center. (2016, October 20). I notice, i wonder - LEARN strategy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPtelrwiVjM 

Narrative PQP peer-review form. (2003). In ReadWriteThink. https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson122/pqp_narrative.pdf 

Spencer, J. (2015, October 13). The 20-Minute Peer Feedback System. John Spencer. https://spencerauthor.com/the-20-minute-peer-feedback-system/

Deeper Learning with Essential Questions

As educators, we have all heard the following question from students, “Why do I need to know this?”.  At times, this question can be frustrating or seem as if students are being challenging. Daniel Pink’s motivation theory reminds us that in order to be intrinsically motivated, people need to have autonomy, mastery, and purpose.  When students ask the question “Why do I need to know this?”, they are lacking purpose in their learning which often correlates to low engagement.  As educators, we can help build purpose by connecting the concept students are learning to other content areas, previously learned information, and/or the real world.  

Essential questions (EQs) are often used in learner-centered environments and help establish the purpose of learning.  Essential questions create a focus for the unit, frame content in a way that deepens understanding, and promotes student understanding at a transfer level.  A well designed EQ is open-ended/(not “Google-able”), provokes students to ask additional questions, recurs over time, and is centered around big ideas or concepts.  Essential questions are universal and can be used with any grade level or content area. 

Examples of strong EQs include the following:

• How is a person’s legacy established?

• What motivates people?

• Does history repeat itself? 

Challenge:  Think about the standards and overarching concepts in one of your classes/units.  Keeping the characteristics of a strong essential question in mind, develop an EQ for an upcoming unit.  Share it with your learners at the beginning of the unit and keep cycling back to it as the learning progresses.  By the time you reach the end of the unit, students should be able to answer the question. Many times answering the essential question becomes the summative assessment in the form of a performance assessment.  

Additional Resources: 

B 6690133  Drive : Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

B 6639256 Drive:  Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (Digital audiobook)

B 94844 Drive: Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

B 94920 Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units

What Are Essential Questions?

A Giant List of Really Good Essential Questions

References:

KnowledgeWorks, & Phillips, L. (2018, March 1). What drives student motivation? - KnowledgeWorks. KnowledgeWorks.  https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/drives-student-motivation/ 

Pink, D. H. (2010). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Canongate Books.

TeachThought. (2022a, January 16). A giant list of really good essential questions. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/examples-of-essential-questions/ 

What is an essential question? – Summit Learning blog. (2019, August 23). https://blog.summitlearning.org/2019/08/essentialquestions/ 

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2011). The Understanding by Design Guide to creating high-quality units. ASCD.

Driving Learning with Goal Setting

Student goal setting is proven by research and feedback from teachers to increase academic performance and student engagement.  This practice assists in establishing a culture of learning in the classroom and promotes student ownership. Student-generated goals add an element of personal relevance and students have an opportunity to develop agency.

Creating student-goal setting habits in the classroom begins with discussing the purpose and importance of goal setting.  Introducing and using the SMART goal framework (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound) with students can assist them in setting quality goals.  After the teacher facilitates discussion around goal setting and students are able to create their own goals, teachers can individually give feedback on student goals in the form of student conferences.  Students should then be encouraged to self-monitor their goals and have checkpoints with their teacher to discuss progress.

Goal setting is often thought of as a practice used with older students, but it is also effective with younger students, as it gets them in the productive habit of goal setting.  To introduce the concept of goal setting with younger students, reading books about goals sparks productive discussion. Below are suggested books in our collection to begin the conversation with students.   

Challenge: Using a teacher or co-created rubric, have your students self assess their learning or performance.  This becomes more effective when we have students justify their reasoning through elaboration or attaching evidence of meeting the learning criteria to justify their rating.  

Resources

Learner-Centered Collaborative: Support Learner Self-Assessment

References

Collaborative, L. (2023, November 4). Strategy: Support Learner Self-Assessment. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/strategy-support-learner-self-assessment/

Creative Educator. (n.d.). Set SMART goals. https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2017/lessons/set-SMART-goals

The Power of Reflection

When we are crunched for time during a lesson or when the bell rings as we are still teaching, often reflection is the first task eliminated.  We tend to underestimate the power of reflection on student learning. Through reflection, we learn from our experiences. Reflective practices promote students taking ownership of their learning and make learning meaningful to students.  Reflection can promote deep, lasting learning (Suskie, 2009). 

