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By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

Personalized learning capitalizes on students' almost instinctual ability to use technology, but it is so much more than technology and algorithms. It is the purposeful design of blended instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and student-to-student collaboration to leverage each student's interests for deeper learning. When done right, it meets several of the ISTE Standards for Students and ISTE Standards for Educators while leading to a more rigorous, challenging, engaging and thought-provoking curriculum.

Over the last four years, I have transformed my traditional classroom into a blended-learning environment that provides a more personalized learning experience for each one of my students. It hasn't been easy. It's taken a lot of research, trial and error, and adjustments. But the results have definitely been worth it.

Here are five lessons I've learned that have helped me take my classroom from a traditional sage-on-the-stage affair to a tech-assisted personalized learning haven.

1. Learn from others.

I won't lie. The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine. But I didn't give up, and eventually I had more successes than failures. My students' input and further pedagogical study helped me refine my lesson planning until I got it right.

I started by researching personalized and blended learning as a member of the Rodel Teacher Council (RTC) to create the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware. I was also a member of the BRINC Consortium, a group formed to implement blended learning in several Delaware districts.

Being able to work with other teachers also implementing blended learning was key to my continued growth. We worked with Modern Teacher to understand the shifts in pedagogy necessary to transition to blended learning. I heard Caitlin Tucker at a BRINC training and have used her books to guide my continued development.

All of these experiences helped me find more effective ways to lead my students while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning. On top of that, learning from and collaborating with others is a hallmark of the new ISTE Standards for Educators, which advise us to "dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems."

2. Use the technology you have.

Although it is not the focus of a student-centered classroom, technology plays a big part in the success of this approach because it allows the differentiation of instruction, assessment and expression of learning as well as the collection of student data.

We don't have a 1:1 environment at this time, but the students - who are my co-learners and teachers - have helped me adapt to whatever tools are available. The standard hardware in core content classrooms throughout my district includes a set of 15 iPads, a projector and a document camera.

Students are allowed to use their cell phones for educational purposes. We use Schoology as a learning management system. I use Google Classroom and curriculum sites such as CommonLit | Free Fiction & Nonfiction Literacy Resources to embed high-quality digital content within our LMS. Much to my surprise, technology itself plays the smallest role in providing personalized learning for my students.

3. Let students make choices.

When I first embarked on this mission, I decided to "release" one piece of the assignment at a time in an effort to control student's' pathway through the material. Since then, I have learned to take a more personalized approach to assignments, which also aligns to the ISTE Standard for Educators that advise us to "foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings."

Class often starts with a mini-lesson, which then flows into students making choices about what they need to do next to meet specific learning targets aligned to the standards.

My units in Schoology offer guidance to the students while allowing them to choose their own learning pathways and complete the activities in the order that makes the most sense to them.

For instance, while reading a short story, they can choose between just reading or reading along as they listen to a story. They can also decide whether to annotate online or on a printed copy. They can take notes on paper or record their thoughts verbally as they analyze the story.

While my students are still required to write traditional essays on many assignments, they also get the chance to show their learning in a variety of other ways. When appropriate, they can submit their analysis by writing a traditional essay, creating a website, creating infographics, writing a script for a video that they then record or via a communication tool they suggest.

4. Choose the best content delivery method.

I had another a-ha moment when I finally understood how to choose the right delivery method for various types of content. My first few attempts included finding a video on each topic to provide background information or delivering a face-to-face lecture on a new concept, followed by an online quiz. My inaugural online lesson consisted of a folder with a page for my essential question, a copy of my PowerPoint and a link for students to submit their notes.

But I was simply using technology in place of my normal face-to-face teaching. When asked to explain the "why" behind my choices during professional learning sessions, I realized there was more to creating blended lessons than simply adding technology.

Today, I carefully construct my units with specific learning goals that drive the method of delivery and learning activities. When deciding how to structure my lessons, I look at the learning activities I've used in the past to decide which were successful and which need to be refined or replaced. As a result, instead of lecturing to students and showing them a PowerPoint during class time, I often give them screencasts or videos to watch at home.

The screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant, are better than PowerPoints because students can hear my voice instead of clicking through a silent slide deck. And videos are better than face-to-face lectures because they can skip forward, pause or rewind as needed until they get the lesson. They still get a chance to ask questions during our class time or online.

This flipped learning setup frees up my students to use class time to practice their skills. For instance, they might annotate a short story or poem in Google Docs or take part in a Socratic seminar. During our unit on research into social justice issues, students receive a digital review of the research process and choose their learning activities based on their needs. Some may meet with me to review how to embed quotes while other groups start planning their presentations and still others work independently on gathering valid research.

5. Assess as you go.

Instead of just giving a final exam at the end of each unit, I try to use formative assessment to enable me to give my students guidance and assistance when they need it. I use a variety of methods for this. For instance, my video lectures often include interactive questions to assess their understanding of the material. Playposit and TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing are my go-to tools for this type of assessment. And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me instant, actionable feedback on what we need to do next, who needs to be pulled into a small group for reteaching and who would be better off in a group that pursues extended learning while I reteach the rest of the class.

I also gather formative assessment data through:

Discussion threads.

Self-grading quizzes, which give students immediate and actionable feedback on their proficiency in specific skills.

Monitoring of students works in progress on Google Docs.

Exit tickets, which assess the class' comfort level with new concepts.

I use all of this data to inform adjustments to learning activities as well as selection of resources to help students meet the standards addressed in the unit. When the assessments show a student has mastered a skill, I can provide them with instruction to go deeper or learn new skills.

6. Pull it all together.

My original objective was to transform my classroom into a blended learning model that would give my students the best access to rigorous, engaging, personalized learning experiences.

Going into my fifth year, I am pleased with the progress we've made toward this goal and excited to implement new ideas including more flexibility in seating and groups as well as a better use of formative data.

My classroom today is a vastly different place than it was five years ago. Instead of showing up to class to hear me deliver all the content and teach the skills they need to meet the standards for our curriculum, my students are now the masters of their own learning destinies.

Instead of relying on notes they take during one-time lectures, they can access and even return to my videos and screencasts and other resources when they need them most, as they are working on an assignment or reviewing for a test.

My role used to be standing in front of the room lecturing about the research process, modeling various components and monitoring students' progress toward a final, correctly formatted research paper.

Recently I began partnering with the Human Ecology Foundation to expose my students to a range of real-world issues. The students then form groups and choose one to research and propose a solution or way to make an impact. Not only are they learning to do authentic research, they will be volunteering and learning about the issue through first-hand experience. Students can even win a scholarship for their research and projects!

