Learning Personalized

Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom provides teachers, administrators, and educational leaders with a clear and practical guide to personalized learning. Written by respected teachers and leading educational consultants Allison Zmuda, Greg Curtis, and Diane Ullman, this comprehensive resource explores what personalized learning looks like, how it changes the roles and responsibilities of every stakeholder, and why it inspires innovation. The authors explain that, in order to create highly effective personalized learning experiences, a new instructional design is required that is based loosely on the traditional model of apprenticeship: learning by doing.

Learning Personalized challenges educators to rethink the fundamental principles of schooling that honors students' natural willingness to play, problem solve, fail, re-imagine, and share. This groundbreaking resource:

• Explores the elements of personalized learning and offers a framework to achieve it
• Provides a roadmap for enrolling relevant stakeholders to create a personalized learning vision and reimagine new roles and responsibilities
• Addresses needs and provides guidance specific to the job descriptions of various types of educators, administrators, and other staff

This invaluable educational resource explores a simple framework for personalized learning: co-creation, feedback, sharing, and learning that is as powerful for a teacher to re-examine classroom practice as it is for a curriculum director to reexamine the structure of courses.

ALLISON ZMUDA is an international consultant who works with schools and districts to create dynamic learning environments and author of seven books. She is founder and curator of the online community LearningPersonalized.com

GREG CURTIS has worked with international schools around the world as a technology director, a curriculum and professional learning director, and a strategic planner. He currently consults on strategy, systems-based change and approaches to deep learning in private and public schools and districts.

DIANE ULLMAN is Senior Director with the District Management Council, a firm that partners with educational leaders to improve student outcomes and operational efficiency. She formerly served as Superintendent in Simsbury, Connecticut schools and was the 2012 Connecticut Superintendent of the Year.

Foreword xi

Acknowledgments xv

About the Authors xvii

Introduction 1

1 Making the Case for Personalized Learning 5

Disconnect between Traditional School and Preparation for a Postsecondary World 6

The Power of a Student-Driven Model 7

Contemporary Issues of Control 12

Personalized Learning Evolution 15

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 21

Works Cited 21

2 The Aims of Contemporary Schooling 23

Element 1: Disciplinary Outcomes 25

Element 2: Cross-Disciplinary Outcomes 30

Element 3: Mindsets 47

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 55

Works Cited 56

3 The Design of a Student-Driven Learning Experience 59

Element 4: Task 60

Element 5: Audience 63

Element 6: Feedback 67

Element 7: Evaluation 70

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 72

Works Cited 73

4 Tasks That Demonstrate Personalized Learning Evolution in Practice 75

Inspiration for Task Designs 76

How the Role of the Teacher Shifts 95

How the Role of the Student Shifts 103

Needed Systems and Supports beyond the Classroom 104

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 107

Work Cited 108

5 What Personalized Learning Looks Like at the Instructional Level 109

Element 8: Process 110

Element 9: Environment 119

A Day-in-the-Life Narrative 124

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 128

Work Cited 129

6 What Personalized Learning Looks Like at the Systems Level 131

Element 10: Demonstration of Learning 132

Element 11: Time 143

Element 12: Advancement 145

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 147

Works Cited 147

7 Leading the Change for Personalized Learning 149

Clearly Articulating and Creating Urgency for Personalized Learning (the Why) 150

Giving Back the Work to Teachers (the How) 152

Managing Change as It Is Occurring (the What) 155

Conclusion and Reflective Questions 160

Works Cited 161

The Conclusion of the Era of One-Size-Fits-All Schooling 163

Appendix A: Additional Resources for Chapters 13 165

Appendix B: Additional Resources for Chapter 4 181

Appendix C: Additional Resources for Chapters 5 and 6 193

Appendix D: Additional Resources for Chapter 7 203

Index 209