Discusses the six most pervasive problem areas in high school education today, and what schools are doing to connect with students, personalize learning, differentiate instruction, and make high school curriculum more relevant.
Personalized Learning: A Guide for Engaging Students with Technology is designed to help educators make sense of the shifting landscape in modern education. While changes may pose significant challenges, they also offer countless opportunities to engage students in meaningful ways to improve their learning outcomes. Personalized learning is the key to engaging students, as teachers are leading the way toward making learning as relevant, rigorous, and meaningful inside school as outside and what kids do outside school: connecting and sharing online, and engaging in virtual communities of their own Renowned author of the Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go series, Dale Basye, and award winning educator Peggy Grant, provide a go-to tool available to every teacher today—technology as a way to ‘personalize’ the education experience for every student, enabling students to learn at their various paces and in the way most appropriate to their learning styles.
You can develop the skills to meet the needs of learners in any learning environment. This approachable, in-depth guide unites the adaptability of Universal Design for Learning with the flexibility of blended learning, equipping educators with the tools they need to create relevant, authentic, and meaningful learning pathways to meet students where they're at, no matter the time and place or their pace and path. With step-by-step guidance and clear strategies, authors Katie Novak and Catlin Tucker empower teachers to implement these frameworks in the classroom, with a focus on cultivating community, building equity, and increasing accessibility for all learners. As we face increasing uncertainty and frequent disruption to traditional ways of living and learning, UDL and Blended Learning offers bold, innovative, inclusive solutions for navigating a range of learning landscapes, from the home to the classroom and all points in between, no matter what obstacles may lie ahead.
Put learning back into the hands of the learner! Through personalized learning, education as we know it is transformed as learners are empowered to take control of their own learning. This thorough and timely resource draws on Universal Design for Learning® principles to create a powerful shift in classroom dynamics by guiding learners to become self-directed, self-monitoring, and self-motivated. You’ll discover: A system that includes tools and strategies to reduce barriers and maximize learning for all learners A clear explanation distinguishing personalized learning from differentiation and individualized instruction Teachers’ personal stories of moving through the Stages of Personalized Learning Environments to transform teacher and learner roles and school culture Background information on developing a rationale on why to personalize learning Strategies to create the change that occurs with the culture shift that happens in classrooms and schools as you personalize learning. Recognized authorities in personalized learning, the authors have led educational innovation for almost three decades. "As an educator for more than 30 years, I have seen a myriad of ideas to improve education. Personalized learning could truly be the game-changer! Barbara and Kathleen have certainly done their homework in clearly defining what it means to personalize learning. They identify stages that can help teachers gradually adapt their role, moving from a teacher-centered classroom to a learner-driven environment. This book will serve as a valuable handbook as educators make the decision to empower their learners!" - Betty Wottreng, Director of Technology Services, Verona Area School District, Wisconsin
This book is the color print version (go here for the black and white version: http://bit.ly/k12blended-print). This book is your guide to blended teaching in K-12 settings. It was designed to help both pre-service and in-service teachers prepare their classes for blended teaching. The book can be accessed in several different formats at http://edtechbooks.org/k12blended.This book begins by orienting you to the foundational dispositions and skills needed to support your blended teaching practice. Then you will be introduced to four key competencies for blended teaching which are: (1) Online Integration - ability to effectively combine online instruction with in-person instruction. (2) Data Practices - ability to use digital tools to monitor student activity and performance in order to guide student growth. (3) Personalization - ability to implement a learning environment that allows for student customization of goals, pace, and/or learning path. (4) Online Interaction - ability to facilitate online interactions with and between students. The final chapter of the book helps you bring all four competencies together as you implement blended teaching in your classroom.