I am available to assist students, conduct check-ins, and assess their individual responsibilities and group outcomes throughout the project. But most of the time I just stay out of the way while they learn how to effectively research, collaborate and create presentations together.

The biggest compliment I have received since all this started came from a student in my AP Language and Composition class. He told me, "Your class is easy. I don't mean simple - I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work."

I strive to make my classes that kind of "easy" for every student I teach. Across the board, my students acknowledge that they feel better prepared for college or jobs because of our use of collaborative technology. I've had students who are now in college tell me that our use of digital content made it easier for them to adjust to college.
Robyn Howton is English Department Chair and the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) coordinator at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a member of the Rodel Teacher Council, which created the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware, and a member of the original cohort of the BRINC consortium. This is an updated version of an article that originally published on May 19, 2015.

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Turn your classroom into a personalized learning environment

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By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

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We have a few answers to this question. One is that personalized learning always involves these core four elements - targeted instruction, data-driven decisions, flexible content, and student reflection and ownership. Check out our Core Four white paper for a more detailed description of these elements, as well as classroom examples.

Another answer is that, "it depends" - we believe strongly in the design thinking process, and that school leaders and teachers are in the best place to put together instructional models that meet the needs of their students. Check out this great blog post on the process by my colleague, Kelly!

That being said, we realize that we can never answer this question enough. In response to this demand, here is a short collection of videos, photos, artifacts, and teacher testimonies that we hope will help illustrate what personalized learning could look like at your school or district. Some of these examples are from Education Elements districts and schools, and some are from other places!

Personalized learning is: Incorporating Self-Reflection and Goal-Setting

In Middletown, NY , the school culture incorporates student reflection and goal-setting starting with the youngest grades. Check out these classroom photos of goal-setting artifacts.

From a Middletown teacher: "[Students] use a Google form, and t
he forms are sent to me automatically so I am able to instantaneously see how they are self-assessing. It gives them a sense of accountability and it also lets me be aware of how they think they did... I use their self-assessment to help guide my instruction and to help group them for math and ELA." Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Student Ownership & Reflection
Personalized Learning is: Flexible & Intentional Master Schedules

In Wake County, NC, school leaders at Rogers Lane Elementary School have created a master schedule that's aligned to their three core principles: Agents of Change, Out of this World Learning, and Intentional and Reciprocal Relationships. While it's still a work in progress, the schedule does a wonderful job of showing the back-end work it takes to explicitly incorporate co-teaching, multi-level classrooms, student choice, and blocks for targeted small-group instruction.

Additionally, to help parents and students better understand how this schedule would affect a student's daily experience, Rogers Lane created a "Day in the Life of" Primer .
Check out this classroom teacher as she talks about her approach to Flexible Path and Pace Check out this video from a high school teacher, where she describes how she has students use a digital tool to demonstrate their ability to collect and analyze data from a field exercise.
Personalized Learning is: Using Digital Content and Tools in a Purposeful Way - Flexible Path and Pace
Check out from an elementary school teacher about how he uses a portfolio of digital content tools in his classes. These last 2 videos are part of a larger collection of great this video videos from BetterLesson on blended learning strategies.

Personalized Learning is: Incorporating Personalized Playlists

Many personalized learning classrooms incorporate flexible pacing by having students go through content via playlists. However, not all playlists are personalized.

My colleague Brittany, in partnership with teachers and school leaders at Rochester School District, NH, put together this helpful Playlist Building 101 Guide that describes how to build a personalized learning playlist.

Personalized Learning is: Planning for Flexible Seating
Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL Photo: Loudoun County Public Schools (VA), Twitter #LoudounPL

Flexible seating is a popular strategy because it is a physical manifestation of targeted, fluid instruction. With a focus on student choice and comfort, flexible seating is a great way to convey to students, "You matter."

Edutopia has a terrific article specifically focused on flexible seating at the high school level, including classroom photos and teacher testimonies. Ashley Rice Broomfield, a 1st grade teacher, shares, " I am in my 13th year of teaching, but this is my first year incorporating flexible seating into my classroom. I will never go back to traditional seating."

EdSurge also has a great post on 10+ brain-based methods to redesign your classroom, and how to include your students in the redesign process. We love this quote: "A good friend of mine often reminds me that we aren't raising a class of second graders, but in fact, we are raising future adults. She says, 'If they're old enough to do it for themselves, they should not only be allowed to, but expected to do so.'"

Finally, see these pictures above from our awesome partners in Loudoun County Public Schools, VA!

check out the BONUS:#LoudounPL hashtag for more amazing pictures of how Loudoun County schools are personalizing learning.

Personalized Learning is: Involving Students in Grading Conversations

Prolific blogger Catlin Tucker offers another great strategy - including "grade interviews" with students. Tucker shares, " As grade reporting approaches, I sit down with every single student for a grade interview. Students come to these grade interviews prepared with a formal argument. These conversations are invaluable. Students walk away knowing exactly what they need to work on or what they are doing well. Also, I feel like I know my students so much better because we sit down and chat about their learning every 5-6 weeks!" Check out her full blog post !

Additionally, student-led conferences (SLC's) can be a great way to engage both students and parents in reflection. In an SLC, a student might not only explain what progress he or she is making, but why it is that progress is occurring. This Edutopia post has a great set of resources on SLC's, sourced from articles like this Atlantic piece to protocols and videos of SLC's in action.

To learn more about how these examples build on the core four elements of personalized learning, check out our white paper.

More Personalized Learning reading

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Getting it Right

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Reflection and Goal-Setting

Blog: How to Pick the Right Instructional Model for Your Classroom

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Flexible Pace & Path

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Targeted Instruction

Blog: Personalizing Learning: Collaboration & Creativity

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Six Examples of What Personalized Learning Looks Like

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Personalized learning takes different forms in different classrooms - here are six examples of what personalized learning looks like.

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CBAM: Stages of Concern about Personalized Learning

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Change is not easy. You can use this chart with descriptions for each stage to determine what concerns you or other educators may have around personalizing lea...

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The End of Average: Harvard's Todd Rose on Why Individuality Is the Key to the Future

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Personalized learning is built on the idea that each learner is unique and learns in different ways. This is called variability in learning.

To support all learners' unique needs and preferences, learning environments have to be flexible. It takes a process to transform learning environments and change learner and teacher roles. This process does not happen overnight.