As educators, we need to prioritize time to teach students how to be metacognitive and reflect on their learning experiences.  This can be done by modeling reflection with think alouds, showing reflection exemplars, offering scaffolding with sentence stems, and giving time to foster reflection skills.  Reflections can be written, conversational, or audio/video recorded.  

Reflection sentence stems/questions:

• One thing I could do to improve my work is...
• From this experience, I learned…
• My thinking was challenged when…
• What do I already know about the concept? 
• What does this artifact show about your learning?
• What questions do you still have?

Use Seesaw as a digital tool to capture student reflections by taking pictures, drawing, and recording videos. 

Flip can be used to give students an opportunity to record themselves reflecting on their learning and goals with the opportunity for classmates to respond.

Additional Resources

• FunRetrospectives
• Agile Classrooms Retrospectives

 Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

 Also available on MackinVIA!

 Encouraging Student Reflection to Promote Student Learning  

Scrum is a framework that integrates goal setting and reflection and is the “how” of managing a learner-centered classroom.  If you are interested in learning more, reach out to Brea Baxter (bbaxter@aea1.k12.ia.us).

References

Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., III, & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Harvard University Press.

Digital Promise. (2017, March 22). Research Work: Encouraging student reflection to support deeper learning [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUT-3gq6_N0

FunRetrospectives. (n.d.). FunRetrospectives. https://www.funretrospectives.com/category/energizer/

Microsoft. (2021). Flip. Flip. https://info.flip.com/en-us.html 

Miller, J. (n.d.). Retrospective: A self-directed learning routine. In Agile Classrooms. https://learn.agileclassrooms.com/resources

Seesaw. (n.d.). Seesaw. https://seesaw.com/

Student Discourse Through Spider Web Discussions

How do you generate a culture to analyze challenging questions, ideas, and people?

Spider web discussions foster a culture of collaboration and are learner-centered as students lead the discussion without direction from the teacher.  The process becomes part of the classroom philosophy and allows students to work with challenging questions, ideas, and people. Students work towards a common goal as a team and no longer compete for air time.  The collaborative nature of spider web discussions prepares students for the workforce and post-secondary success.

Resources-

What is it? 
The Best Class You Never Taught By Alexis Wiggins
Video

Getting Started

Teacher Role

• Rubric, a pencil, and some paper
• Largely silent
• Sit in the back away from students
• Avoid eye contact
• Allow 30-40 minutes - provides enough time for 22 to 24 students to explore topic

Student Role

• Discussion Rubric

First Day:

• Choose something the students will want to discuss (article or a video clip) - provide print outs of materials to reference
• Explain Purpose of new method for discussions
  • Practice high levels of collaboration
  • Potential employees like Google are looking for
  • Could be different from discussions they have had in the past, okay to not have experience
  • Primary Goal: Have great discussions so that when the bell goes off they will not want to stop

• Show them video (from slide - Why do we need Spider Webbers?)

  • What do you notice?
  • What do you think?
  • Remind students that this is a goal we are working towards

• Have students seated in a circle or oval shape - so everyone can see each other 

• Hand out hard copy of rubric to students so they can feel the importance of the rubric.  Put away computers and turn off screens during all discussions as they can be distracting and interfere.  Ask them what stands out on the rubric.

• Set time

  • Between 30-50 minutes depending on how in depth the assigned text is

    • 9th grade: 30 minutes
    • 12th grade: 45-50 minutes
    • elementary : 10 minutes

• Teachers sits in the back of the classroom with a chair and writes the names of the students in a circle and begin graphing the conversation the class has - Do not jump in the conversation - let there be awkward silence 

  • Careful not to show students what you are doing during the first conversation
  • Circle name of first student that starts
  • Write codes next each name
  • Announce that the person currently speaking will have the last word - ending the discussion

• Share the web graph with them

  • “Here is a map of your discussion.” 
  • Powerful visual tool for feedback
  • Go through rubric together and have students agree as a group if they did or didn't meet each point
  • “According to our rubric, then, what should our grade be?”

Think Abouts

• Non-negotiables 
• Different Personalities

  • Roles 

• Dialectical Journals
• Grading?
• Questions?

