Personal Competencies/Personalized Learning: Lesson Plan Reflection Guide

38 Pages·2015·0.96 MB·English

Personal Competencies /
Personalized Learning
Lesson Plan Refection Guide
Janet Twyman, Academic Development Insttute Sam Redding, Academic Development Insttute
Authors are afliated with the Center on Innovatons in Learning at Temple University
This study was sponsored by the Council of Chief State School Ofcers (CCSSO)
and made possible by a grant from the Sandler Foundaton.
January 2015
THE COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS
The Council of Chief State School Ofcers (CCSSO) is a nonpartsan, natonwide, nonproft organizaton of public ofcials
who head departments of elementary and secondary educaton in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department
of Defense Educaton Actvity, and fve U.S. extra-state jurisdictons. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical
assistance on major educatonal issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educatonal issues and expresses
their views to civic and professional organizatons, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
Personal Competencies/Personalized Learning: Refecton on Instructon
COUNCIL OF CHIEF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS
June Atkinson (North Carolina), President
Chris Minnich, Executve Director
Janet Twyman and Sam Redding
Council of Chief State School Ofcers
One Massachusets Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20001-1431
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
www.ccsso.org
Copyright © 2015 by the Council of Chief State School Ofcers, Washington, DC
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Introducton ....................................................................................................................3
Components of a Lesson Plan ..........................................................................................4
Lesson Plan Refecton Guide ...........................................................................................4
 Using the Refecton Guide ................................................................................................. 5
 Example 1 ........................................................................................................................... 9
 Example 2 ......................................................................................................................... 16
 Example 3 ......................................................................................................................... 27
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Scot Norton and Kirsten Taylor Carr at CCSSO; the encouragement
of Marilyn Murphy, director of the Center on Innovatons in Learning; the editng of Lori Thomas and Pam Sheley at ADI;
and the publicaton design of Pam Sheley at ADI.
About the Authors
Janet Twyman
Janet S. Twyman, Ph.D., BCBA, is the Director of Innovaton and Technology for the Center on Innovatons in Learning
(CIL). Dr. Twyman is a career educator and has been a preschool and elementary school teacher, a principal and admin-
istrator, and a university professor. She has worked directly on improving the personalizaton of learning and engineer-
ing self-paced learning with typically developing students, preschoolers with intellectual disabilites, adolescents with
emotonal and behavioral problems, and learners with autsm spectrum disorders. For over a decade, she has worked at
the forefront of merging evidence-based educatonal methods with new and emerging technologies, including selectng
technologies that support personalized learning and adaptve instructonal systems. As a vice president at Headsprout,
she led the design, development, and disseminaton of the company’s Internet-based reading programs and oversaw
their implementaton in over 1,500 public and private schools. These programs featured built-in, data-based decision-
making and real-tme, individualized use of data to inform instructon. In 2007–2008, she served as president of the
Associaton for Behavior Analysis Internatonal. Currently an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Massa-
chusets Medical School, Dr. Twyman’s research interests involve understanding basic learning processes to build mean-
ingful instructonal technology programs for use with all learners.
Sam Redding
Sam Redding, executve director of Academic Development Insttute, served as the frst advisor to CCSSO’s Supports
and Interventons SCASS. Dr. Redding currently serves as the associate director of the Center on School Turnaround,
senior learning specialist for the Center on Innovatons in Learning, and a consultant to the Building State Capacity and
Productvity (BSCP) Center. A former high school teacher and college dean, Dr. Redding has published in the areas of
statewide systems of support, school improvement, change leadership, innovatons in educaton, and family and commu-
nity engagement.
Introduction
In 2014, state teams in the Council of Chief State School Ofcers (CCSSO) State Collaboratve on Assessment and Stu-
dent Standards (SCASS) on Supports & Interventons were asked to identfy topics they would like to see further devel-
oped. High on the list of priority topics selected by the Supports & Interventons SCASS was the practcal applicaton of
personalized learning concepts by teachers. This publicaton and its companion, “Personal Competencies / Personalized
Learning: Refecton on Instructon,” were created in response to that request.
According to the Center on Innovatons in Learning at Temple University, “Personalizaton refers to a teacher’s relaton-
ships with students and their families and the use of multple instructonal modes to scafold each student’s learning and
enhance the student’s personal competencies. Personalized learning varies the tme, place, and pace of learning for each
student, enlists the student in the creaton of learning pathways, and utlizes technology to manage and document the
1
learning process and access rich sources of informaton.”
2
Personal competencies underlie all learning and, as described by Redding (2014), are “an ever-evolving accumulaton
of related capabilites that facilitate learning and other forms of goal atainment.” Redding identfes four main compe-
tency areas:
● Cognitve Competency—prior knowledge which facilitates new learning
● Metacognitve Competency—self-regulaton of learning and use of learning strategies
● Motvatonal Competency—engagement and persistence in pursuit of learning goals
● Social/Emotonal Competency—sense of self-worth, regard for others, and emotonal understanding and manage-
ment to set positve goals and make responsible decisions
Personalized learning requires a huge investment in the teacher’s instructonal planning, as does the support of per-
sonal competencies. As lesson plans are critcal to good instructon, it is important to know how they support, actvate,
foster, or strengthen student personal competencies and personalized learning. This “Lesson Plan Refecton Guide” pro-
vides a framework to help educators consider how well their lesson plans support personal competencies and personal-
ized learning. It may serve both as a rubric for evaluatng how well a lesson plan personalizes and addresses personal
competency, as well as a guide for strengthening lessons to foster personalizaton and enhance personal competencies.
1 Introducton to CIL’s Connect e-newsleter. See www.centeril.org
2 Personal Competency: A Framework for Building Students’ Capacity to Learn htp://www.centeril.org/publicatons/Personal_Compentency_
Framework.pdf