Take it one stage at a time
Shifting successfully from a traditional, teacher-centered learning environment to a learner-driven, personalized learning environment (PLE) can happen in stages. At each stage, the teacher's and learner's roles change:

Traditional learning environment: Teacher centered with explicit or direct instruction
In a traditional classroom, the teacher's main job is to deliver knowledge to the learners. He is responsible and accountable for what learners learn.

Stage One PLE: Teacher centered, with learner voice and choice
In Stage One, the teacher is dipping his toes into personalized learning by encouraging voice and choice. To do that, she helps learners create learning goals based on how they learn best. The teacher uses this information to redesign lessons, assessments and the physical environment.

Stage Two PLE: Learner centered, with teacher and learner as co-designers
In Stage Two, the teacher and learner work together to co-design lessons, assessments and the physical environment. This is the stage where it becomes each learner's responsibility to acquire the skills and knowledge to choose the appropriate tools, methods and strategies they need to accommodate how they learn best.

Stage Three PLE: Learner driven, with teacher and learner as partners in learning
In Stage Three, learners self-direct and drive learning at their own pace. Their learning environment, no longer confined to the classroom, expands to include their home, community and extracurricular interests. Learners are responsible for designing challenging learning experiences for themselves, and the teacher's primary role is to partner with the learners.

This is a culture shift that takes time, commitment and perseverance. Because every journey must start with the first step, let's begin with the transition from a traditional, teacher-centered classroom to a Stage One PLE, where every learner has a voice and a choice.

The teacher can begin making this transition by:

As the teacher's role shifts, the learners will begin:

Understanding how each learner learns based on Personal Learner Profiles (PLP) and data.

Working with the teacher to establish learning goals based on how they learn best.

Creating a Class Learning Snapshot (CLS) based on four diverse learners' PLPs.

Working with the teacher to create a personal learning plan based on their learning goals.

Redesigning the learning environment based on the CLS.

Choosing learning environments for individual and group work.

Transforming lessons and projects to encourage voice and choice.

Having more opportunities to have a voice in what and how they learn.

Universally designing methods and materials to engage and guide learners in establishing their learning goals.

Having more choices in how they access content and engage in activities so they are motivated to meet learning goals.

Designing, adapting and using existing assessment strategies.

Choosing how they express what they know and understand.

Understand how teacher and learner roles change
In a Stage One PLE, the teacher begins to encourage more voice and choice throughout the learning process, and learners take more responsibility for their own learning. What does this look like?
Understand how learners learn best
The first thing the teacher needs to wrap her head around is how each learner learns. A tool that makes this process easier is the Personal Learner Profile (PLP) we created using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an approach developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology. UDL is an ideal framework for personalized learning because it addresses the uniqueness of each learner and variability in how they access, engage and express their learning.

According to UDL, it works best to give each learner:

Multiple means of representation (access). Each learner is unique in how they best access content and process information into useable knowledge, so they should be able to choose from a variety of learning modes.

Multiple means of engagement (engage). What motivates and inspires passion differs from person to person. Each learner knows best what strategies and tools will engage them in the content and inspire them to own their learning.

Multiple means of action and expression (express). Each learner knows how they best express what they know and understand using actions such as writing, presenting, drawing, acting, building and sharing.

By applying UDL principles, you can reduce individual barriers to the curriculum and maximize learning for everyone in your class.

Make Personal Learner Profiles
Each learner creates his or her own PLP by determining how they access and process information, engage with content, and express what they know. Once they discover how they learn best, they will be able to take more responsibility for their learning.

To grasp how this works in a classroom, consider a hypothetical learner named Jared and his strengths, interests and challenges. Jared's teacher helped him design this PLP based on how he accesses information, engages with content and expresses what he knows:

Jared's Strengths and Interests

Jared's Challenges

Access

Good spatial ability, can interpret graphs and charts, likes music

Difficult time focusing on the text, trouble organizing and taking notes

Engage

Comfortable with Google Docs and the internet, likes to come up with new ideas

Frustrated when writing ideas down on paper, cannot sequence what is happening in a story

Express

Artistic ability, likes to draw, likes taking pictures, likes building things

Not able to write or speak descriptively, does not know how to formulate a good question

Select resources for Personal Learning Backpacks
To be prepared for college and career, each learner needs to:

Acquire the skills to choose and use the appropriate tools, resources and strategies to support their learning.

Select the appropriate tools and resources based on how they prefer or need to access, engage and express.

Develop learning strategies to support their learning.

Reflect on evidence of their learning.

Each Personal Learning Backpack should include a customized set of tools that supports how the learner accesses, engages, expresses and learns. This will enable him to become an independent, self-directed and eventually expert learner who is prepared for college and career.

A Personal Learning Backpack might include a tablet or other mobile device, recording device, camera, websites and other resources. The mobile device could feature a customized set of apps to support the learner with various activities, such as:
Create a Class Learning Snapshot
Create a Class Learning Snapshot (CLS) focused on four diverse learners. This sample group of learners is called "the anticipatory set" because you use their strengths and challenges in how they access information, engage with content, and express what they know in order to anticipate the strengths and challenges of most learners. The CLS will help you decide on resources and tools for instruction that will support the majority of learners in your class.

Read more about designing for all learners instead of designing for an "average" learner.
Universally design your methods and materials
The teacher's role is to design instruction and materials so that they will engage and guide learners in establishing their learning goals. You can determine the methods and materials to use in your lessons by reviewing available resources and choosing a range of formats that will support the diverse needs and preferences of the four learners in your CLS. Thegoal is to givelearnersmore choices in how they access content and engage in activities so they are motivated to meet their learning goals.

For example, to give your learners more choice in how they access content, you could:

Provide both hard copies and digital files of all text and other materials.

Offer resources in multiple formats, including photos, speeches and videos.

Allow learners to choose from a variety of content topics.

To offer more variety in ways to engage with the content, you could:

Provide adjustable levels of challenge.

Allow learners to work individually or in groups.

Provide checklists for learners to monitor their own progress.

Redesign the learning environment
Once you know who your learners are and how they learn best, you are ready to redesign the learning environment. One way to do this is by incorporating multiple learning zones.
Kevin McLaughlin was a Year 4 teacher at Old Mill Primary School in Broughton Astley, Leics, United Kingdom, when he redesigned his classroom with learning zones. He now teaches kindergarten with the same design. The setup of his room allows young learners to self-direct their learning and complete each activity in the zone of their choice.