Resources

• Learner-Centered Collaborative: Lead Guided Discussions

References

Alexis wiggins’s wiki. (2014). http://alexiswiggins.pbworks.com/w/page/57830797/Alexis%20Wiggins%27s%20Wiki

Collaborative, L. (2023f, November 4). Strategy: lead guided discussions. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/learner-centered-strategy-lead-guided-discussions/

Kristen. (2021, January 24). Getting started with the Spider Web Discussion Strategy. Precise Pedagogy. https://www.precisepedagogy.com/post/spider-web-discussion

Wiggins, A. (2017). The best class you never taught: How Spider Web Discussion Can Turn Students into Learning Leaders. ASCD.

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative Learning is an approach that encourages students to work together to solve a given problem. Working collaboratively allows students to interact with and learn from each other through tasks and projects.  According to Forbes, the ability to collaborate and demonstrate interpersonal skills will be one of the top 10 attributes companies will be looking for in candidates in 2020.  By incorporating opportunties to build these skills in the classroom, we are preparing students for post-secondary success.  

Benefits of Student Collaboration:

• Developing social skills
• Learning from peers
• Building trust
• Engaging in learning
• Gaining confidence 
• Learning and practicing skills to be successful beyond the school walls

Take a closer look: See in action and/or process to implement

• Advantages of Using Kagan Strategies
• The Jigsaw Classroom

Additional Resources

• What is Collaborative Learning?
• Collaboration Tips and Strategies
• 5 Strategies to Strengthen Collaboration
• Building Essential Skills Today (BEST) Collaboration Toolkit
• Learner-Centered Collaborative: Leveraging Cooperative Learning Strategies
• Learner-Centered Collaborative: Helping Learners Teach Each Other

References

BEST for the Future – improving student learning in partnership with research towards large-scale change. (n.d.). https://www.best-future.org/

Burns, M. (2016, November 22). 5 Strategies to Deepen Student Collaboration. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-strategies-deepen-student-collaboration-mary-burns

kaganvideo. (2014, June 12). What is Kagan? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-yzgJtgVrg

Collaborative, L. (2023, November 4). Strategy: Cooperative learning Strategies. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/learner-centered-strategy-leverage-cooperative/

Collaborative, L. (2023e, November 4). Strategy: Help learners teach each other. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/learner-centered-strategy-help-learners-teach-each-other/

Marr, B. (2019, October 28). The 10+ most important job skills every company will be looking for in 2020. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2019/10/28/the-10-most-important-job-skills-every-company-will-be-looking-for-in-2020/#b5ace8767b67

TeachThought. (2022, January 19). 20 Collaborative learning Tips and Strategies for teachers. https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/20-collaborative-learning-tips-and-strategies/

The jigsaw classroom. (n.d.). https://www.jigsaw.org/

Valamis. (2023, June 22). Collaborative learning. Valamis. https://www.valamis.com/hub/collaborative-learning#collaborative-learning-definition

Inquiry Based Learning: The Power of Purpose

Inquiry is the dynamic process of being open to wonder and puzzlements and coming to know and understand the world. (Alberta, Focus on Inquiry, 2004) 

The work of academic disciplines is inquiry. And the most recent research in cognition shows that reading and writing are forms of inquiry, and are best learned in the contexts of inquiry (Hillcocks, 1999, 2002) and through the questioning and discourse that is central to it. As John Dewey and James Britton have asserted, learning floats on the sea of talk. That means that students must be the ones asking the majority of the questions and doing the bulk of the classroom talk. Students are no longer in the passive role of receiving information; they become apprentices who actually do the work of the disciplines they are studying (Wilhelm, 2007). A student’s understanding is measured in terms of the correspondence between how they know and use the concepts and strategies under study and how experts do. 

In the most generic sense, we can look at a graphic by Trevor Makenzie, author of Dive into Inquiry, 2016). In this model, the Types of Student Inquiry is a scaffolded approach to inquiry in the classroom, gradually increasing student agency over learning while providing learners with the necessary skills, knowledge, and understanding to be successful in their inquiry. Scaffolding is critical to an inquiry journey. Too often teachers enter the inquiry pool in the deep end, heading straight to Free Inquiry. 

The amount of time students engage with different types of inquiry may shift over their PK-12 experience. For instance, elementary students may spend more time in structured inquiry learning opportunities as skills and content knowledge develop. Gradually, more autonomous inquiry opportunities shift to the right. Protocols have been established and content learning depth has moved beyond surface level, skill based understanding to the transfer stage. High school students may have developed the skills and background knowledge to spend less time on the left and more time on the right.

