After 20 years of teaching at Brookfield Central, I am saying goodbye. Although I spent the majority of that time in the physics classroom alongside my learners. That changed for my last 18 weeks. I ended up in a place similar to where I started, teaching chemistry and biology. So, rather than dealing with juniors and seniors at the end of their high school careers, I was in classrooms with freshmen and sophomores still trying to find their place. At the same time, I was learning and teaching a set curriculum I hadn't taught in over a decade. So, we were learning. But, of course, I already knew the content. The point of this post is to take a step back, take in, and share the gratitude from the last students I had in my 20 years at Brookfield Central High School through the cards and notes they made for me on my last day with them. I don't take many yay me moments. But after 20 years, I think I'll soak this one in.
Any meaningful change in the classroom starts with a why and has a plan for implementation. I recently began a process constructed by the Institute for Personalized Learning called Constellation Creation for intentional innovation in the classroom. It is a process designed to not simply craft a vision, but to craft a vision with steps for immediate implementation. I plan on writing a series of posts about the process I am being guided through with my friend and specialist at the institute Kate Sommerville.
The Constellation is a multi-step process where you go from a sea of stars
To a series of manageable elements that include learning, relationships, and structures.
It is filled with a series of guided steps that I'm currently working through with Kate.
It begins with finding your North Star. That vision that will guide you. It is the constant. What you look up to set your course by and correct your course to. Here’s my vision.
When I think about my vision, I think Learner Agency sums it up. But it’s not as simple as just saying agency. I see agency in two major components in the classroom: Learning and Assessing. As I build my constellation, agency will be a guide. Moving towards a system in which learners are able to help co-design aspects of learning and assessment.
In the next stages of planning we will look at the what. What are we looking for in the classroom and what elements of the personalized learning model are the best fit for making a part of our constellation.
Kate brought a great revelation to me that is totally in line with the Mantra of the Innovators mindset. That is the importance of relationships. That is why when crafting a constellation, it's helpful to look at the elements that align with relationships and roles in the classroom. Take a look at these. Which one or ones they line up with your vision for your classroom. How will you shape a vision around them?
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