Mo Physics Mo Problems

Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey have done an amazing job of showing how to view the process of personalizing learning by using the lens of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The UDL model looks at the process of learning in three distinct processes. Access - Learner is presented with new content or skill Engage - Learner works with new content or practices skill Express - Learner demonstrates mastery of content or skill By providing multiple methods/modes for each of these processes, students can allow students to design their own pathways to mastering content and skills. As students experiment with these different modes, they will discover who they are as a learner.  But, this is not simply a practice done through trial and error.  It needs to be done with intention. Bray and McClaskey present a framework through which learners can learn how they learn best and communicate it to others as well. This process of the learner knowing themselves has thr...

The new book How to Personalize Learning by Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey is a rich book which builds on their previous work Make Learning Personal .  The book can serve as a great introduction to getting started with personalizing learning in the classroom in addition to being a work which will help educators dive deeper into empowering learners within the classroom. There is a lot I took away from the book. But to better guide my reflections, I would like to focus on these four topics in separate posts: The Elements of Learner Agency Learners Knowing How They Learn Knowing How a Classroom Learns Designing Lessons for all Learners This post will focus on Learner Agency Before we can begin the journey to create an environment in which passive students become learners who can take control of their own learning, we need to understand the facets of what a learner with agency looks like. We cannot begin the journey without knowing where we ar...

In 2013, I attended my first EdCamp.  It was EdCamp Milwaukee organized by Chad Kafka, Tammy Lind, and Beth Lisowski.  At that first EdCamp, I met a lot of new faces that I would soon realize were great innovators in education.  It was the day I realized the power of a personal learning network. I learned about gamification from Michael Matera, Google tips and tricks from Jennie Magiera, fantastic tech toys from Tricia Louis, innovative PD design from Jason Bretzmann, and met essential people in my PLN like Brian Durst. The great thing about this network was that it was not grade level or subject specific.  We all had something to contribute to the conversation and something to learn from each other. All the unconferences I have attended have been great experiences.  That is why we have a team that is organizing an EdCamp in own district. It will be held on March 25, 2017, at Brookfield Central High School in Brookfield, WI.  All are welcome and...

I had a good time the last two weeks shifting schedules and experiences around for my physics students.  There was a very good reason for this shifting. Two of my 3 physics classes had the opportunity to share the physics of sound with 4th graders from Swanson Elementary. It's always a struggle when it turns out that some of your students will be able to have a special experience that the others won't.  There was a similar experience earlier this year when we had a different collaboration with Swanson. So what is a teacher to do? It's times like these where some of the greatest physics experiences come in.  I'm able to step out of activities that feel like they have a product that is for assessment.  The end product of the student work will be for them to share or simply be a challenge that will integrate some learning that deals with physics. It's enrichment.  It's not about introducing new content, but extending that content. There's nothing wron...