What’s New in K-12 Competency-Based Education?

Resources

• iNACOL released a report, A National Landscape Scan of Personalized Learning in K-12 Education in the United States, which uses survey responses to provide insights on how personalized learning is developing nationwide as well as important trends, such as professional learning communities geared toward personalization.
• CompetencyWorks published Levers and Logic Models: A Framework to Guide Research and Design of High-Quality Competency-Based Education Systems, which provides logic models for practitioners and researchers to gain a better understanding of the components of competency-based education.
• IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing educational technology innovation, impact and interoperability, announced a new collaboration among IMS member organizations to launch a free digital registry of state K-12 academic standards.
• KnowledgeWorks has several new resources including imagining what a competency-based transcript might look like, the role of the teacher in a personalized, competency-based classroom, and a chart comparing the traditional system and competency-based learning.
• Great Schools Partnership has launched a Data Dialogue Series, which is used to inspire reflection and conversation about the regional achievement gap in New England.
• Lindsay Unified is sponsoring a podcast called Lindsay Live where you can learn about their approach to learning.
• New Schools Venture Fund has made available a video of all of their speakers and panels from their recent Summit.

Around the Web

• Men of Character: The Vertus Perspective from NGLC presents an excellent mini-case study on character education at Vertus High School in Rochester, NY.
• School funding: Let’s put our money where our future is by Nick Donahue is an opinion piece that challenges the community to invest in what students need to succeed for the future of education.
• This blog by Julia Freeland Fisher explores how developmental relationships can have an effect on a student’s success in both immediate and long-term measures.
• Show what you know: The shift to competency by Tom Vander Ark explains the importance of moving away from traditional education and allowing students the opportunity to demonstrate mastery in newer models.
• The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning offers a reading titled, Learning Cycles: A Powerful Tool for Teacher-to-Teacher Professional Learning, which provides tips and a framework for impactful professional learning in K-12 education.
• Forbes highlights Kettle Moraine School District for their innovative leadership and provides 10 lessons to learn from them.

On Personalization

• Thomas Arnett offers three valuable teaching insights in personalized learning.
• This article provides an analysis of how pioneering schools can best deliver personalized learning for students.
• Julia Freeland Fisher explores how standardization can be used to benefit personalization in learning.
• Getting Smart offers nine ways to make student work more authentic.

 From the States

Colorado

• Listen to teachers at District 51 reflect on performance-based learning in a video from KnowledgeWorks.
• Westminster Public Schools will create an elementary school based on the Marzano Academy.

Connecticut

• Parents are petitioning the grading at Windsor Locks, as the district rolled up a mastery-based approach from earlier grades to high school.

Maine

• Across the state, communities continue the conversation about proficiency-based learning as they continue implementation. View two videos of local news coverage including Part 1 and Part 2.
• Communities such as York and Auburn are considering moving away from proficiency-based grading and returning back to a more traditional system.

Michigan

• The state is lifting up conversations about competency-based learning. For example, here is an article about Roger Curtis, director of the Michigan Department of Talent and Economic Development, who said that lifelong learning will be the new norm.

Vermont

• Natasha Grey, a 6th grade Math and Social Studies teacher at Charlotte Central School was recognized by the Vermont Association for Middle Level Education for her student-led, proficiency-based approach to teaching and learning, and the infusion of interdisciplinary and multimedia projects with her students.
• Champlain Valley Union High School held its Grad Challenge Day where students present their independent research project that taps into their own personal interests and skills.