What will it take to move your high school to the next level? In Becoming a Great High School, former principal Tim Westerberg emphasizes that significant improvement in any high school must start with improving the quality of instruction in the classroom. But the isolated efforts of individual teachers aren't enough. If your school is functioning like "a collection of educational entrepreneurs held together by a common parking lot," it's time for teachers and administrators to work together and pursue comprehensive, coordinated strategies that will help all students succeed. Westerberg's 6+1 Model for High School Reform shows how high-achieving schools maintain success and identifies what other schools can do to achieve similar results: * Adopt a we-expect-success attitude. * Develop clear instructional goals. * Implement effective instruction. * Use frequent formative assessment. * Track student progress. * Provide timely intervention for struggling students. * Celebrate student success. Westerberg provides comprehensive research on high school reform from leading education experts, candid examples from his 26 years as a principal, and thought-provoking insights from other high school leaders who have taken up the call to improve their schools. If you're ready to take your high school to the next level, this book will give you the tools and strategies to make the leap and create a school that enables all students to reach their full potential.
Be your child's best advocate! Children with special needs who succeed in school have one thing in common--their parents are passionate and effective advocates. It's not an easy job, but with The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education, you will learn how to evaluate, prepare, organize, and get quality services, no matter what your child's disability. This valuable handbook gives you the tools you need to navigate the complex world of special education and services, with information on: Assessment and evaluation Educational needs for different disabilities, including multiple disabilities Current law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Working within the school system to create an IEP The importance of keeping detailed records Dealing with parent-school conflict With worksheets, forms, and sample documents and letters, you can be assured that you'll have all you need to help your child thrive--in school and in life!
If we want our students to be prepared for a life involved with artificial intelligence, global awareness, cultural understanding, racial, religious and lifestyle diversity, and changing economic and political realities, then we have to change what we are doing in our schools from pre-school to graduate school. We can no longer wait for large-scale reforms to develop, because those reforms will only occur due to some kind of tragedy. If schools are going to reform proactively, educators in each school and in each district have to lead the way.
Why is it that so many students see high school as a prison sentence to be endured rather than a time to learn and grow? According to DiMartino and Clark, many high school students feel invisible and isolated. They don't see the relevance of what they are being taught, and they don't see how their classes are preparing them for success as adults. This book offers a new vision for high schools--a vision that puts students at the center of their learning. Personalized high schools engage students by allowing them to plan and develop their own pathways through school based on their talents, interests, and aspirations. The book describes six promising practices that are emerging in high schools: * Guided Personalized Learning. Teachers act as advisors to small groups of students over two to six years to review personal learning plans, assist in course selection, and discover opportunities in the community. * Personal Learning Plans. Students meet regularly with parents, advisors, mentors, and peers to review progress and plan next steps. * Personalized Teaching. Teachers differentiate instruction to allow students to explore different aspects of the subject and produce authentic work that shows their understanding. * Community-Based Learning. Active involvement in the community helps clarify a student's purpose and defines the steps necessary to achieve successful adult roles. * Personalized Assessment. Rather than grades and tests scores, the work itself--portfolios, exhibitions, and student-led conferences--shows what the students have learned. * Personalizing school systems. Some schools are moving past the Carnegie unit and focusing instead on helping each student achieve specified competencies, often through learning experiences that the students themselves have helped design. These six practices can improve learning for all students by engaging them in shaping their own high school experience and discovering how the academic skills they learn in school can have meaning in the world they will negotiate as adults.
The recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) presents new opportunities and greater flexibility in efforts to personalize learning for all children. The Handbook on Personalized Learning for States, Districts, and Schools provides insight and guidance on maximizing that new flexibility. Produced by the Center on Innovations in Learning (CIL), one of seven national content centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education, this volume suggests how teachers can enhance personalized learning by cultivating relationships with students and their families to better understand a child’s learning and motivation. Personalized learning also encourages the development of students’ metacognitive, social, and emotional competencies, thereby fostering students’ self?direction in their own education, one aimed at mastery of knowledge and skills and readiness for career and college. Chapters address topics across the landscape of personalized learning, including co?designing instruction and learning pathways with students; variation in the time, place, and pace of learning, including flipped and blended classrooms; and using technology to manage and analyze the learning process. The Handbook’s chapters include Action Principles to guide states, districts, and schools in personalizing learning.