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Let Flexibility Lead To Alignment

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  In my previous school district, I was the only teacher teaching a physics course with set, district-wide learning outcomes. These same outcomes were also taught in physics classrooms at the other high school in our district. But at our school, I was one of the 2 physics teachers. The other teacher taught the AP-level physics courses. So, in many ways, I had opportunities to incorporate strategies I believed were best for learners and that I found worked best for them without being seen as out of alignment with anyone in our building. My amazing friend and one of my teaching philosophy goddesses, Katie Novak, stated the following misconception about alignment: All teachers must deliver instruction in the exact same way. True alignment, she says, is about shared goals, rigor, and outcomes. Thank you, Katie! Katie has taught me to truly believe that learner variability is the rule, not the exception. I encourage you to take 10 minutes to listen to Katie Novak explain it in the ...
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Class Portfolios 2020

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As I reflect on the past school year, I just wanted to share out a couple of the final class portfolios my students made using Google Sites to share out and document the current iteration. Although this semester was altered by the COVID-19 Pandemic, students were still able to complete the portfolio process. 

Physics Portfolio

The Portfolio created by my physics students has several key pages
  • Home
  • Passions
  • Learner Profile
  • Unit Pages
But I think it would be best if we just let Morgan introduce her portfolio.

Passion Page

On the passion page, students describe themselves in 4 different categories with the help of YouTube videos they embed.
  1. Hope & Dreams
  2. Favorites in Media
  3. Hobbies
  4. What I Like to Make
Click the Image to Access Morgan's Passions Page


Learner Profile

The learner page consists of 2 major elements.
  1. The Learner Profile developed by Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey in which learners apply a UDL Lens to identify their strengths, challenges and preferences as a learner. This is completed in the first days of the class and is updated during the course
  2. At the end of the course, students identify 3 strengths as a learner and provide evidence to back it up.
Click the Image to Access Morgan's Learner Profile Page


Unit Pages

At the end of each unit, students provide evidence of mastery for 4 different Next Generation Science Practices for work completed within the unit. In the page below, Morgan has embedded evidence from her Google Drive. This process is super easy in Google Sites.
Click the Image to Access Morgan's Motion Unit Page


AP Physics Portfolio

We revisit the portfolio in Physics at the end of each unit. In AP Physics, the portfolio is worked on at the end of each term (we are on the block schedule so each term is a quarter). Much of the portfolio is the same in terms of the Passions and Learner Profile Pages. But rather than unit pages, students set up science standards pages based on AP Science Practices. Students provide a piece of evidence related to each practice at the end of each term. 
Below, Vera will explain her portfolio.


Click the Image to Access Vera's Portfolio

The videos you watched above were created by students using Flipgrid which works very nicely with Google Sites. As Google Sites continues to add new functionality, the ability for students to customize and make truly beautiful portfolios continues to grow. I look forward to what the summer will bring and what our next iteration will look like. 
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