Refecton Guide 3
Components of a Lesson Plan
Lesson plans are an integral part of educaton. A lesson plan provides a detailed descripton of instructon for a class
(or specifc students in the class) and is used by educators to guide instructon. A lesson plan is a “road map” of what stu-
dents need to learn, how to teach it efectvely, and how to know what has been learned. Lesson plans encourage careful
thinking about what the lesson is supposed to accomplish and provide a guide for managing the learning environment.
A good lesson plan supports the design and the implementaton of instructon by specifying criteria that teaching should
follow. An efectve lesson plan addresses and integrates three key components:
● Objectves for student learning
● Actvites for teaching/learning
● Strategies to check on student understanding
3
There are numerous online and print resources for lesson plans, and ofen educators create their own (which are
frequently shared with other educators). The content and style of lesson plans can vary widely. Sometmes the format is
specifed for each grade level or subject mater domain and may be mandated by the school or district. Even though the
format can vary widely, most well writen lesson plans share these critcal characteristcs:
● a clearly defned learning goal,
● reference or acknowledgement of a standard or framework for the goal,
● the resources needed to implement the lesson,
● the background knowledge or prior experiences needed by students to be successful in the lesson,
● an understanding of how the lesson tes into larger learning or a learning framework,
● what is done to guide or direct learning,
● a method for assessing what has been learned, and
● a plan for individualizaton, diferentaton, or personalizaton across learners.
Lesson Plan Refection Guide
The following resource serves both as a rubric for evaluatng how well a lesson plan addresses personalizaton and
personal competency, as well as a guide for strengthening lessons to foster personalizaton and personal competencies.
Afer writng or selectng a lesson plan appropriate for the instructonal goals, the teacher (or a peer in a collaboratve
learning situaton) reviews the lesson plan using the rubric as a guide. The goal is to refect upon how the lesson plan en-
gages personalized learning strategies and enhances personal competencies. The form supports teachers in considering
the strengths of the plan, as well as what additonal supports might be needed to further personalizaton and strengthen
competencies prior to teaching the lesson.
Best practces suggest that personalized learning should occur throughout teaching. Although the four major personal
competency areas (as defned by Redding, 2014) are listed in the rubric, it is important to stress that teachers are not
expected to support all four personal competencies within a single lesson. It may take several lessons, spread across
days or topics to adequately address these competencies. As personal competencies are ever evolving, none is ever
“achieved,” but each is strengthened within the intentonal design of the teacher’s instructon. Teachers and all educa-
tors are encouraged to consider the cumulatve efect of the breadth and depth of a series of lessons when considering
personal competencies and the elements of personalizaton.
3 For more informaton, see the Center for Innovatons in Learning’s Soluton Finding Report, Generatng Lesson Plans, at htp://www.centeril.org/
reports/
4 Twyman, Redding
Using the Refecton Guide:
Lesson: Include the name of the lesson and atach or indicate the source url if an Internet-based resource is used.
The lesson plan itself should include informaton about the teacher, class, subject mater, grade level, standards-aligned
objectves, and other detailed instructonal informaton.
Personal Competencies: Indicate the various strategies embedded in the lesson that support any of the four personal
competencies. For each personal competency the teacher intentonally expects to enhance, provide a brief statement of
how the lesson or teacher or peers support that competency.
Personalized: Indicate how the plan supports personalizaton via the teacher’s relatonship with learners or their fami-
lies, as well as by objectve, content, instructonal method, pace, or context (people, tme, or place). Specify relevance for
personal competencies when applicable.
Technology Support: Note any use of technology to support the lesson, including those supportng personalizaton
and personal competencies. Areas technology can assist include: instructon/delivery (both what is taught and how it is
taught, such as online instructon, using sensors and tools, assistve devices), content creaton (in both designing the les-
son plan as well as in student created work); measurement/data (for formatve assessment by the teacher or students);
and behavior/citzenship (such as using technology to monitor, display, or reward good behavior, motvaton, adherence
to classroom rules, or other social/emotonal behaviors).
Note: This rubric or similar tool may be converted into an online form that would allow districts and schools to main-
tain a database of how educators are personalizing instructon and developing competencies. The database then could
serve as a resource library of best practces.

