Personalized Learning

"I continue to appreciate John Clarke’s dedication to putting students and common sense before educational politics, fads and test scores. With a sharp eye for detail, John reminds us that students can and must make their own sense of the world, but to do so, they need smart and flexible frameworks, the company of attentive adults, and lots of back and forth about the important big ideas. In a time when data dashboards and growth indexes clutter the landscape and steer us away from personalized learning, Clarke’s voice provides tones of Dewey in a contemporary motif."

• Foreword by Joseph DiMartinoPrefaceWhy This Book?Who Might Read This Book?What′s in the Book?About the AuthorAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: All Learning Is PersonalMeeting Standards/Avoiding StandardizationCelebrating DiversityPersonalized LearningDesigning Personal Pathways to GraduationAn Enriched Context for Learning1. Engagement in LearningOverviewOrganizing Curriculum Around Personal CompetenciesReal Questions/Real MeaningBuilding on StrengthsArtificial ChallengesMeaningful ChallengesDesigning Pathways by Increasing ChallengePersonalization and Student AchievementAccepting AmbiguityNagging Questions About Personal Engagement2. Patterns of GrowthOverviewPersonalized Learning at Mount AbrahamPatterns of Growth in Personalized LearningLearning Through RelationshipsNagging Questions About Student Growth3. Shaping the Process of InquiryOverviewKeeping the Target SteadySeven Phases of Project Development in a SemesterThe Process Is the LearningNagging Questions About Structure and Freedom4. Scaffolding Personal LearningOverviewFocusing on Competency"The Space": A Website Organizing LearningDesigning Processes and ProductsLearning to Learn IndependentlyLearning Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: An IllustrationProblem Solving With HandsUsing the Tools in AdvisingLeaving the Scaffold BehindNagging Questions About Structure5. Integrating School and CommunityOverviewWhy Leave Campus?Riding With the WizardConnecting With a Community MentorFitting in at Fifteen: Austin and Gabe at the Fish HatcheryMaking Room for MentoringMoving From Simple to Complex TasksThe Cost in Time and EnergyMaking Global ConnectionsThe Action Is Not the LearningNagging Questions About Community Engagement6. Assessing Readiness for College and WorkOverviewWhat Tests Don′t TellDocumenting Applicable CompetencyMeasuring What MattersFace ValidityFocusing Questions for Assessing Evidence of LearningTracking the Accumulation of EvidenceStudent-Led ConferencesExhibitions: Taking It PublicCelebrating "Best-Work" PortfoliosReporting AchievementNagging Questions About Assessment7. Transforming High School LearningOverviewSchool Transformation Through Mutual LearningGrowth Through InteractionRemoving Barriers: Armando Vilaseca, Vermont Secretary of EducationShaping a Shared Vision: Evelyn Howard, District Superintendent of the Addison Northeast K-12 School DistrictLinking Personalization to Existing Models: Nancy Cornell, Associate Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and AssessmentContinuous Adaptation Through Engaged LeadershipOrganizing Teams and Structures: Leon Wheeler, Mount Abraham CoprincipalUnifying Personalized Learning: Caroline Camara and Maureen Deppman, Cochairs of Personalized Learning DepartmentExpanding Roles for Teachers: Caroline Camara, Department CochairAdvising While Redesigning: Russell Comstock, Academic AdvisorMutual RenewalNagging Questions About High School TransformationConclusion: From Knowledge to PowerSort and Select or Empower to Grow?BibliographyIndex