THE FOUR TYPES OF STUDENT INQUIRY

Structured: Students follow the lead of the teacher as the entire class engages in one inquiry together. On the Structured end of the inquiry pool, the teacher has complete control of the essential question, the resources students will use to create understanding, specific learning evidence students will use to document their learning, and the performance task students will complete as a demonstration of their understanding.

Controlled: The teacher chooses topics and identifies the resources students will use to answer the questions. In the Controlled section of the inquiry pool, the teacher provides several essential questions for students to unpack. Students deepen their understanding through several resources the teacher has predetermined to provide valuable context and rich meaning to the essential questions. Students demonstrate their learning by a common performance task.

Guided: The teacher chooses topics and questions, and students design the product or solution. In the Guided section of the inquiry pool, the teacher further empowers student agency by providing a single (or selection of) essential questions for students to study, and the learner selects where to search for answers and how they will demonstrate understanding.

Free: Students choose their topics without reference to any prescribed outcome. In the deep end—Free inquiry—with the support and facilitation of the teacher, students construct their own essential question, research a wide array of resources, customize their learning evidence, and design their own performance task. 

Within Free Inquiry and authentic learning, there are risks; certain conditions are necessary to its success. Many of its advocates assume that independent, discovery-based assignments and projects should be the primary, dominant mode of instruction. They believe that if students are free to work alone or on group tasks, they will acquire essential skills and knowledge on their own. And they often assume that such “student-centered” or self directed instruction is superior to explicit or teacher-led instruction. 

These are not safe assumptions. In “The Perils and Promises of Discovery Learning,” Robert Marzano (2011b) writes that research simply doesn’t support unstructured instruction, which characterizes so much of “discovery-based learning.” Marzano, Hattie, and Rosenshine-- all arch-advocates of explicit instruction-- make plain that independent or collaborative projects do belong in the curriculum-- but not until students have been explicitly taught the prerequisite skills and knowledge necessary to succeed on these tasks (Hattie in McDowell, 2017; Marzano, 2011b; Rosenshine, 2012, p. 13). And, as Marzano points out, even such projects should be built around the elements of effective teaching (p. 87). 

The Power of Provocation

Inquiry starts with a call to action, a question to be solved. These are often called big ideas, essential questions, guiding questions, phenomena, provocations, or hooks (depending on which content area you teach and the inquiry-based framework you are referencing). Despite what they are called, how do you provoke student curiosity to bring about questions to investigate and figure out? 

Find out more! Check out "Inquiry Based Learning: What it Looks Like In A Classroom Setting."

References

ModelTeaching, & Lipe, W. (2021, November 9). Inquiry Based learning: What it looks like in a classroom setting. Model Teaching. https://www.modelteaching.com/education-articles/lesson-curriculum-planning/inquiry-based-learning-what-it-looks-like-in-a-classroom-setting

What is Productive Struggle?

Productive struggle is developing strong habits of mind, such as perseverance and thinking flexibly, instead of simply seeking the correct solution. Not knowing how to solve a problem at the outset should be expected. The key is working through a problem, encouraging students to think outside the box, and not letting them get discouraged if their initial strategies are not working to come to a solution. 

To state it simply it is the idea that attempting to perform a task and initially failing can improve learning. Students are provided opportunities to apply their learning to novel situations with minimal instruction provided from the teacher.  Productive struggle encourages students to attack the problem in a way that makes sense to them based on what they know.  

How Can Educators Promote Productive Struggle?

As a teacher, you are finding a balance in the student learning by giving problems for students to tackle that is right in that sweet spot of what the student has for prior knowledge and applying that to a novice situation.  It involves designing activities or tasks to stretch the students’ thinking and performance just beyond the level they can do on their own.  Students persist in trying to make sense of a difficulty problem by either extending a known strategy or developing new strategies for solving it.  It’s finding the balance of new learning being productive for the students’ learning rather than frustrating them, leading to them giving up.  Students are needing to use metacognitive reflections to process their thinking by sharing their strategies with peers.  

Teachers create a safe learning environment that allows for students to struggle appropriately and productively, which serves as a building block for future learning struggles.  Students are valued and mistakes are celebrated.  Activities are designed to challenge the specific weakness of the students’ thinking and not overwhelm them.  

