Assignment #2 - Gallery Walk

Learning is Personal: Gallery Walk

Brie Ziegler Department of Graduate Teacher Education, Concordia University, St. Paul T&R CI 525: Innovation in Learning and Teaching, Cohort 239 Professor Teresa Monosmith October 7, 2023

Personalized Learning

Problem-Solving

Competency-Based Learning

Differentiation

Metacognition

Top 10 Concepts

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Supporting Invisible Disabilities

Standards-Based Grading

Problem-Based Learning

Inclusion

Mindfulness

Metacognition

Thinking about thinking

Thinking about thoughts helps students manage their emotions, find solutions to problems, and gain new insights. Metacognitive skills and strategies help students to foster resilience and self-awareness, moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. These skills can be utilized in a classroom setting as well as generalized into the real world.

Competency-Based learning

Skills over CoNtent

Competency-based learning (CBL) refers to a type of learning that focuses on performance-based and skills-driven style over traditional methods focused on covering content. This type of learning prioritizes the development of transferrable skills and more actively involves students in their education. CBL moves from a standardized structure to a structure that allows students to have more agency in their education.

Differentiation

Adapting instruction and assessment

Meeting the differing needs to students can be done in a multitude of ways. Strategies include: breaking down required skills, determine where the students are at, utilize small group lessons, and allowing for student choice. These interventions can be utilized even in a rigid curriulum or setting with little flexibility.

Personalized Learning

Tailoring to the individual

While there are many interpretations of personalized learning, the simplest is to customize the learning experience to the student taking into account skill level, preferences, experiences, and background with the hope of achieving improved outcomes. This can include the use of technology, providing student choice, or utilizing small group work.

Inclusion

Embracing diversity and differences

There is no true dichotomy between regular and special education students as each student has their own strengths and weaknesses and will fluctuate in these over time. Using an inclusive teaching method leads to a community environment where all students have the opportunity to thrive. Research indicates that when students are a part of a supportive learning community, they have higher levels of achievement and joy.

Problem-Based Learning

A student-based approach

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching strategy in which students work in groups to solve an open-ended problem. PBL links metacognition, problem-solving skills, and creativity to encourage students to work together. PBL can often be linked to real world problems and solving the "problem" is what drives the learning.

Supporting Invisible Disabilities

Using differentiation, empathy, and flexibility

Remaining cognizant that students may experience hidden challenges should be a top priority of educators. Empathy - not sympathy - provides validation and affirmation and offering choices provide non-threatening options for students. Flexible resources and deadlines when applicable help to provide more agency for students when they may already have unseen challenges that they are coping with.

Problem-Solving Skills

Using critical thinking to get unstuck

Teaching problem-solving skills in school helps to set students up with important lifelong skills. This can be done in countless formats across the curriculum from Science to English to SEL lessons. Students learn how to think critically and use decision-making skills that can be generalized to their lives outside of school.

Standards-Based Grading

Highlighting strengths and areas for growth

Standards-based grading creates a more equitable learning environment by using tools such as rubrics to clearly define what explicit skills and targets are needed to reach mastery. This helps to ensure that grading is more meaningful and accurate and uses the student's levels to guide performance on their path to mastery.

Mindfulness

paying attention on purpose

Students today report an unprecedented amount of stress and anxiety and the practice of mindfulness helps improve awareness and insight into one's present state. By interweaving mindfulness skills with social-emotional learning, students can reap benefits. Research has shown mindfulness to help improve self-soothing and emotion regulation, focus and attention, academic acheivement, and interpersonal relations.

Closing Statement

While it is nearly impossible to simultaneously implement all of these strategies, it is important to be knowledgable and cognizant about what works in the classroom. By being intentional in interactions with students, lesson planning, and classroom design, educators can create a more meaningful and impactful learning experience for students.

References

Beachboard, C. &Kersey, E. (2022, April 5). Getting started with standards-based grading. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/getting-started-standards-based-grading Canva. (n.d.). Bring learning to life. Canva. https://www.canva.com/ Center for Teaching Excellence. (n.d.). Teaching problem-solving skills. University of Waterloo. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/teaching-problem-solving-skills Center for Teaching Innovation. (n.d.). Problem-based learning. Cornell University. https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/engaging-students/problem-based-learning Herold, B. (2019 November, 5). What is personalized learning. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-is-personalized-learning/2019/11 Hudson, E. (2022, January 11). An introduction to competency-based learning: What, why, how. Global Online Academy. https://globalonlineacademy.org/insights/articles/an-introduction-to-competency-based-learning-what-why-how Ida, M. (2022, April 1). Supporting students with hidden disabilities. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/supporting-students-hidden-disabilities Jacobson, R. (2023, February 10). Metacognition: How thinking about thinking can help kids. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/how-metacognition-can-help-kids/ Nieves, K. (2018). Differentiation in a rigid curriculum. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/differentiation-rigid-curriculum Osten Gerzberg, C. (n.d.). Best practices for bringing mindfulness into schools. Mindful. https://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-in-education/ Willis, J. (2007). Brain friendly strategies for the inclusion classroom. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.