This is what his PLE looks like:

1. The Discussion and Thinking Zone is where learners participate in whole-class discussions and talk about their learning.

2. The Discovery Zone is where they investigate, solve problems and collaborate on projects.

3. The Show-Off Zone is where learners write, present and share their work.

4. The Repeat level is where learners go to get help, advice and explanations.

5. The Creation Zone is where they write, edit, develop and refine their content presentations.

Transform traditional lessons to allow voice and choice
Consider a grade 3 language arts lesson on the book Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney that's designed to meet Common Core State Standard ELA-RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. This lesson can also meet the ISTE Standards for Students 1: Creativity and Innovation and 2: Communication and Collaboration.

In a traditional classroom, the teacher would likely read the book, which is about a girl who learns about the world through her grandfather's eyes, out loud to all the children. She then would ask them all to do the same activity ? often a book report about the moral of the story ? to meet the standards.

How can this lesson be transformed to accommodate every learner? The teacher can still read the book to the whole class, but she can also make it accessible to them in several different formats, such as:

After the teacher reads Miss Rumphius along with the learners, she can facilitate discussions about the lesson the book teaches, asking questions such as:

What are the most important events that happened in the story? How do you know?

Can you tell how the character is feeling in this part of the story?

How does this character affect what happens in the beginning or at the end of the story?

What lesson is this story teaching you?

The teacher can also invite questions from the class about the story behind the story, using prompts about the book's themes. As a class, the learners can come up with an essential question, such as "How can you make the world more beautiful?" to inspire projects that will demonstrate what they have learned.
Give choice in how learners express what they know and understand
Here's how one pair of hypothetical learners, Susan and Jared, chose to express their understanding of the themes in Miss Rumphius. First, they brainstormed supporting questions for the essential question, "How can we make the world more beautiful?":

How can we make our school more beautiful?

How can we make a garden for our school?

These questions inspired Susan and Jared to develop a proposal and plan to plant a small vegetable plot on an empty lot in their school commons. They used iScape Free, a landscaping app on their tablet, to design a garden. During this process, they reflected in their KidBlog and invited feedback from others.

Jared enjoys photography, so he took photos of vegetables and other plants they wanted in their garden using the digital camera on his mobile device. Jared worked with Susan to choose pictures for the blog and upload them to DropBox. Both he and Susan wrote a reflection on this process. They compiled all of their evidence and reflections in their proposal, which they presented to their class using Prezi. Then the teacher helped them get approval from the school administration to make their vision a reality.

Because Susan and Jared became partners in learning with their teacher, they were more involved in lesson design and choosing the appropriate tools to support their learning. As a result, they became more engaged in the lesson and more motivated to learn.

As you start the new school year and meet your new learners, consider these ideas for introducing personalized learning into your classroom. You may find that when you really get to know each child and how they learn best, you can build a class community with a culture of trust and responsibility that inspires investment and ownership in learning.

Want to learn more about PLEs, focusing on the learner first and how technology can support personalized learning? Find resources and information about the three Stages of Personalized Learning on our Personalize Learning website, sign up for our 5 W's of Personalized Learning e-course, or read our upcoming book, Make Learning Personal , when it comes out this fall.

To learn more about the use of technology to personalize learning, check out Personalized Learning: A Guide for Engaging Students with Technology by Peggy Grant and Dale Basye.

Barbara Bray is co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC, and founder/owner of . She writes a professional development column for Computer Using Educators' online journal, OnCUE. Bray has more than 25 years of experience making learning personal and building communities of practice. You can follow her on Twitter via .

Kathleen McClaskey is CEO and co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC, as well as the founder and digital learning consultant for EdTech Associates. She has over 30 years of experience designing instruction and learning environments for all learners and in creating professional learning programs and projects using the Universal Design for Learning framework. You can follow her on Twitter via .

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Personalized learning is built on the idea that each learner is unique and learns in different ways. This is called variability in learning. To support all learners' unique needs and preferences, learning environments have to be flexible. It takes a process to transform learning environments and change learner and teacher roles.

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Personalization v Differentiation v Individualization (PDI) Chart (Version 3)

The PDI chart was created for a reason: to clarify the differences in these terms. In 2010, the National Ed Tech Plan defined all three of these terms as they are related to instruction. We needed to emphasize the differences: Personalization is learner-centered. The other two, Differentiation and Individualization are teacher-centered. Personalization or Personalized Learning means the learner is driving their learning. When the learner takes responsibility for their learning, teaching and learning changes. The roles of the teacher and learner change. We welcome you to share the PDI chart and use it for action research, professional learning, and to go deeper and clarify the terms so learning is deeper, relevant, and engaging.

It has been some time since we initially published the PDI Chart in January 2012. Version 2 was a revision nine months ago about the differences between these three terms distinguishing that personalization begins with the learner who drives and owns their learning. The other terms are teacher-centered where the teacher provides the instruction, support, and assessments for the learners.

We updated the chart again to version 3 from your feedback. Through discussions in our 5 W's of Personalized Learning eCourse and the Six Steps to Personalize Learning workshop, participants helped us realize that we were not clear in the chart about assessment. We needed to focus on Assessment AS, FOR, and OF Learning.

Individualization involves assessment OF learning. This is where summative assessment is grade-based and involves testing to confirm what learners know and do not know.

Differentiation involves assessment FOR learning and OF learning. This assessment involves time-based testing where teachers provide feedback to advance learning.

Personalization involves assessment AS learning, FOR learning, and a minimal OF learning. This is where teachers develop capacity so learners become independent learners who set goals, monitor progress and reflect on learning. Assessments are based on mastery.

We ask if you plan to make multiple copies of this chart or use it in a publication that you ask us permission via our email at personalizelearn@gmail.com.
Please spread the word about this version of this chart. Share the ways you are using this chart in the comments below and in social media. Our Twitter hashtag is #plearnchat.

The more we learn from you, the more we learn and then want to share back with you.

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Updated Personalization vs. Differentiation vs. Individualization Chart Version 3

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Personalization v Differentiation v Individualization (PDI) Chart (Version 3) The PDI chart was created for a reason: to clarify the differences in these terms. In 2010, the National Ed Tech Plan defined all three of these terms as they are related to instruction. We needed to emphasize the differences: Personalization is learner-centered.

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For those who work in the field of education, it seems obvious that we would keep students at the center of all that we do, but often this is forgotten. When it is forgotten students suffer.

So how do we make sure we put students at the center of all we do?