As a teacher, you create, facilitate, and monitor the process of learning.  This occurs when students are purposefully paired with peers to help facilitate the learning of each student.  Students are paired together or placed into small groups which are designed based on slight differences in their acquisition of learning a skill.  Teachers facilitate by asking guiding questions when students are involved in the learning.  It’s a balance of providing time to allow the students to “struggle” and not jumping in to “save them”

Additional Resources

Robert Kaplinsky Productive Struggle IGNITE 

Harnessing the Power of Productive Struggle

Beyond Growth Mindset: Creating Classroom Opportunities for Meaningful Struggle

Productive Struggle Is a Learner's Sweet Spot

References

2015 Northwest Math Conferenece. (2015, November 20). #nwmc15 IGNITE Speaker 1: Robert Kaplinsky [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrR-Zssnj2s

Cowen, E. (2016, January 7). Harnessing the power of productive struggle. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/harnessing-power-of-productive-struggle-ellie-cowen

Gallimore, B. E. H. (2021, April 26). Beyond Growth Mindset: Creating classroom Opportunities for meaningful struggle (Opinion). Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2015/12/07/beyond-growth-mindset-creating-classroom-opportunities-for.html

Productive struggle is a learner’s sweet spot. (2023, November 15). ASCD. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/productive-struggle-is-a-learners-sweet-spot

Warshauer, H. K., (2015). Strategies to support productive struggle. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 20(7), 390-393.

In our current reality, the importance of incorporating social-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom has never been greater.  Fortunately, the CASEL SEL competencies incorporate aspects of learner-centered practices.  The foundation for both social-emotional learning and student-centered learning begins strong relationships between educators and students.  When trust is built, learners have a sense of belonging and feel safe in the classroom.  This contributes to a culture where students drive their learning with the teacher coaching students along the way.  

Authentic learning involves students taking an active part of their learning by establishing learning goals, mapping out a path to achieve the goals, and reflecting on progress throughout the process.  Engaging in these practices helps students develop self-management skills, one of the five SEL competencies.  To learn more about these authentic learning shifts, check out this webinar by Catlin Tucker. 

Two other SEL competencies that are fostered through authentic learning include relationship skills and social awareness.  Collaborative learning and project-based learning are two teaching practices that are fundamental to authentic learning. When students work together towards a common goal, they need to problem solve collaboratively, practice teamwork, and communicate successfully.  When interacting with diverse individuals and groups, students build empathy and hear perspectives differing from their own.  These are lifelong skills that will enable students to be productive members of society.  

Start incorporating learner-centered practices today to meet students academic and social-emotional needs!  For authentic learning integration ideas, check out the other quick wins!

Additional Resources

 Balance with Blended Learning by Catlin Tucker is available on MackinVIA!

 CASEL SEL Competencies

 Learner-Centered Collaborative: Support Learners in Understanding Themselves

References

Collaborative, L. (2023, September 25). Strategy: Support learners in understanding themselves. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/strategy-support-learners-in-understanding-themselves/ 

Tucker, C. R. (2020). Balance with blended learning: Partner with your students to reimagine learning and reclaim your life. Corwin Press. 

Corwin. (2020, September 21). Catlin Tucker: Partner with Your Students Webinar [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk8NlUnGkGU

What is the CASEL framework? - CASEL. (2023, March 3). CASEL. https://casel.org/sel-framework/

Encouraging Metacognition

When students engage in metacognition, they are thinking about their own thinking.  This process positively impacts student learning and promotes deep understanding.  Students with strong metacognitive skills show increased self-regulation and resilience. 

A common way students can be metacognitive is self-assessing their performance on a set of criteria or a rubric.  To encourage deep reflection, students should justify their rating with an explanation and evidence of their work.  This process helps the learner identify where he or she needs to devote additional time and focus to improve with a concept.  Metacognition lays the foundation for establishing academic goals and allows students to be independent and strategic thinkers. 

Goal setting and monitoring progress is another way to promote metacognitive skills.  This encourages the shift from passive to active learning where students are cognitively engaged and asking questions.  Student-driven portfolios can be a place to track individual growth, have students reflect on progress over time in relation to a learning goal and/or standard, and share performance with an authentic audience.  When goals are based on artifact evidence, students can self-identify areas of their own work that need improvement.  Examples of portfolio platforms include Google Sites and Seesaw.

