The core of personalized learning is recognizing that no two students learn in exactly the same way. We go beyond a one-size-fits-all approach by focusing on each student’s strengths, needs, and pace of learning. By creating more flexible, student-centered classrooms, personalized learning empowers students to take ownership of their education and develop the skills they need to grow academically and personally. can.
To learn more about how school districts are integrating innovative instructional practices and data-driven tools for more personalized learning, EdSurge conducted the following interview. Dr. Joseph MancusoSuperintendent of Education eastern york school districtand michael calvertDirector of Elementary Education south allegheny school district. Pennsylvania school districts are using real-time data to inform instruction, foster student ownership of their learning, and help teachers respond to students’ diverse needs.
EdSurge: What inspired your district to move toward more individualized instructional practices?
Mancuso: When I joined the district in 2018, Eastern York was already implementing innovative practices like coding and STEM initiatives in K-12. As a superintendent, I wanted to further explore these practices. I asked teachers if they wanted to move forward and how I could get there. From their response, we began developing a plan to set a new vision for the district.
In October 2018, we gathered everyone in an auditorium tomost likely to succeed” introduced personalized learning. Additionally, administrators explored innovative school models in various locations. I looked into it battle for kids and graduate portraitI have such experience.
Next, we worked with thought partners to create a framework for modern learning that incorporates the Graduate Portrait Model. In April 2019, we launched a journey to personalize learning. Our approach focused on addressing learner variability, or differences in the rate at which students learn, and tailoring instruction to the individual.
We have branded our district with the belief that there is no such thing as an average student. Every student has a jagged learning profile. Here’s what we’re talking about in our district right now: Design, teach, and learn from top to bottomthis is our personalized approach.
Calvert: We as a district follow the data. We’re not just talking about [Pennsylvania System of School Assessments]but our formative data and what we see in the classroom. Our building data showed that not enough students were proficient in math. We needed to improve this number and encourage more math-proficient children to attend middle school. Even in-classroom formative data showed that students in each classroom were at different learning levels and had more diverse needs. Identifying what each student needed and adjusting instruction accordingly clearly required a change in approach to mathematics.
What were the first obstacles you faced when you started your transformation?
Calvert: The biggest hurdle was guiding teachers and supporting their practice. This was not about buy-in, but about helping teachers feel comfortable making changes. safely. This includes professional development, providing space for collaboration, sharing best practices and challenges, and providing administrative support. We gave teachers the opportunity to fail, succeed, and learn from their mistakes.
mcgraw hill is a great partner to help design support for teachers. Our main challenge is to give teachers the trust and confidence that when we ask them to change their practice, we will listen to them, support them, provide them with the professional development they need, and work with them to get it right. It was about being able to provide opportunities.
Mancuso: It was important for us to develop a shared understanding of how personalized learning is defined as a district and what it looks like in the classroom. We focused on doing this systematically rather than on a small scale.
Our professional development focused on helping teachers transition from teacher-centered to student-centered classrooms. Once we established that, we focused on expanding it. We created a common glossary so when teachers come to the district, they define what these concepts mean specifically at Eastern York.
What do teachers and students need most to succeed in modern learning environments?
Mancuso: We found that data analysis with prescriptive planning, along with technology for flexible grouping and small group instruction, is critical to supporting teachers. We explore resources that allow teachers to support multiple groups at once, access grade-level content, remediate struggling students, and facilitate learning for other students. . Teachers have expressed the need for a repository of resources for creating lesson plans, which is key to implementing personalized learning.
For students, they need to know themselves as learners. Start talking about learner profiles and how. [those profiles] Connect with your students. When we ask students to make academic choices, they need to know why they are making those choices. So now we’re talking about student ownership and student agency.
How has McGraw-Hill helped you use student performance data more effectively?
Calvert: mcgraw hill plus For PreK-12 Empower teachers to use student performance data effectively by integrating disparate sources. alex, reveal the mathematics assignments and evaluations, and NWEA map. Rather than spending time retrieving, organizing, and analyzing data from these sources individually, teachers can easily get a more complete picture of student progress by using standards and skills graphs. You will be able to do it. moreover, mcgraw hill plus This allows educators to quickly form groups and assign specific learning activities for individualization.
Mancuso: We have data in front of us all the time. Every time you use an exit ticket or create a new assignment, you get new student data for your teacher to analyze.
Data is now richer because the information is immediately available to teachers without the need for manual analysis. Teachers can easily navigate McGraw Hill tools to build optimal student groups and prepare for the next day’s lessons.
What further advice or insight would you offer to other school districts considering similar shifts to individualized instruction and innovative practices?
Mancuso: We have taken a systematic and systemic approach to personalizing learning in our district. We transformed our district using a design process that we also teach to kindergarteners. My advice is to understand why you’re doing this and take your time.
Start by knowing what you want to achieve and why. Change management is essential to this process. Consider steps to work with your administrative team and then with your faculty. Many parents did not learn this way, so think about how you will share this with your family.
Calvert: First, personalization is the right thing to do, and students deserve it. During the change process, be sure to create a vision for the need for personalization (answering the “why”) and what instruction should ideally look like. Pay close attention to processes and systems that support teachers and students. Update master schedules to increase and maximize time spent on math blocks, create daily professional learning communities (PLCs), differentiate PLCs to include grade level and content area team time, and organize resources. I created a shared folder to facilitate sharing.
Professional learning opportunities are also important. We have scheduled different types of professional learning with McGraw-Hill, including on-site and virtual training, on-site coaching days, and virtual office hours where teachers can ask questions and receive built-in support. Most importantly, administrators encouraged and rewarded change efforts, supported teachers to learn from mistakes and challenges, and fostered communication and collaboration.
Read the following article to hear about their personalization experiences from classroom teachers in the Calvert and Mancuso districts. How two teachers use advanced AI to personalize math instruction.
