海角大神

There鈥檚 a lot that Hope Nichols appreciates about her high school. 聽

Back in middle school, the now-junior says, she sometimes struggled to keep up academically with her classmates. But at Manchester School of Technology High School (MST-HS), Hope is able to master聽class聽material at her own pace, through hands-on lessons and projects tailored to her聽personal strengths.聽

鈥淜nowing that I don鈥檛 have to keep up with the rest of my class takes a huge weight off my shoulders,鈥� she聽told the crowd at a recent panel discussion, organized by the EqualEd section of 海角大神. "I learn easier at MST than I would anywhere else.鈥澛�

MST-HS, a competency-based public high school in Manchester, N.H., is just one of a number of schools around the country that is rethinking how best to engage students amid growing consensus that young people learn in different ways 鈥� and that not all are able to thrive in a traditional classroom setting. To more deeply engage all types of students, some schools are moving toward a more personalized learning model, allowing a certain level of flexibility in how students access, interact with, and demonstrate proficiency in academic subjects.聽

鈥淸Personalized learning is] getting clear about what we want kids to know and be able to do, and figuring out ways that we can help each and every kid get to those ends,鈥� said David Ruff, executive director at the Maine-based Great Schools Partnership, speaking alongside Hope and two New Hampshire educators at EqualEd鈥檚 鈥淩eimagining Schools: Innovations for Deeper Learning鈥� event last week.聽

Defining personalization聽

The northeast is home to a large concentration of innovative efforts to help all students access the resources and incentive they need to succeed, as seen in schools like MST-HS. But the movement isn鈥檛 confined to just one corner of the country.聽

Nationally, 鈥渢hese concepts [are] really actually gaining steam rapidly,鈥� Mr. Ruff said, noting that a number of states have implemented policies and support structures to promote the concepts of competency-based and personalized learning. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like we can say, 鈥業t鈥檚 just here, and it鈥檚 a crazy thing that鈥檚 happening here.鈥� It鈥檚 a thoughtful thing that鈥檚 happening here, and those same thoughtful things are happening around the country.鈥澛�

Both prior to and since being featured in a 海角大神 Science Monitor cover story in May, administrators at MST-HS have received calls from educators from Ohio to British Columbia interested in adopting similar methods, said Karen Hannigan Machado, principal of MST-HS, who also participated in the panel discussion.聽

But while the concept gains momentum, widespread confusion remains when it comes to defining what exactly personalized learning is 鈥� and what it isn鈥檛. One common misconception, the panelists said, is that students do their own work in isolation, seldom collaborating with others. Another is that models that favor student-driven projects over sitting at a desk with a textbook are devoid of academic content.聽

Sara Cantrell, an elementary teacher聽at Maple Street Magnet School in Rochester, N.H., said in last week鈥檚 discussion that while the scope of material in her school鈥檚 project-based learning model may be narrower, she believes students are able to make deeper, 鈥渕ore meaningful connections鈥� to the content that is covered.聽

Underlying all lessons and projects is a 鈥渃ommon goal,鈥� a set of 鈥渟kills that we want them to know and to demonstrate,鈥� Ms. Cantrell noted. 鈥淭he personalization comes in in how they access those skills, how they access the material, as well as how they demonstrate that they鈥檝e learned that skill.鈥澛�

At Maple Street Magnet School, Cantrell said, teachers typically assess student progress through hands-on experiences, rather than standardized tests or worksheets. Students can demonstrate what they鈥檝e learned through projects such as creating a video, reading aloud, or making a poster.聽

鈥淲e鈥檙e moving from this notion of a test-based system to an evidence-based system,鈥� Ruff added. 鈥淲hat is the evidence that I can gather that can demonstrate what students know and are able to do, as opposed to, what are the ... assessment hoops that I may have created that they jump through?鈥澛�

Putting passion in learning

One central component of聽MST-HS鈥檚聽competency-based system is its lack of age-based grade levels.聽Rather than moving through subjects on a set semester schedule, students advance at the rate that they master the material.

For some students, this means taking a little extra time to make sure they thoroughly understand what they鈥檝e learned. For others, it means advancing at a quicker pace than they would at a traditional high school. Hope cites a friend who advanced through both Algebra I and Geometry during her freshman聽year,聽and is taking Algebra II over the summer. As a rising sophomore, she will take pre-calculus in the fall.聽

At MST-HS, a high school embedded within a larger career and technical education center, students choose from a number of career pathways, such as nursing and policing, and are given the chance to participate in internships and other extended learning opportunities.聽That sense of personalization can also be seen on a smaller scale inside the classroom, as students are able to integrate the skills and strengths from their core focus into seemingly unrelated subjects.

鈥淲e try to take advantage of not just the students鈥� individualized learning styles, but also what is their passion,鈥� Ms. Machado, the principal, said. 鈥淭hat makes all the difference in the world, for a student to be able to participate in and do work in what they love.鈥澛�

Hope, whose concentration is video and digital media production, provides an example. In French class, she says, her teacher knew of her interest in video and聽photography,聽and constructed a project for her that involved recreating a book of photos.聽

鈥淪he made up that project specifically for聽me,聽because she knows that that鈥檚 something I鈥檓 good at,鈥� Hope explained. 聽

Strong relationships between students and teachers 鈥� where teachers are able to recognize each student鈥檚 interests and learning styles 鈥� are a common thread in personalized learning models.

A personalized system 鈥済ives you permission to look at your students,鈥� said Cantrell. 鈥淲ho do I have in front of me today...? What鈥檚 relevant to them? What will engage them? What will create this passion within them to learn?鈥�

But in order to succeed in a student-driven academic environment, some of that passion to learn must be self-generated. Attending a school with a more flexible curriculum requires a certain level of self-discipline and the ability to manage one鈥檚 time wisely, Hope and Machado noted.聽

鈥淚t really works for some people. But [for] some people, it really doesn鈥檛 work,鈥� Hope said.聽鈥滻 suggest that if you鈥檙e going to go to a self-paced school, you need to be able to kick your own butt.鈥澛