This was one of the topics discussed by a group of innovative district leaders who came together from around the country to explore important issues in education at the Tech & Learning Leadership Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. Here are some ideas these leaders shared to ensure students remain at the center of our work.

How are you designing opportunities in alignment with the way students learn best? At the Phoenix Coding Academy they use a tool called Indigo ( similar to Thrively or ... aka Myers Briggs for young people). As a result educators and students can use these profiles to customize their school work to ensure what they do best matches the needs indicated in their learning profiles. The profiles also help students see the type of career that might be best matched to their strengths.

When using technology, it is imperative to remember that the relationship between teacher and student is still key. An advantage of technology is that it can replace some of the work typically done by a teacher such as providing instant feedback, lectures on demand. Some administrators see this as an opportunity to pile on the number of students a teacher has . Administrators who understand the importance of relationships know that this shift in responsibilities should result in the teacher being able to provide more time and individual focus on supporting the students in front of them. Models like ensure that teachers have very small class loads because only by building relationships can we really meaningfully impact children.

Traditionally teachers with their teacher's guide in hand had the power to dole out information to their little disciples. That should no longer be the case in our information rich, connected world. Today, the teacher should no longer be at the center of instruction. Instead, the teacher should be guiding and empowering digital learners who are the center of their own learning network aligned with their passions, interests, and abilities. This means supporting students in safely connecting to a network of people who can help guide and support their learning goals. While this can certainly mean people from within the community, with technology there are no geographical boundaries. So this can mean helping them connect with experts, authors, and others who share their interests from around the globe. You can read more about how to do this in the books The Educator's Guide to Creating Connections and Supporting Student Personal Learning Networks .

Not only should students be at the center, but students can be empowered to have leadership roles. For example allow students to lead digital citizenship initiatives. Create a student tech support team at your school where students are given leadership roles. Does your school have a leadership team that helps to make important decisions? Make sure students are on that team.

It is essential that we communicate with the people that ultimately will be impacted and give them a platform for input. This means they should be a part of conversations about curriculum design, classroom environment, facilities, purchasing, etc. This isn't a one time conversation. It is ongoing. Bring everyone to the table at regular intervals to not only to develop a clear plan, but also to discuss issues that come up during implementation and execution and come up with solutions.

What do you think? Are there some ideas shared here that exist where you work? If not, why not? Are there some you may be able to introduce? Are there ideas you use that are not mentioned here? What are they?

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5 Ideas for Keeping Students At The Center of Learning #TLTechLive

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For those who work in the field of education, it seems obvious that we would keep students at the center of all that we do, but often this is forgotten. When it is forgotten students suffer. So how do we make sure we put students at the center of all we do?

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The End of Average: Todd Rose's '8 for 8'

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What does an artist do? - the 8 studio habits of mind for elementary students

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The Studio Habits of Mind framework was developed through the insightful research of Harvard Project Zero. Researchers and educators Lois Hetland, Ellen Winner, Shirley Veenema, Kimberly Sheridan, Diane Jacquith, and Jill Hogan have published extensive resources for educators since 2007 (see bottom…

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One of my goals this year was to have my students really understand the artistic behaviors. I thought last year the students were looking at them only on the surface. I want a deeper understanding for them this year as I feel the behaviors I use are important, not only for growing as an artist, but they are things that can be transferred to other aspects of their academic and their personal lives.

One way I am stressing the artistic behaviors and thinking like an artist is that I will be assessing my students based on the process/behaviors they show in class, not on the physical artwork they create. Here is the rubric I created based on the artistic behaviors. I wrote more about it here.

I wanted my students to be introduced to the 9 Artistic Behaviors before we jumped into creating art. But, I didn't just want to do a power point on them. I wanted something more to go along with each behavior. That's how I came up with my Artistic Behavior Boot Camp. In this boot camp, we would spend about a week and a half being introduced to the behaviors. As a class, we would do an activity. Then the students would be given a reflection sheet where they were asked to look through the artistic behaviors that are listed on their sheet and posted on the wall (with a brief description under each), and choose which behavior they thought the activity best connected to. They had to say why they felt that way, what they learned from the activity, and how they thought it connected to being an artist.
THE BEHAVIORS AND THEIR ACTIVITIES
Artists Collaborate: In this activity, I copied an MC Escher print I had and cut the print into 2″x 2″ squares. I handed the students a square and a 3″x 3″ post-it. The students had to transfer their piece to the post-it and then go in the hall and assemble the puzzle. In hindsight, I chose a very hard image to work from. I know better for next year.

Artists Solve Problems: I had lots of ideas for this activity. In the end I decided to show the Ted Talk "Embrace the Shake" about artist Phil Hansen.

Artists Take Risks: I had stumbled upon this video we ended up calling the "Baby George Video". It was short, but I think the message was super clear.

Artists Communicate. In this activity, students found a partner. One partner was given an image and had to describe the image, and without showing the partner or pointing to the partner's page, get them to draw the image. Here are the images I used.

Artists Observe: I had taken this quiz on facebook that I thought would make a great observe activity. The students were shown four squares and had to choose the one that was a different shade. Every time they got it right, a new grid (with more squares) would appear. It got harder and harder as the difference was slighter and slighter. On top of that, it was timed.

Artists Create Original Art: What better way to kill 2 birds with one stone, but to do a short Slides presentation about Copyright, Fair Use, Appropriation, and Parody. In the presentation, I briefly went over a concept, then the students were shown a case and they had to decide what the outcome was. The presentation ended with a mock violation between DisneyLand and Street Artist Banksy's Dismaland.

Artists Develop Art Making Skills: Each student was equipped with a marker on the end of a 3′ dowel. We went out into the hall where I rolled out a long paper and had the students look out the window and draw what they saw.

Artists Have a Global Awareness of Art Making: The third video I had them watch was the trailer for Season 7 of the PBS series Art 21.

Artists Reflect: For our final activity, I handed back all of the 8 previous reflection sheets and gave them a new reflection sheet. I asked the students to review what they had chosen and written for each activity over the past week and a half. They then had to choose one behavior for each activity. (On the previous reflection sheets, many students circled several behaviors for each activity and had repeated behaviors from activity to activity. I will come back to this shortly.) After making connections, they were left with one behavior, They were asked what filling out all the sheets had to do with that behavior, and they had to connect that behavior with being an artist.