Especially with older students, when teachers implement learner-centered practices such as metacognition, students resist.  They are not accustomed to this type of learning and need direct instruction with scaffolds in place to be successful.  Metacognitive skills can be taught, and they enhance with practice (Schraw, 1998, Prins, Veenman, & Elshout, 2006).  Helpful scaffolds for student metacognition include prompts or sentence stems and graphic organizers.  Teachers can model the process by talking through their thinking aloud.  Below are questions to encourage students to use metacognition and think about their thinking.  

• What strategies did I use that were effective in this task?
• What will I do differently when faced with a similar task in the future?
• What are my next steps?

Additional Resources
Tips for Building Metacognitive Muscle
Five Ways to Boost Metacognition in the Classroom
Goal Setting Template
Flip- Powerful reflection tool where students can reflect aloud and share their thinking with others

References

John Spencer. (2018, August 10). What is metacognition? (Exploring the Metacognition Cycle) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZrUWvfU6VU 

Microsoft. (2021). Flip. Flip. https://info.flip.com/en-us.html 

Spencer, J. (2018, August 13). Five ways to boost metacognition in the classroom. John Spencer. https://spencerauthor.com/metacognition/ 

Tucker, C. (2020). Visual map for goal setting. In Corwin. Corwin Press, Inc. https://resources.corwin.com/sites/default/files/figure_6.3_0.pdf

Promoting Learner Agency with Choice Boards 

Teacher created choice boards allow students to choose how they will learn content or demonstrate their understanding.  This learner-centered strategy enhances student agency, increases engagement, and promotes students taking ownership of their learning.  Choice boards can be used in all instructional settings, both online and face-to-face and with any grade level or content area. 

The first step in creating a choice board is determining the instructional focus with standards and/or learning goals.  Once the focus is established, the teacher will brainstorm 9 activities keeping in mind student readiness, abilities, and interests.  The activities should be diverse and relate to a variety of multiple intelligences. One task will be included in each square of the Tic-Tac-Toe Choice Menu. 

Considerations

• If you have an activity you want all students to engage with first, add it to the middle square with the expectation that all students begin there and complete the task before choosing other activities. 
• The middle square could be an open option where students pitch their ideas to the teacher of how they could demonstrate understanding of the standard and/or learning goal. 
• Set the expectation that students complete an activity from each column. 

Additional Resources

Tic-Tac-Toe Menu Choice Board Template by Kasey Bell
Novel Study Example by Kasey Bell, Shake Up Learning
Science Example by Bev Berns, Keystone AEA
Provide Choice Boards by Learner-Centered Collaborative

References

Bell, K. (n.d.). Tic-Tac-Toe choice menu. In Shake up Learning. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qiQSVY_kXz-R7VPSeabWJEaIz1ZdpZXZrsm0nytp5L4/template/preview 

Bell, K. (n.d.). Tic-Tac-Toe choice menu: Novel study. In Shake up Learning. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NIP9kekFSNE0XzKW7nbPlzAJ2CpFnkKmGlOMqq2PfvA/edit?usp=sharing 

Collaborative, L. (2023, August 15). Strategy: Provide choice boards. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/strategy-provide-choice-boards/

At the conclusion of 2022, Edutopia compiled a list of the most significant educational studies of the year. One of the studies included research supporting the use of sketchnoting and concept maps to foster deep comprehension. Sketchnoting and concept maps promote higher-order thinking by making connections and linking concepts (Terada & Merrill, 2022). According to research from Duckworth (2018), memory retention, comprehension, and motivation is improved when using images for notes rather than words alone. 

Sketchnoting is referred to as a visual form of notetaking by using doodles with few words to convey thoughts or important ideas (Duckworth, 2018). This strategy can be welcomed at all ages, even in primary grades by encouraging students to doodle when listening to a story read aloud. Preparing students for sketchnoting can include playing drawing games such as the Doodle Challenge. These types of challenges spark creativity and artistic expression. Another activity to foster creative thinking is the 30 Circles Challenge where students get 30 circles on one sheet of paper and draw as many different recognizable shapes as possible in a given amount of time. It is always amazing to see what students come up with! 

Modeling is also an effective strategy for introducing sketchnoting to students when educators describe their thought processes along the way. In the ISTE video Sketchnote Basics by Nichole Carter, Nichole shares how she introduces sketchnoting to students in her role as a technology integrationist. Her book titled Sketchnoting in the Classroom is available to check out in Keystone’s media library, link included below. 

