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This presentation focusing on the Collins-Maxwell school district's journey toward personalized learning. It focuses on policies, practices, challenges and successes in implementing a new form of education. It was presented at the ASCD Annual Conference.
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Our Journey To Personalized Learning
Josh Griffith Secondary Principal of Collins-Maxwell CSD
Jason Ellingson Superintendent of Collins-Maxwell [email protected]
Our Beginnings and Passions
• Josh Griffith – HS math teacher – Worked to create a system that would best
support every student’s learning• Jason Ellingson – MS LA teacher – Passion for Personalized Learning– Know the Learner, Grow the Learner
How We Met• Viterbo University, Iowa Center campus – Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment– Iowa Evaluator Approval Training Program– Jason hired Josh as the 6-12 principal for the 2011-
2012 school year
First Year Working Together• Iowa’s Educational Blueprint – Goal to create World-Class Schools– Competency-Based Education– Forum on CBE in December 2011
• Trace Pickering’s response to the Blueprint– Former K-12 educator– Passionate about transforming education– Goal to unlock the potential of every child
• Developed a vision of what we wanted for all of our teachers and students
Developed KASABs for all stakeholders
• Knowledge – What people will need to know• Attitude – What people need to believe• Skills – What people must be able to do• Aspirations – What people desire• Behaviors – Behaviors that must be present
Developed a Theory of Change• Theory of Change consists of all the building
blocks necessary to accomplish a goal• Focused on the logistics of changing the entire
system – schedules, course offerings, special education, gifted and talented, classroom design, even teacher roles and certification
Immersed Ourselves in Education Transformation
• Read Off the Clock by Fred Bramante and Rose Colby
• Went to the Education Transformation Camp organized by Trace Pickering to brainstorm how to unlock the potential of every child
• Attended Iowa CBE workshop sessions in central Iowa with regional schools
What is Competency-Based Education?
• An education system based on students’ owning their learning rather than seat time
• Students must demonstrate their knowledge or skills required for a course before they may move on
• A new system that supports “anytime, any place, any pathway, any pace” learning
Current Reality• Bells that ring every 43 minutes to designate the
next class• Semester beginning and end dates that signify the
first and last moment in time that a student is permitted to learn the content covered in that semester
• Students penalized with lower grades, zeroes, and worse … never being given the opportunity to master the learning, because they didn’t know something by a specific date
Current Reality (cont.)• Students not required to master learning
before moving on• In some classes students are permitted to pass
a class without passing any assessments just because they turned in all of their work
• Learning recorded with letter grades that tell us … What?
Current Reality (cont.)• Little to no student ownership of learning• Students as recipients of knowledge• A system that perfectly fits very few to, some
would argue, no students• A system that typically either holds students
back or pushes them too fast
Desired State• A system where students become learners,
and teachers facilitators of their learning• Learners learning at their pace• Learners not just required, but motivated, to
demonstrate competency before moving on• Learners taking ownership of their learning
Desired State (cont.)• Learners self advocating their learning• Learners given a voice and choice in their
learning as well as demonstration of their learning
• System of grading that tells learners what they know and are able to do
Desired State (cont.)• A system that recognizes the great deal of
learning that occurs outside the walls of the school
• A system that personalizes the learning for every learner
• A system that unlocks the potential of every child
How do we get there?• One conversation at a time– Building Leadership Team • What would an education system look like if the goal
was to unlock the full potential of every child?
– Elementary is currently Standards-Based Grading – and discussing how to improve this.
– Collaboration with Van Meter Schools to learn more about CBE
How do we get there?• One conversation at a time (more)– Flipped Chemistry Class– Math teacher moving to Standards-Based Learning– Five Teachers attending the Rick Wormeli Standards-
Based Grading Conference in Des Moines– CTE Teachers discussing how they can record their
competencies– Invitation to staff to talk about CBE and to go to the
Iowa ASCD CBE conference
How do we get there?• Jason co-chairs the Iowa CBE Legislative Task
Force• Jason is the President of the Iowa ASCD
affiliate and is organizing the Iowa CBE Conference on June 26-27
• Josh and Jason have written blog posts on personalized learning
How do we get there?• By being prepared to remove all barriers as
staff are ready• By being willing to blow the system up when
staff, community, and students are ready
TNT for CBE• www.joshgriffith.wordpress.com• www.jasonellingson.wordpress.com• www.competencyworks.org• www.iacomped.com• www.iowaascd.org • @JoshNGriffith• @JasonEllingson
Iowa ASCD CBE Conference• Helping educators to– DEFINE what is competency-based education– DESIGN a classroom and system for CBE– DELIVER on the promise of meeting every
student’s needs and interests• June 26-27 in Des Moines, IA
Thank You!• Together, we can create a new system that
supports “anytime, any place, any pathway, any pace” learning
• Begin to unlock – and support – the potential of each and every learner in your system
Contact Information• Josh Griffith – @JoshNGriffith– [email protected]
• Jason Ellingson– @JasonEllingson– [email protected]