I returned all the reflection sheets the next day and we had our Boot Camp Wrap Up. I created one more slide show and engaged the students in a discussion to decompress all we had just done. We went through each activity and I asked them what behavior they thought it was. I asked why. Sometimes they all agreed and sometimes they didn't. And, they were able to say why for all opinions. I would reveal what behavior I had intended to connect with the activity. Then with my enormous passion and animation, I talked about what that behavior meant in terms of art and being an artist. As I walked around the room and looked at the students, I could see they were taking it in. I see the sparks. When I got to taking risks and how my classroom was a place to be comfortable, a place to explore and fail, I could see the looks on their faces change-a change I thought was positive.

The slide show ended with a review of how they would be assessed in my art class. I asked them what an 87 on an artwork meant. I could see them reaching for something, but floundering. I assured them that their lack of finding a answer was okay. The number grade in art seems arbitrary. It doesn't help you know where you are or where you need to go. They agreed. They now knew why we spent time looking at these behaviors and how we would use them in the coming year.

I learned as much from this boot camp as my students did. As the first reflections sheets started to come in and I began reading, I was surprised. Surely the students would have the same thought process I did. ::face plant:: I became so interested in the different behaviors they chose for each activity and the various reasons why. I decided to make a chart to record all the different choices. Artists collaborate and artists communicate were two that were often connected to each other. The same was true with artists solve problems and artists take risks. The students made connections between the behaviors without even knowing it-connections that are just inherent in the behaviors. Of course there were those students that went through the motions without much thought, but there were many that I saw really thinking about what they had just done and making connections. And, students were honest by saying they didn't understand what a behavior meant (like global awareness), so they weren't really sure if they were making the right connections.

The Artistic Behaviors Boot Camp achieved what I hoped it would. It introduced the students to the artistic behaviors. It enabled the kids to begin to think and to make connections between what they are doing and what artists do. And, I got to learn a little about my students and how they think. Were there rough patches? Yes. I wanted to throw in the towel after the first day. But, I am so glad I didn't. I am sure I will make tweaks to it in the few weeks before school next August, but for now, I am calling this boot camp a success..

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One of my goals this year was to have my students really understand the artistic behaviors. I thought last year the students were looking at them only on the surface. I want a deeper understanding for them this year as I feel the behaviors I use are important, not only for growing as an artist,...

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Plenty of buzz exists about blended learning and its transformational potential. But what does blended learning really mean? In this course we will explore the different models of blended learning and dive into key issues that impact students, teachers, and schools. Specifically, we will look at these issues through the lens of three high-performing schools that each use a different type of blended learning. A few of the key topics will include: - The role of the student and how to support students in the transition from traditional to blended learning - Implications for teachers in their day-to-day work and overall role - Impact on the way schools are designed including staffing models, use of time, hardware/software selection, and the use of data - Implementation challenges, potential solutions, and the remaining open questions We will live by the attributes of blended learning in this course, encouraging students to take quizzes at the beginning of the module to assess their understanding and skip material they already know. Overall, we will take a hand-on approach and the course will culminate in participants prototyping their own blended learning model. If you are interested in learning more about how to best leverage technology in education and rethink the way we run schools, join this MOOC and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Become a part of this growing movement and learn first-hand how blended learning can help provide students a more personalized learning experience.

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Shifting Teacher Mindsets - Rethinking the Role of the Teacher | Coursera

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Plenty of buzz exists about blended learning and its transformational potential. But what does blended learning really mean? In this course we will explore the different models of blended learning and dive into key issues that impact students, teachers, and schools.

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By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

Personalized learning capitalizes on students' almost instinctual ability to use technology, but it is so much more than technology and algorithms. It is the purposeful design of blended instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and student-to-student collaboration to leverage each student's interests for deeper learning. When done right, it meets several of the ISTE Standards for Students and ISTE Standards for Educators while leading to a more rigorous, challenging, engaging and thought-provoking curriculum.

Over the last four years, I have transformed my traditional classroom into a blended-learning environment that provides a more personalized learning experience for each one of my students. It hasn't been easy. It's taken a lot of research, trial and error, and adjustments. But the results have definitely been worth it.

Here are five lessons I've learned that have helped me take my classroom from a traditional sage-on-the-stage affair to a tech-assisted personalized learning haven.

1. Learn from others.

I won't lie. The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine. But I didn't give up, and eventually I had more successes than failures. My students' input and further pedagogical study helped me refine my lesson planning until I got it right.

I started by researching personalized and blended learning as a member of the Rodel Teacher Council (RTC) to create the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware. I was also a member of the BRINC Consortium, a group formed to implement blended learning in several Delaware districts.

Being able to work with other teachers also implementing blended learning was key to my continued growth. We worked with Modern Teacher to understand the shifts in pedagogy necessary to transition to blended learning. I heard Caitlin Tucker at a BRINC training and have used her books to guide my continued development.

All of these experiences helped me find more effective ways to lead my students while empowering them to take responsibility for their own learning. On top of that, learning from and collaborating with others is a hallmark of the new ISTE Standards for Educators, which advise us to "dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems."

2. Use the technology you have.

Although it is not the focus of a student-centered classroom, technology plays a big part in the success of this approach because it allows the differentiation of instruction, assessment and expression of learning as well as the collection of student data.

We don't have a 1:1 environment at this time, but the students - who are my co-learners and teachers - have helped me adapt to whatever tools are available. The standard hardware in core content classrooms throughout my district includes a set of 15 iPads, a projector and a document camera.

Students are allowed to use their cell phones for educational purposes. We use Schoology as a learning management system. I use Google Classroom and curriculum sites such as CommonLit | Free Fiction & Nonfiction Literacy Resources to embed high-quality digital content within our LMS. Much to my surprise, technology itself plays the smallest role in providing personalized learning for my students.

3. Let students make choices.

When I first embarked on this mission, I decided to "release" one piece of the assignment at a time in an effort to control student's' pathway through the material. Since then, I have learned to take a more personalized approach to assignments, which also aligns to the ISTE Standard for Educators that advise us to "foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings."

Class often starts with a mini-lesson, which then flows into students making choices about what they need to do next to meet specific learning targets aligned to the standards.

My units in Schoology offer guidance to the students while allowing them to choose their own learning pathways and complete the activities in the order that makes the most sense to them.

For instance, while reading a short story, they can choose between just reading or reading along as they listen to a story. They can also decide whether to annotate online or on a printed copy. They can take notes on paper or record their thoughts verbally as they analyze the story.

While my students are still required to write traditional essays on many assignments, they also get the chance to show their learning in a variety of other ways. When appropriate, they can submit their analysis by writing a traditional essay, creating a website, creating infographics, writing a script for a video that they then record or via a communication tool they suggest.