Refecton Guide 5
Lesson:
Plan (□ Atached or URL):
Personal Competencies
The lesson supports these personal competencies:
Cognitve Metacognitve Motvatonal Social/Emotonal
prior knowledge which self-regulaton of learning engagement and sense of self-worth, regard
facilitates new learning and use of learning persistence in pursuit of for others; emotonal ability
strategies learning goals to set positve goals and
make responsible decisions
Includes enhancement of:
□ connects to prior learning □ models thinking □ promotes a growth
strategies mindset
□ self-awareness
□ reinforces memorizaton
□ requires logic □ stmulates interest in
□ self-management
□ builds vocabulary
topic
□ enhances creatvity
□ social awareness
□ enhances core knowledge
(divergent thinking) □ includes student choice
(e.g., common facts,
□ relatonship skills
ideas, phrases, or □ includes problem-solving □ connects with students
quotatons) aspiratons □ responsible decision-
□builds self-regulatory
making
□ includes rich reading, abilites □ diferentated
writng
□ goal setng □ celebrates
□ amplifes curiosity— accomplishments
□ self-monitoring
exploraton/discovery
□ provides high levels of
□ self-appraisal
engagement
□ self-efcacy
□ includes clear indicators
□ self-management of progress
□ seeking help
□ includes student tracking
of mastery
Personal competencies will be further addressed in the lesson by….
Comments:
6 Twyman, Redding
Personalizaton
Personalizaton involves a teacher’s
● relatonships with students and their families,
● use of multple instructonal modes to scafold each student’s learning,
● enhancement of the student’s personal competencies,
● variaton of the tme, place, and pace of learning for each student,
● enlistment of the student in the creaton of learning pathways, and
● use of technology to manage and document the learning process and access rich sources of informaton
Personalizaton occurs within (indicate all that apply):
□ Relatonship with students and their families
{ infuses teacher’s personality { includes student’s family in lesson-related actvites
{ includes student self-expression { Informs student’s family of purpose of lesson and stu-
dent’s progress
□ Standards-aligned learning objectves
{ reduced for some students { other
{ expanded for some students
□ Content objectves
{ reading level { student self-selecton
{ materials { other
□ Instructonal methods
{ whole class { individual (independent) work
{ teacher-directed { homework
{ peer-instructed { progress monitoring w/in instructon
{ teacher-directed student groups { other
{ student-led groups
□ Learning pace (check all that apply)
{ self-paced { other
{ mastery-based

□ Learning context (people, tme, or place):
{ alternatve instructor { home
{ alternatve tme/period- { community setng
{ outside of school day { work setng
{ class setng { other
Technology Supports for Personalizaton and Personal Competencies include:
{ instructon/delivery

{ content creaton

{ measurement/data

{ behavior/citzenship

Refecton Guide 7
Personal Competencies / Personalized Learning
Lesson Plan Refecton Guide EXAMPLES
Following are examples using the guide to evaluate three free, publically available lesson plans. Example lessons were
specifcally chosen for their emphasis on teaching thinking skills (meta-cogniton) as well as academic content.
Each completed “Lesson Plan Refecton Guide” is followed by the full lesson plan that was reviewed.
Example 1
Lesson Name: Actve Reading Through Self-Assessment: The Student-Made Quiz
Grades: 6–12th
Subject Area: reading, language arts
Example 2
Lesson Name: Animal Study: From Ficton to Facts
Grades: K–2nd
Subject Area: reading
Example 3
Lesson Name: Examining the Legacy of the American Civil Rights Era
Grades: 11–12th
Subject Area: social studies

8 Twyman, Redding