One Schoolhouse

  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent Information
    • Summer 2021
    • Register
  • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • Academic Leaders Listserv
    • Academic Leaders Retreats
    • Advanced Independent Curriculum
    • COVID-19
    • Innovation Library
    • Learning Innovation Blog
    • On-Demand Programs
    • Online Courses
    • Webinars
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN
    • Online Classes
    • On-Demand Programs
  • STUDENT COURSES
    • School Information
    • Student Information
    • Parent Information
    • Summer 2021
    • Register
  • PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
    • Academic Leaders Listserv
    • Academic Leaders Retreats
    • Advanced Independent Curriculum
    • COVID-19
    • Innovation Library
    • Learning Innovation Blog
    • On-Demand Programs
    • Online Courses
    • Webinars
  • CONSORTIUM
    • Join the Consortium
    • Our Schools
  • COURSE LOGIN
    • Online Classes
    • On-Demand Programs

Want to Understand Personalized Learning? Change a Lightbulb

5/10/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureBrad Rathgeber
“Personalized learning” can seem like one of those educational buzz-phrases that is difficult to unpack and understand.  But, let me offer an entry point into this concept. Personalized learning is about approaching learning from the perspective of the learner, rather than the perspective of the teacher, just as we do as adults in the course of our lives every day.

Consider this everyday challenge: the lightbulb in the headlight of your car burns out.  How are you going to fix it?  Go ahead, write down your first step.  Now, write down your next step.

I’ve done this activity with close to a thousand educators this year.  The answers they’ve given span a range: “Finding a YouTube video for my car’s make and model,” “Heading to the car manual first,” “Not messing with it; going to the dealership,” “Easy, I already know how to do this,” “I’m just going to start unscrewing things,” “My spouse takes care of these things.”  

As adults, we make personalized choices every day about how we learn new skills and acquire new information. We know there are many viable and good “pathways” to reaching the learning objective. 

The choice that we make in terms of what pathway we choose for changing the lightbulb is typically based on three factors: the situation (time, speed needed, challenge level, etc.), our prior experience, and our go-to-problem solving strategies (some of us are more comfortable following directions on YouTube, others of us want the step-by-step from a manual).

As educators, we know that there are many good and viable pathways towards reaching the learning objectives in our classrooms, too. There are many ways to understand how a bill becomes a law, or how to solve a mathematical equation. It’s just that we often choose the pathway for our students, rather than giving students all of the pathway options and giving them agency.  Why?  What if we gave them choice? I’ll explore that next month.

0 Comments

    Authors

    Brad Rathgeber (he/him/his)
    Head of School & CEO
    Corinne Dedini (she/her/hers)
    Assistant Head of School for Academics
    Elizabeth Katz (she/her/hers)
    Assistant Head of School for School Partnership
    Kerry Smith (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Professional Development
    Peter Gow (he/him/his)
    Independent Curriculum Resource Director
    Sarah Hanawald (she/her/hers)
    Assistant Head of School for PD & New Programs
    Tracie Yorke (she/her/hers)
    Instructional Designer for Equity, Inclusive Innovation & Accessibility
    ​Lorri Palko (she/her/hers)
    Finance & Operations Advisor; CFO (retired)
    Karen Douse (she/her/hers)
    Director of School & Student Support (retired)

    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    August 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    October 2011
    July 2011
    June 2002

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Organization

About
Welcome
​History
FAQs
​Calendar

Policies

Tuition & Policies
Non-Discrimination Policy
Technology Requirements & Policies
​Privacy Policy




Team

Team Members
Board of Trustees
Employment Opportunities
Contact Us
1701 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
info@oneschoolhouse.org
T: 202-618-3637​
© COPYRIGHT 2020, ONE SCHOOLHOUSE, INC.. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.