4. Choose the best content delivery method.

I had another a-ha moment when I finally understood how to choose the right delivery method for various types of content. My first few attempts included finding a video on each topic to provide background information or delivering a face-to-face lecture on a new concept, followed by an online quiz. My inaugural online lesson consisted of a folder with a page for my essential question, a copy of my PowerPoint and a link for students to submit their notes.

But I was simply using technology in place of my normal face-to-face teaching. When asked to explain the "why" behind my choices during professional learning sessions, I realized there was more to creating blended lessons than simply adding technology.

Today, I carefully construct my units with specific learning goals that drive the method of delivery and learning activities. When deciding how to structure my lessons, I look at the learning activities I've used in the past to decide which were successful and which need to be refined or replaced. As a result, instead of lecturing to students and showing them a PowerPoint during class time, I often give them screencasts or videos to watch at home.

The screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant, are better than PowerPoints because students can hear my voice instead of clicking through a silent slide deck. And videos are better than face-to-face lectures because they can skip forward, pause or rewind as needed until they get the lesson. They still get a chance to ask questions during our class time or online.

This flipped learning setup frees up my students to use class time to practice their skills. For instance, they might annotate a short story or poem in Google Docs or take part in a Socratic seminar. During our unit on research into social justice issues, students receive a digital review of the research process and choose their learning activities based on their needs. Some may meet with me to review how to embed quotes while other groups start planning their presentations and still others work independently on gathering valid research.

5. Assess as you go.

Instead of just giving a final exam at the end of each unit, I try to use formative assessment to enable me to give my students guidance and assistance when they need it. I use a variety of methods for this. For instance, my video lectures often include interactive questions to assess their understanding of the material. Playposit and TED-Ed: Lessons Worth Sharing are my go-to tools for this type of assessment. And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me instant, actionable feedback on what we need to do next, who needs to be pulled into a small group for reteaching and who would be better off in a group that pursues extended learning while I reteach the rest of the class.

I also gather formative assessment data through:

Discussion threads.

Self-grading quizzes, which give students immediate and actionable feedback on their proficiency in specific skills.

Monitoring of students works in progress on Google Docs.

Exit tickets, which assess the class' comfort level with new concepts.

I use all of this data to inform adjustments to learning activities as well as selection of resources to help students meet the standards addressed in the unit. When the assessments show a student has mastered a skill, I can provide them with instruction to go deeper or learn new skills.

6. Pull it all together.

My original objective was to transform my classroom into a blended learning model that would give my students the best access to rigorous, engaging, personalized learning experiences.

Going into my fifth year, I am pleased with the progress we've made toward this goal and excited to implement new ideas including more flexibility in seating and groups as well as a better use of formative data.

My classroom today is a vastly different place than it was five years ago. Instead of showing up to class to hear me deliver all the content and teach the skills they need to meet the standards for our curriculum, my students are now the masters of their own learning destinies.

Instead of relying on notes they take during one-time lectures, they can access and even return to my videos and screencasts and other resources when they need them most, as they are working on an assignment or reviewing for a test.

My role used to be standing in front of the room lecturing about the research process, modeling various components and monitoring students' progress toward a final, correctly formatted research paper.

Recently I began partnering with the Human Ecology Foundation to expose my students to a range of real-world issues. The students then form groups and choose one to research and propose a solution or way to make an impact. Not only are they learning to do authentic research, they will be volunteering and learning about the issue through first-hand experience. Students can even win a scholarship for their research and projects!

I am available to assist students, conduct check-ins, and assess their individual responsibilities and group outcomes throughout the project. But most of the time I just stay out of the way while they learn how to effectively research, collaborate and create presentations together.

The biggest compliment I have received since all this started came from a student in my AP Language and Composition class. He told me, "Your class is easy. I don't mean simple - I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work."

I strive to make my classes that kind of "easy" for every student I teach. Across the board, my students acknowledge that they feel better prepared for college or jobs because of our use of collaborative technology. I've had students who are now in college tell me that our use of digital content made it easier for them to adjust to college.
Robyn Howton is English Department Chair and the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) coordinator at Mount Pleasant High School in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a member of the Rodel Teacher Council, which created the Blueprint for Personalized Learning in Delaware, and a member of the original cohort of the BRINC consortium. This is an updated version of an article that originally published on May 19, 2015.

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Turn your classroom into a personalized learning environment

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By now you've probably heard of personalized learning, which tailors instruction, expression of learning and assessment to each student's unique needs and preferences. While one-on-one instruction geared toward the strengths and challenges of each student has always been an ideal, only in recent years have technological advances allowed it to become a reality in public education.

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Rethinking Learning - Define Your WHY Through Stories

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The Levels of Engagement design was created by Barbara Bray using some of the original content by Bray and Kathleen McClaskey with graphics by Sylvia Duckworth. Updated content and design is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
The original Continuum of Engagement focused on the teacher's role in engaging students. After reading more about engagement with the "Flow" theory and the differences between engagement and empowerment, I believed it needed to be clearer that engagement is about how much any learner is engaged in a task or activity and the balance between the challenge before them and the skills they have to meet that challenge. Empowerment is what the learner or someone else can do to encourage engagement. The levels are more about how the learner is engaged in learning, not about the teacher or the learning environment. Yet, teachers are learners, too and they can create experiences and environments that are compassionate, creative and innovative. This idea of levels of engagement can pertain to any of us who are defining who we are as a learner.

Defining Engagement

Engagement is the affective side of learning and has been found to be a robust predictor of learner performance and behavior in the classroom. (Martin-Kniep, 2012) Engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that learners show when they are learning. So this may mean "engagement" is about how much we learn in the classroom or anywhere we learn. I needed to explore this more so checked out the 2016 Gallup Poll.

Measuring hope and engagement, the Gallup Student Poll helps educators gauge school success beyond test scores and grades. With nearly 5 million since 2009, the 2016 survey helps educators provide a more positive school culture - one that builds engagement, creates hope for the future, fosters talent and prepares students to meaningfully participate in the economy. Gallup Student Poll measures are linked to desirable learning outcomes, including self-reported grades, the perception of school success and self-reported absenteeism.

Download the 2016 snapshot report to learn more about how to empower hope and engagement in school. From the results, it is apparent in the Gallup Study that engagement decreased over the years in school. Yet, learning can happen anywhere and at any time especially now with content available at our fingertips. Some questions for you to consider when discussing engagement:

Do we only measure learning that happens in a school?

