College Park Elementary educators Keri Martin (Elementary Resource teacher) and Lyndsie Baker (Kindergarten teacher) share about their own personalized learning journeys and the benefits student-centered learning has had on students they serve.
How were you introduced to personalizing student learning?
Keri: I was part of the cohort in the 2018/2019 school year and it was interrupted by COVID. We started with the Empower book by John Spencer and I learned so much just getting started that way. We started doing some work here at our school and I got to apply some of the things we were talking about in the cohort.
Lyndsie: I was part of that same cohort Keri is talking about. I had taken a course on personalized learning also and that included watching how it is integrated in classrooms. I have been doing my best to stay with it as best I can with kindergarteners.
After you engaged with the cohort, how did you start infusing PL practices in the classroom?
Keri: I started in the place I was most comfortable, which was the culture and climate of my classroom. For example, I started having my students more involved in classroom goals and expectations so they could have more student ownership. Since I was already kind of comfortable with the social emotional aspect of it, that's where I started by helping my students be more self-aware of these things.
Lyndsie: I tried to create experiences to help kids identify their own learner profiles. For me, when it comes to any of our PD, I know how I learn but I never really thought about what ways work best with my kids. So I started with the environment, and asking, “What works best for them?” I started thinking of opportunities they have said they would enjoy, like using Kids Bop and seeing what they like the best and giving them that voice in how we are going to do different things.
"How do you learn best?" It was a challenge for my students to think about those things. They had to think more about their own learning than they ever had to before.
In the midst of those implementations, did you encounter any stumbling blocks or challenges? What were they?
Keri: I think with learner profiles, a lot of my students were quick to say they don't know how they learn best and they didn't want to self reflect. Sometimes with kids with disabilities, it’s difficult for them to articulate their thoughts, because some of them are dealing with deficits in expressive and receptive language sometimes. So it was important to support them in thinking about themselves instead of giving me answers they think I want to hear to the question, “How do you learn best?” It was a challenge for my students to think about those things. They had to think more about their own learning than they ever had to before.
Lyndsie: For me, the stumbling blocks were more personal. The release of control was harder for me. The mindset that they are five and six years old, so they aren't going to know what they want. But once I could get past my own bias and control and relinquish that, it started to get better.
What is it like now with your implementation in the current context? How has implementing student-centered practices helped your students right now?
Keri: For my students and for me, we are exclusively using learning pathways in math. It's helpful when students are out on quarantine, they have the option to work from home when they are in quarantine. But a lot of the time, it doesn't happen because they don't have the resources or support to learn that way and it isn’t the best way for them to learn. For the 20 days they are gone, when they come back, they can jump right back into where they were and where they left off because they have a pathway to guide them. It's not like they missed an entire unit. I’m a resource teacher so I implement what's happening in the general education class.
I'm also working at a different pace than other teachers who aren't using the pathways yet. So I've had to shift my thinking there because I am teaching to mastery and it has taken me a long time to be okay with that. I have priority standards that I am focusing on and we don't move ahead until we have mastered it or until we have come to a point of frustration and we need to take a break and look at it from a different angle. That does happen too. When a student has been stuck at a point on a pathway, we move on and come back and try something different. I’m not just going to push a student along just because the pacing guide says to. But it’s still a struggle for me.
Lyndsie: That shift from going for mastery as opposed to just checking off a box is hard but it’s one I have made too. And when I grade my students, I look at it critically and think, “Where are they? Are they mastering this yet?” Because if not, this group of kids may not need to move on and they need small groups because they aren't there yet. Teaching to mastery is so important, especially with basic reading skills in kindergarten, so I have to make that shift. It’s so much more about meeting them where they are, not where you want them to be.
What is one piece of advice you would tell people about making a shift to PL?
Keri: “Start small” was the best piece of advice I got from the cohorts because it can really be overwhelming when you look at the big picture. You don't have to change everything overnight. Pick something small where you feel comfortable, like I did with culture in my class, to start to make small shifts. So even if you’re changing one little thing at a time, it’s okay. Everything I have tried has not been successful every time, because if it works for someone else, it might not work for my students. Don't get discouraged because I think it’s really worth it in the end. Those little changes make a big difference.
Lyndsie: Definitely starting small because you look at what the outcome can be and it’s not going to happen overnight. Also, take time to reflect, but be kind in your reflections. They’ll say, “Learn from your mistakes,” and that's true but I've also had more growth with reflecting on what works and what doesn’t work and that is what has helped me the most.
Want to hear more about Keri's and Lyndsie's journeys to personalize learning in their classrooms?
Listen to the podcast episode here: https://anchor.fm/personalizesc/episodes/Ep--25---Reflecting-on-the-Journey-A-Conversation-with-Keri-and-Lyndsie-e17gcut
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