Three SC schools are piloting the use of the Profile of the SC Graduate Competencies with the support of the Office of Personalized Learning and reDesign. In this series of blog posts, we will follow the journey of each school as they work to make the Profile come alive for both teachers and students.
To read about the development of the PSCG competencies, as well as the overarching goals and process of the pilot program, read the first post in this blog series here.
Westview Elementary, a school in Berkeley County School District, started the pilot process of the PSCG competencies with third grade classes. Our office speaks a lot about how all learners, whether adults or children, have similar needs when it comes to personalized, competency-based learning. This belief was reflected in the partnership between reDesign and Westview Elementary. In work with both teachers and school leaders, the organic approach taken met these learners exactly as they were, providing them with next step approaches, following up on how the approaches worked, and living the journey with them. This is the same kind of approach we want teachers to take with their students: responsive, focused on learner needs, and flexible.
First Steps
Deciding which of the PSCG Competencies makes the most sense for this pilot school’s faculty to begin with in their journey! The pilot team, composed of teachers Maggie Sturgill and Julia Rowland, along with principal, Shawn Wimmer, and instructional coach, Kelly Stello, decided the Learning Independently competency would make the most sense. It is important to note that learning independently does not necessarily equate to working alone. Instead, this competency gives students a guide for knowing how to work in ways that support them in successful learning. Students become more adept at knowing what works best for them as a learner, and how they can bring those strengths to their learning, whether individually or with other learners in collaborative work.
In conversations with the pilot teachers, each one discussed their successes, current realities, and next step goals within this process. For one teacher, her goal centered around the preparation and maintenance of a classroom where students could be self-paced in their work in both their instructional grouping and their physical environments. She wanted to focus on the issue of student engagement and urgency in learning by providing flexibility in a variety of ways, such as students working independently, in groups, in the classroom, in common areas in the hallways, etc.
For another teacher, the plan was to transition away from a classroom schedule that allotted blocks of time for content areas. Instead, she would support students in scheduling their day in a personalized way where each student spent more time working on the content that needed his/her attention the most.
Learning Independently Competency and Learning Planners
Students utilized learning planners for goal setting, learning strategies, time needs, planning, and reflection. The teachers embedded the Learning Independently competency into these learning planners. As students used these planners to determine what standards they needed to work on next, set SMART goals with strategies for meeting the goals, monitored their own progress, and reflected on what made them successful (or impeded them) in meeting the goal(s), the Learning Independently competency supported them in this process.
Students had a sheet for their binders, or digitally, to state the standards at each step of the pathway. In order to make the competency, learning independently, singular with the learning pathway, a learning planner was developed as one place where the students begin their work, monitor their progress, and reflect after mastering the pathway content. The planner worked to help teachers with their goals to have students know how to work independently - how it should look, sound, and feel. It also supported students working on different content areas, working at different levels, and learning their best ways for working and learning.
The Impact of Supportive School Leadership
As with all transformational change, the move to personalized, competency-based learning requires the active support of school leadership. Westview Elementary’s principal, Shawn Wimmer, exemplified this active support of teachers implementing the competencies. She provided space and freedom to include the Learning Independently competency in the ways that worked best for the students and teachers. As a school leader, Shawn believes in the importance of being present, engaged, and involved in the implementation plans. Keeping in mind that a faculty is just as diverse in their needs, skills, and mindsets as students’ are in a classroom, Shawn engaged in reflective conversations around how to support her faculty in this transition.
Learning Pathways and Planners in Virtual/Hybrid Learning
One question we always want to address is, “How did COVID-19 impact this practice?” Teacher and principal interviews revealed that the work on the learning planner gave students an advantage over other students when COVID-19 closed schools and students were learning from home. According to results from a student survey, a majority of students used the components of the learning planner at school and at home at least some of the time. Because of the significant difference the learning planner made for the students, future goals include implementing the learning planner school-wide.
Westview Elementary’s journey in personalized, competency-based learning is well on its way, and we look forward to continuing to learn from them in their process! Want to learn more for your school, district, or classroom? Contact information for these teachers and school leader is below:
Shawn Wimmer, principal WimmerS@bcsdschools.net
Julia Rowland, 3rd grade teacher (now instructional coach) Rowlandjulia@bcsdschools.net
Maggie Sturgill, 3rd grade teacher sturgillj@bcsdschools.net
The next post in this blog series will focus on the implementation of competencies at the middle school level at Saluda Trail Middle School! Stay tuned!
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