Are teachers or a school responsible for engaging the learners?

Can teachers empower learners to want to be more engaged in learning?

Have you noticed some learners more engaged than others?

Could it be who the learners are that impacts their level of engagement?

How does the environment impact the learning?

What might keep some learners from being engaged in the learning process?

How much does the system have to do with stopping curiosity, creativity, and engagement?

What can we do to transform the system so learners are more curious, creative, and engaged in learning?

Flow Theory

When learners have a voice and choice in what and how they are learning especially if it is about something they are passionate about or interested in, they jump in and can get lost in the task or project. This is called "flow." When learners are in the flow, you can notice, see and hear the engagement. Sometimes flow is quiet.
[Source: Adapted from Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow:
The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper and Row]
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is best known as the architect of the theory of flow. Flow is when a person is fully immersed in what they are doing and there is a balance between the challenge of the task and the skill of the learner. Flow cannot occur if the task is too easy or too difficult. Csíkszentmihályi published the graph above that depicts the relationship between the challenges of a task and skills. Flow only occurs when the activity is a higher-than-average challenge and requires above-average skills. Both skill level and challenge level must be matched and high; if skill and challenge are low and matched, then apathy results. (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990)

In Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Invention and Discover (2013), Csíkszentmihályi explains why creativity is so fascinating that when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of our lives. The examples and stories in the book help the reader understand how we change when we are immersed in an activity we are passionate about.

Levels of Engagement

Compliant

In the Compliant level, learners may appear to be bored or anxious. Some may just give up on learning and follow whatever the teacher or school requires them to do. They may be good "students" who know how to "do" school. Their grades may be good but they are not empowered to do more than they have to do for a grade. There are others that have a fixed mindset and just give up because they were not empowered to learn or do not have a voice in what and how they learn. The school system might be focusing on test scores, worksheets, and homework that are probably not relevant or meaningful for the disengaged learner. The teacher may feel they are the only one responsible and accountable for all the learning in their classroom. Sometimes learners who are compliant have other issues at home that keep them from being engaged in learning.

Commit

At the Commit level, learners are starting to take on more responsibility for their learning. The teacher is building relationships with the learners by guiding the process for them to understand how they learn best. At this level, the teacher may still be laying the groundwork for learning and determining prior knowledge but learners may be demonstrating that they are more involved in what and how they learn. The commit level is where the learners find their voice to help become better learners. When they understand why they may be anxious about learning something, they discuss this with the teacher to help them through their anxiety. Learners are also reaching out to others to help them build the skills they will need to perform a task. They commit even more to want to learn when they have time to explore what interests them. This level is where learning is personal and the student finds out more about themselves and who they are as a learner. This is also the level where the teacher realizes that some children need more time or may have other issues keeping them from learning. The teacher-student relationship is so crucial at this level for all learners to help find their voice.

Connect

In the Connect level, learners realize now that learning is social. They can expand on what they learned at the commit level by connecting with others who are at the same level or have the same interests. They are more in control of their learning but realize they can learn much more if they collaborate with others who can work together to build on their ideas. At this level, the learners are doing more of the talking than the teacher. This is where learners enjoy learning from each other and even teaching their peers. Learners are more engaged at this level when connected to real-world problems that are relevant to them. Today, learners connect with smart devices before and after school. Teachers and schools can make this level more effective if these smart devices are allowed during school hours. This is where "trust" and "letting go" of control can be so important. Our learners are using these devices and need to know the appropriate use so they can connect globally in an effective and safe way. This is the level where you notice it is getting a little noisier in some parts of the classroom.

Flow

At the Flow level, many call it "messy learning" because it may seem chaotic to some people. Learners are curious, creative, and innovative. There is no one way to capture what it might look like. A few learners might be in the hall, another on a smartphone contacting a mentor, two sitting together animated on the floor in the back of the room, a small group brainstorming in the corner, and someone presenting evidence of learning to others for critical feedback. Some learners are working quietly immersed in the task at hand where others are reaching out to others to collaborate on solving a problem. This is when learners have the skills to pursue their interests and are curious by seeking what they are passionate about. They want to challenge themselves to investigate and solve solutions to real-world problems where they can make a difference. You can hear it in their voices and actions. They want to share what they learn. The teacher is more of a mentor and coach as they guide the process. This level is when learners self-advocate for what they need or want to learn and when they have agency.

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What I did notice about the engagement is that sometimes we are in the flow because of the activity or task at hand. Other times we may not be engaged because of the activity. We may be at different levels at home or at school or in other learning environments. The engagement level can be high in a makerspace and low in a classroom depending on the activities.

Several teachers have said to me that when their kids are in the flow, "they never want to go back to the traditional way of teaching." Some questions for you to think about and reflect on:

Have you experienced flow?
How much flow did you experience in school?
Where are you in the Levels of Engagement?
What about your learners in your classroom?
Do you notice different levels of engagement with different activities?

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Resources

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York. Harper & Row.

Martin-Kniep, G. (2012) 27. Neuroscience of engagement and SCARF: why they matter to school.
https://lciltd.org/WebsitePublications/HandbookNeuroleadership_EngagementArticleGMK.pdf

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Thank You to Sylvia Duckworth @sylviaduckworth from Toronto, Canada for designing the graphics for the Levels of Engagement. Please make sure you visit http://sylviaduckworth.com A few relevant websites about moving to learner agency: for all the graphics she created and to ask her for permission to use any of her graphics.
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About the author

Barbara Bray is a story weaver capturing stories from inspirational people about insightful journeys to discover their purpose. As a creative learning strategist, speaker, coach, and disruptor, Barbara has been trying to transform teaching and learning for over 30 years. Her journey as a teacher, coach, columnist, database developer, and grant writer led to her becoming the owner/founder of Computer Strategies, LLC with its divisions, My eCoach and Rethinking Learning. From 2013 to 2017, Barbara was the past co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC, and co-authored Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning. In 2017, Barbara became the host of the Rethinking Learning Podcast where she has conversations with inspirational educators, thought leaders, and influencers! At the same time, Barbara started the #rethink_learning Twitter chat. Through all the stories and her journey, Barbara is the author of "Define Your WHY" which is all about owning your story so you live and learn on purpose.

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Levels of Engagement: Balancing Challenges and Skills - Rethinking Learning

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The Levels of Engagement explain how engagement is how a learner balances challenges and the skills needed to move from being compliant to flow.