Ideas for Application:

• When students take notes in your class, give them the option of using sketchnotes.

• Allow students to contribute to a group sketchnote of main ideas from a lesson, unit, or field trip. 

Keystone Collection Items:

Additional Resources

How and Why to Introduce Visual Note-Taking to Your Students (Edutopia) 

Sketchnoting: Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything - Robust website with video tutorials, research, presentations, doodle challenges, etc. 

Noun Project - Drawing inspiration for students as they begin sketchnoting.

References

30 circles challenge: Creative icebreaker activity. (2018, March 29). Club Experience Blog. https://clubexperience.blog/2018/03/29/30-circles-challenge-creative-icebreaker-activity-with-free-download/

Duckworth, S. (2018). How to sketchnote: A step-by-step manual for teachers and students. EdTechTeam Press.

ISTE. (2019, June 22). Sketchnote basics by nichole carter. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2jAcEdiXB4 

Noun project: Free icons & stock photos for everything. (n.d.). The Noun Project. https://thenounproject.com/ 

Terada, Y., & Merrill, S. (2022, December 7). The 10 most significant education studies of 2022. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/the-10-most-significant-education-studies-of-2022/ 

Weekly doodle. (2022). TheDoodleChallenge. https://www.thedoodlechallenge.com/weeklydoodle 

As personalized and social-emotional learning become increasingly popular in school, learner profiles can be a missing piece. Learner profiles are student-created artifacts that include their strengths and challenges around the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Guidelines.  Rethinking Learning by Barbara Bray includes checklists for students to better understand their strengths and challenges related to the UDL Guidelines:  Engage, Representation, Action & Expression. Typically, the learner profile will also include a student’s background information, goals, preferences, personality traits, etc. For students to create their learner profile, they need to exhibit strong self-awareness qualities. Identifying these traits for learners can be a challenge, which is why it is important to scaffold this process for students. It can be helpful for students to engage in surveys as a means to discover more about their personality: 16 Personalities, Character Strengths, Your Learner Sketch. My Next Move connects students with careers based on their interests and includes knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for each career. 

Teachers can use learner profiles to get to know their students at a deeper level and build positive relationships. Using learner profile information, teachers can personalize learning experiences and boost engagement. To best meet the needs of all learners in a classroom, giving students choices through the UDL Guidelines is an evidence-based approach. In this learning environment, students have agency to make their own learning choices and develop into independent, expert learners. This “Would You Rather?” resource is an excellent place to start with recommendations on offering students options throughout their learning journey. Learn from Wisconsin educators and students who adopted learner profiles (video below). 

 Learner Profile, Wisconsin’s DPI - Resources for the Field

Keystone Collection Items:

How to Personalize Learning: A Practical Guide for Getting Started and Going Deeper by Barbara Bray and Kathleen A. McClaskey 

Evolving Education by Katie Martin is available on MackinVIA

Additional Resources

Learner-Centered Collaborative: Create Learner Portraits
An Educator’s Guide to Learner Profiles for Students
CAST UDL Guidelines

References

Bray, B. (2019, August 16). Getting to know you with your learner profile. Rethinking Learning. https://barbarabray.net/2019/08/16/getting-to-know-you-with-your-learner-profile/

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Collaborative, L. (2023, August 15). Strategy: Create learner portraits. Learner-Centered Collaborative. https://learnercentered.org/learner-centered-strategies/strategy-create-learner-portraits/ 

Learning Heroes. (2022, January 4). Character strengths. Be a Learning Hero. https://bealearninghero.org/character-strengths/ 

National Center for O*NET Development. (n.d.). My next move. My Next Move. https://www.mynextmove.org/ 

NERIS Analytics Limited. (2023). 16Personalities. 16Personalities. https://www.16personalities.com/

Next Generation Learning Challenges. (2023, November 29). An educator’s guide to learner profiles for students. NGLC. https://www.nextgenlearning.org/articles/getting-to-know-you-learner-profiles-for-personalization 

Novak Education. (n.d.). Would you rather? In Novak Education. https://www.novakeducation.com/hubfs/Resources/Would_You_Rather.pdf 

QED Foundation. (n.d.). Learner sketch. https://lst.qedfoundation.org/ 

Wisconsin DPI - Resources for the Field. (2017, January 20). Learner Profile [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFpCgLx-Mx8